From Our Vineyard

In the vineyards, the big job this week is to get our new leaf removal system mounted on a tractor and ready for a tryout. Now, you might wonder why we’d want to remove leaves when we are so dependent on them for the photosynthesis that feeds

We have some Foch rooted cuttings scheduled to arrive early this week. We will plant them as soon as they arrive. We will also be installing grow tubes and pencil rods on newly planted vines at Newport Lane. Our Marquette is growing on a vertical shoot positioned

The vineyard crew planted about 3,000 new vines last week. The biggest plantings were at Tassel Ridge and Maple Woods where we planted Petite Pearl, more Brianna, and more St. Pepin. We also planted Foch at Newport Lane. This week, we expect to receive about 55 vines

The vineyard crew started planting vines at Maple Woods on Monday. This involves drilling a 12-inch diameter hole about four feet deep with an auger. The person doing the planting kneels down and partially fills the hole with the dirt. He or she sets the extensive root

We expect to receive 4,000 rooted cuttings this week. Some are replacements for vines that died or developed other problems. We are adding to our Foch plantings and have removed Frontenac to provide space for them. We have more Frontenac than we need. About 2/3 of these

The Vineyard Crew is finishing up the short pruning of Sabrevois, St. Croix, St. Pepin, and LaCrosse. They will start mowing in order to cut up the wood that has been pruned from the vines and to clean up the rapidly growing grass. They will also continue spraying

Usually most anything worthwhile has a “back story” with a lot of behind-the-scenes effort happening. Quality wines at Tassel Ridge Winery are no exception. When growing the grapes that produce the wines, one of the first actions in the growing process involves pruning. “Vines are pruned to

The vineyard crew is working hard to finish short pruning at Tassel Ridge this week. Given the weather forecast, they will be working between storms. All varieties are starting to leaf out. Keep your fingers crossed that we don’t have a hard freeze now. Assuming they can

Our vineyard crew is working at flank speed short pruning vines. That leaves us very exposed if we have a hard frost. But, while the buds are swelling, we have not gotten to bud-break yet. The vines come out of dormancy in a consistent manner with sap