Silhouettes Against the Sky

     Here are some evening pictures of the vines against the fall sky.  I took them yesterday as I walked among the vines.  From top to bottom, they are Vidal Blanc, Chambourcin, and Chardonnay.  These vines were just beginning to go dormant for the winter when the temperature dropped like a rock.  It made me think of a year back in 1980 when the temperatures fell too quickly for the vines to acclimate.  They were caught with sap still in their trunks when the temperature went down to -28 and people lost 50 - 75% of their vines in one week.  The grape growers still refer to it as the Christmas Massacre of 1980 in New York and I only hope we don't get to see the same thing in our vineyard.

     We are making plans to mulch all the grapes in the next several weeks.  We have saved up all of our organic compost from our grape pressing and mixed that with our horse manure and wood shavings.  The result is a beautiful, rich mixture which promises to protect and nourish these vines throughout the upcoming year.