Blaze The Trail

Here are some great notes directly from our very own Winemaker Sean hard at work out on the vineyard. Enjoy!:

Although it’s winter time we are hard at work here at Redwood Creek nonetheless.  I wanted to share some photos of the hard work we have been doing. Right now we are busy pruning the vines; these are pictures of spur pruned vines, both before and after.

UNPRUNED VINES

PRUNED VINES

Pruning is important because the best fruit grows on vines that are pruned back to distribute the bearing wood evenly over the vine. In the winter months, when the leaves have dropped and the vines are empty of sap, we take the growth from last season off and bring them down to the desired bud count.  We also tie up any loose vines or cordons that may have come undone from any wire. Basically, we use this as a time to tidy things up from last year.  Once this has been done we are ready for warmer weather which will bring on the bud break.

We are looking forward to this year’s wine harvest because the past three years has been very dry.  The rain we are encountering in the region now should ensure a great grape harvest by reversing some of the last three years of dryness.

We hope that this has given you some insight in to some of the wine making process.

Your friend,

Winemaker Sean