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WINEMAKER’S NOTES
HARVEST 2007

February 22, 2008
Well, we finally have some accumulated snow! Things have been continuing to move along well in the vineyard. Pruning will be done in a few days. The next step will be tying all of the canes down to the wires. This is a fairly simple task that moves along at a faster pace than pruning. "Tying down" as we like to call it is much like how we stake tomatoes. Tying canes to the wire provides a strong support when the vine will eventually hold fruit. Without being tied the canes would sag to the ground as the clusters began to grow. The wire in which we tie canes to is called the "fruiting wire". At the least 95% of the fruit will be right in the area of this wire, hence the name.

We will also be offering to our Wine Club Members (W.C.M.'s - I feel like 'W' when I use this.) and of course staff an opportunity to help tying down canes in March. You will see some information on this very soon. It will be an opportunity for our W.C.M.'s to come and "Tie One On" with the winemaker. Throughout the entire growing process we will offer opportunities to our W.C.M's to be a part of all stages in the vineyard including harvesting. This will be another added extra benefit to our wine club members. Best of all is that we will be producing a "Wine Club Exclusive Wine" from this block of the vineyard in which all of the work will be done.

Lastly, in addition to finishing with pruning we are now mulching the prunings. In time these mulched prunings will provide valuable nutrients back into the soil. For anybody interested it is also a good time to grab a bundle or two of the pruned wood from the vineyard. They will make a nice enhancement to flavor while doing some summer time grilling. Should anybody be interested just let me know and I can tell you where you get these. Well, enjoy the snow and I will see ya'll soon!

Cheers,
Juan Eduardo Micieli-Martinez