Chenin Blanc Wooly Bud

We began our pruning detail on April 10th and powered through the 2 year old plants but are now plodding through our 4 year old plants since there are decisions to be made and the future to think of. While pruning our Chenin blanc, we noticed that many of the buds are at the Eichhorn-Lorenz wooly bud stage as shown on the right.
We have noticed that out of all of our vines, the Chenin blanc is the first to exit dormancy, followed by the Chardonnay and then the Auxerrois. This year, we have Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to add to our vine variety. So far, they still seem entrenched in dormancy.
Yesterday, we were only able to do 2 rows of Chenin blanc before the howling wind and cold drove us to the warmth of our home. That's our story and we're sticking with it.

Pruning Time

We are a bit late with our pruning chores. It didn't take us too long to do the newly planted vines (3 days), 4200 of them. The mild winter was a godsend as the new vines are showing green wood and the buds are looking good. After we prune our vines, we come back immediately with a systemic fungicide.

We are now pruning our older vines and that takes a bit more time. We hope to be done with all the pruning in the next two days!

2015 Mas de Daumas Gassac Frizant

We had this bubbly at the end of our meal at Water Street Cafe in Stonington Borough. We were celebrating the beginning of our friend's indefinite sabbatical (read "retirement"). It is a frizant made with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Mourvèdre, Pinot noir, Sauvignon, Petit Manseng et Muscat, so it was light pink in color. I thought it was unusual for a bubbly to be made with Cabernet Sauvignon. It is made by bleeding Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the younger Daumas Gassac vineyards. The “free-run” grape juice is then fermented in a closed stainless steel tank for 3-4 months to retain all the fermenting gas.
The May 12, 2016 online edition of WineBusiness.com has a great article about the estate called French Legendary Mas de Daumas Gassac Presents World Famous 'Grand Crus of the Midi' at VINEXPO Hong Kong 2016.
In this article, I learned that the Mas de Daumas Gassac estate is located in the South of France, in the Languedoc commune of Aniane in the majestic Gassac Valley. The estate benefits from the cool microclimate derived from the Gassac River, several natural springs and the influence of the nearby mountains. The soil that dominates the valley is a rare and still unexplained red, powder-fine glacial soil, which is strikingly similar to that found in the prime areas of Burgundy. This combination of characteristics is quite unique in Southern France.
The vineyard is universally revered for its outstanding red and white wines. Mas de Daumas Gassac is often referred to as the Grand Cru of the Midi, it has earned a rare “cult” status since being founded in the 1970s. Samuel Guibert is the second generation co-owner as well as winemaker of Mas de Daumas Gassac. I liked this Frizant so much that I asked my husband to order more.
References:
1. WineBusiness.com, French Legendary Mas de Daumas Gassac Presents World Famous 'Grand Crus of the Midi' at VINEXPO Hong Kong 2016, May 12, 2016.
2. Polaner Selections Mas de Daumas Gassac.

Vintage Notes: Spring 2017

I've been a bit remiss in providing Vintage Notes for 2017. It could be because our winter has been so mild, but it could also be that I've been a little lazy. This winter has been very mild, although we did have some snow up on our land as these photos taken by our hunter attest to. His trail camera caught a few deer on February 12th and an awesome hawk on February 15th.

The first task that we tackled this spring was the tying of our newly planted vines using Grapevine Rubberbands. With the help of our friends, we were able to complete the rubber banding of approximately 4200 grapevines in 8 days.