2016: Retrospective

There is a slight respite that comes after the hustle and bustle of the year as the grapes slowly turn into wine, I wanted to reflect a little on the year that was.
We couldn't have accomplished all that we had on tap for this year if it wasn't for the labor of our friends.
In mid-April, we began preparation for replanting our vineyard that had suffered a catastrophic loss in the spring of 2014. Our friends came to help us drill 4200 holes with a dingo that we had rented.
Our vineyard began to wake up from the winter sleep in late April. I always feel that it is a magical time when the young leaves tinged with pink start to emerge from what is for all intents and purposes dead looking buds.
In mid-May, we called on a larger group of our friends to help us replant the vineyard. In 6 Days, 30 People, planted 4200 Vines! After the planting was over, there was a sense of relief, but we still had a long to-do list.
Next on tap was to get our irrigation up and running. In late June, Tony and his crew installed our pitless adaptor. Rental of a generator and the installation of the variable frequency motor and pump allowed us to start irrigating the vineyard on July 23rd.
This year, irrigation was critical because of the drought that Connecticut was experiencing and the fact that we had planted 4200 new vines! According to the United States Drought Monitor, our half of the state is still under a severe drought.

This drought situation will impact our vines if it continues into the new year, so I've been reading about the impact to vines during drought. Stay tuned for that post.