Step by step

We met with other Skull Valley growers this April.  Fiona and Jody run Painted Ladies Vineyard and are producing Gewurtztraminer. Ed and Darlene , Skull Valley Vineyards, are also growing a variety of grapes and building a winery. All of us are new to the industry and learning as we go.  It was stimulating to share each other's enthusiasm and helpful to share information.   We have turned in packets of applications to become a domestic farm winery to the Feds, the state and county.   May 28th, finally, it seems that we are through our 'frost danger days' and the vines began leap out during the first week of May. We had some snow in the north country in the middle of May but the freezing weather spared us.  This past winter for the second time, we took many of the vines back to two buds.  They, for the most part, seem to be doing well.  However, we had hoped that the vines would have been big enough not to have been pruned back.  For the first time, on May 24th, we put out three pounds of 20.20.20 fertilizer.  This was distributed through our drip irrigation system.     In our newer one acre vineyard which we planted last June, we have Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo.  The Tempranillo seems to be doing pretty well- similar to our other vineyard where it has grown very well.  Out of 350 Cabernet Sauvignon many have succumbed to winter kill.  Perhaps the later June start subjected them to distress during the colder than normal winter.  We have lost approximately 1/2 of the Cab.  In May, we replaced it with Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  Time will tell if this choice was wise. This was also our first shot at bare root planting.Today, we put 2 pounds of 20.20.20 fertilizer on the north 1/2 of the older one acre vineyard.  The impression that we had was that drip system put out more fertilizer onto the south 1/2 so we are attempting to compensate on the north 1/2.  Time will tell.