What does a winery do in the winter? The yearly cycle for our wines begins during the cold months as the vines’ energy moves to the roots to wait for spring. The rains come, blanketing the hills with moisture, and between storms we prune the vines, removing 95% of the previous year’s growth. Mike Sumner and Ryen Rourke move through the vineyards, selecting the wood that will not only give us fruit for the coming year, but the shape of the vineyards for years to come.
It’s rubber boots and raincoat weather, and the creeks run loud and hard through their beds. Windshield wipers sweep away the sheets of rain as more comes down, and wood stoves radiate a warm welcome at the end of every day.
It’s bracing to be out on crisp winter days, cutting and shaping each vine, one at a time, breathing in the scents of wet earth and woodsmoke. It is the quiet time, with a slower pace, and the colors of our woods and creeks are as muted as the stormy skies.
Soon, new buds will break. Soon, the days will lengthen and the sun will return. But for now, we’re enjoying this meditative season of wind and rain and the storms coming off the mountains and down into our valley.
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