We finally got out into the Maple Woods vineyard on Wednesday to finish pruning LaCrosse and to prune St. Pepin. We are very careful about working in the vineyards when there is any possibility of a storm that might include lightning. The reason is that the wire in the trellis will act like an antenna that will spread a lightning strike over a wide area. One strike at Tassel Ridge vineyard several years ago killed about 100 vines. The point where the lightning struck was immediately obvious because about five vines were blackened and obviously dead. But, about 100 vines all around the strike were so seriously damaged that they did not produce any fruit and they all died over the following winter.
We’d like a few dry and wind-free days so we could spray Tassel Ridge vineyard.
