Happy Good Friday.

And it was a good Friday.  I spent most of my day down in the East Bay running errands and having my hair done.  (One just has to look good when working in the vineyard).  I did a little bit of pruning when I got back up to Napa, walked Vinodog 2 and then observed my Good Friday paschal fast with a nice shrimp/pasta dish - washed down with a Silverado Vineyards, 2014 Sauvignon Blanc (Yountville AVA).  Hardly fasting, I know.
I have to be finished with pruning the Cabernet sauvignon grapevines this Sunday, that includes tying all the canes down.  I think I can do it, but I may need Vinomaker's help with the tying. Meanwhile, the Pinot grigio vines are going crazy: baby flower clusters are visible and the trunks are popping out all over with adventitious buds and shoots (which means lots of extra suckering work).  Happy spring!

It's the first day of spring!

I know that today is the first day of spring because I checked that little factoid in my handy-dandy 2015 copy of Old Moore's Almanack.  I also happen to know that today is a good day to plant such things as asparagus, celery, brassicas, root vegetables and legumes, but only between the hours of 8.30 am to 12.55 pm, 1.20 to 2.40 pm and 3.05 to 4.10 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).  Today is also a great day for me to go fishing (in the afternoon), and an even better day for me to bet on the dogs (if I just happen to be passing through Birmingham, England).  Good stuff.
Hang on a minute, didn't I just recently say that I had always wanted a copy of Old Moore's Almanack, but had never actually owned one? Well, as of yesterday, via the Royal and the US mails, I now have my very first copy of the annual publication that I always wanted when I was little thanks to my brother Thud.  Apparently, perhaps moved by my tale of woe, Thud decided he would rectify the decades old almanac-absence in his little sister's life.  Or perhaps he feels I need a bit of help in my current life, although it does say, in my personal daily guide (for Aries), that today my personal intuition and confidence should be strong enough for me to make successful decisions.  Cool, I should start by deciding whether to have salmon or prawns for dinner.
Of course, all these predictions and forecasts etc., are in GMT, so a little bit of mathematics will be required prior to me deciding whether or not I am going to plant, fish or gamble today. Thanks, big brother!

Fish on Friday...

...and it's not even Lent.
Yes, I bought this bottle of wine because I liked the shape of the bottle.  I'm so shallow!  But hang on a minute, the $10 I forked over for this bottle of Pescevino was well worth it.  Well, it was worth it after the initial sulphurous-blitzkrieg blew off - then it was a perfectly quaffable glass of white table wine and wasn't in the least bit pesky.  A blend of 60% Verdicchio del Castelli di Jesi Classico, 30% Trebbiano delle Marche and 10% Chardonnay, this uncomplicated fish-juice paired quite well with my shrimp-fettuccine dinner.
I may be shallow, but I'm not a snob.