Budbreak 2007

Ahh, bud break.
It has happened at both vineyards though Butterdragon, as usual, is a tad bit further along. The shoots there are about 3/4 to 1 inch long. Just right to provide a tasty snack for deer who like the sweet, tender young shoots. Let’s hope everyone remembers to close the gates.
Northern California is behind in rainfall though I don’t think we’re so short as it will cause problems later on. At least not for us and our wells. We’ll see though.
After seeming like Spring had sprung, the temps have fallen again with unstable weather. Today has been like a regular “Winnie the Pooh blustery day.” “They” say that snow levels are going down to 2000 feet. Won’t affect us at our vineyards, but the temps in the Valley could dip down low enough to make some folks nervous, particularly since bud break has happened for most ranches. Generally, we don’t have a lot of frost worries as the hillsides where our vineyards are located tend to stay above freezing. We keep our fingers crossed because, unlike Valley floor vineyards, we have no frost protection.