Dogs and wine go well together

We Muellers love dogs as much as we love wine, so why not bring them together for an afternoon and encourage visitors to bring their dogs to Canelo Hills?

We did just that last Saturday for our Dog-Friendly Vineyard Party. The Santa Cruz Humane Society was there with a bunch of friendly dogs available for adoption, and George Rosberg of Digital Muzzle Photography took some beautiful photographs of people and their dogs.

Dogs romped, people tasted our wines, everyone came on a vineyard & winery tour, and we even had a dog contest with winners in categories such as Hairiest Dog, Prettiest Eyes, and Longest Tail (had to get out the measuring tape for that one).

I couldn't have pulled off the event without Karla helping to manage the happy chaos, and Fred running the tasting table with the help of Desiree, Jana, and Donn. Thanks, all!

We'll just have to do it again next year...

More Vineyard Romance!

It has been raining for the last couple of weeks. We will be posting pictures of the rain and how happy the grape vines are! There has been no hail to date so I am also happy. Today I wanted to show a side of vineyard life that is not much talked about. The vines do not stop needing attention. They continue to call for me when I would rather stay inside. I get wet out there! Since I am not exactly a tall person, even when the rains have stopped the vines continue to drip water as I work. And the soil, oh boy, the soil! It has a clay component that gets both slippery and sticky when wet. As I try to keep a sure footing the clay clings to my boot. It both adds a couple of inches to my height and weighs me down! Romance? You decide.

Cover Crop

In starting our vineyard I had a goal of impacting the natural environment as little as possible and if I could, even leave some of it in better shape. One of my goals has been to use a cover crop between the rows for soil fertility and vine nutrition. This is hard to do in an arid area as I didn't want the crop to use the precious irrigation water. With lots of expert help I chose tepary beans, a legume grown in Southern Arizona by the Tohono O'odham people for centuries. This is the second year we planted them just before the start of the monsoon rains. The beans are growing with only the natural rainfall. As soon as they flower the beans will be tilled into the soil to enrich it with nitrogen. We also planted some on the side of the winery building for harvest. So far the experiment is going well.

Casualties

Winters are rough on grape vines and this year was no exception. There was a period of time in the winter that the temperatures dipped down to 7 degrees Fahrenheit. Grape plants don't like that very much and when combined with the challenging growing conditions in our part of the world the added stress was just too much. Grape farming is all about renewal. So I had to rip out the dead old plants to put in the new ones. Actually "rip" is the technical term. I dug the dang things out. Farming provides lots of time for meditation and my mediation as I struggled with stubborn root systems is that a shovel is the tool I have used most in the vineyard. This is what a grape vine cemetery looks like.

Vineyard Work

What goes on in the vineyard in the early summer? Lots! Grape vines are not creepers. They start running up and along the wires much faster than workers can keep up! This picture shows Kathryn selecting one shoot to tie up on the bamboo pole. The vines are our second year Cabernet Sauvignon. They will be trained up the pole and along the wire. Unfortunately, second year grapes are too young to crop. We will have to wait until next year to make Cab. wine. Patience in a virtue for grape growers. I am learning.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

TO EVERY MOTHER ON EARTH!!!!!!

Bud Burst!

Last week I decided to stay out of the vineyard for a few days as the vines were still dormant. I thought I'd have a little breather before the growing season began. I have learned that once grape vines bud out I become very busy trying to keep up with their growth. Boy, was I surprised when I returned to the vineyard on Saturday! The vines have budded out! The season has begun. I find this time of year very exciting. So, I am starting my busy but happy time of year.