Bonjour Instant Read Wine Thermometer

It is important if you want to get the full appreciation of a wine, to serve it at the proper temperature. This is especially true for white wines. So, my husband, head of procurement, purchased this Bonjour Instant Read Wine Thermometer recently. It comes in a very nice compact metal case for storage. On the inside of the metal case is a list of types of wines and the temperature that they should be at for optimal enjoyment. Just put the thermometer right up to the glass and press the button and the readout occurs seconds later. It retails for less than $20.00.

Awakenings

This past winter was a mild one. There was evidence of bud swell in mid-April, which seems early. I looked at some blogposts from last year and found a May 8th posting Waiting For Budbreak that showed that the bud phenology in the vineyard this year is approximately two weeks earlier than they were last year.
For me, it is always an anxious time because when the buds are dormant, they actually look dead and we have had experience with 90% death in our vineyard.
Our spring has been on the cool side, but the vines are waking up and now showing their pretty pink tips:

Awhile back, I read about what the pink tinge meant, so this morning, I spent some time tracking down the reference, according to Markus Keller¹:
The pink tinge that occurs in the new buds and newly unfolding leaves are attributed to anthocyanin pigments in or just below the leaf epidermis that probably protects the developing photosynthetic machinery. Our vineyard is pretty in pink and protected!
Reference:
1. Markus Keller, The Science of Grapevines Anatomy and Physiology, 2010, Academic Press, pg. 57.

1996 Louis Jadot Beaune Boucherottes

We have been working in the vineyard, putting in holes for our anticipated planting in a few weeks so it is really difficult to come home and think about cooking, but my husband prepared duck with Robert Irvine's Berry Sauce. Truth be told, these were leftovers, but it did mean heating the duck, berry sauce and wild rice, something my feeble body was not inclined to do, and I'm not the one doing the heavy work. The berry sauce is one of our go to recipes because it can also be used with pork chops.
My husband brought out this 1996 Louis Jadot Beaune Bourcherottes to have with the duck. I was in culinary heaven. The wine was inky purple, with a nose of red berries and a flavor to match. It was a well balanced wine with complexity that paired so well with the berry sauce and duck. At 20 years old, the wine was still youthful and delicious!

Trepanning with the Dingo

The time is NOW! We are expecting our vines to ship in a few weeks so we must get down to business and dig our 4,000 holes. Wonder how the earth feels with us trepanning 4,000 holes? We can definitely see that there is a different soil type as we dig 24 inch deep holes with the wondertool, the Toro Dingo.
Our friends are lending us a hand and this makes the work go so much faster, but it still takes about 40 seconds to do each hole. Multiply that by 4,000--- we have our hands full! Gotta run---got a date with our Dingo.