Bud-break in the Vineyard

Spring is one of my favorite times of year. Bud-break in the vineyard is such an exciting time!

So, it is too bad that this year we skipped spring and went from winter to summer! Yep, from temperatures in the 40's F to those in the  mid- high 80's F and even 90's F!

One thing we have not had this year is a lot of windy days - thankfully. I hate the wind in west Texas. Make that HATE the wind! When we lived in Alabama, tropical storm and hurricane winds were part of life. When we moved west, those were traded for wind and dust storms. You have to admit that winds of 25 - 30 mph many days of the week is a bit much - right?

We are grateful for the nice weather - it is so much easier to work when you can hear each other talking!

Pruning is almost finished in the vineyard. The only varieties left to prune are Petit Verdot which is being pruned as I type and the 2009 planting of Roussanne. Another four days and both will be finished - yeah!

The latest exciting news is that we have bud-break in the vineyard. The vines that have been hibernating all winter have been pushing their sap and are now pushing buds open.

We have been concerned about early bud-break so, John pre-pruned the rest of the vineyard to delay bud-break. Early bud-break would not be a problem if there were no more freezes. However, since we are not privy to that information (whether or not there will be another freeze), we try to delay it. Despite all we can do, there reaches a point at which bud-break cannot be delayed so, you just go with it and pray!

So far, the younger plants are the ones that have bud-break in the vineyard. Below you can see the Petit Verdot.

Aglianico (an Italian red variety) planted in 2013 is also budding.

While bud-break is exciting because it signals another growing year has begun, the grape crop is on its way and harvest is around the corner, it is also scary when it comes this early.

Hopefully, we will not have anymore freezes this year!

How about you - are you having spring or did you go right to summer?