We've had a colder than normal winter; particularly during December, when we saw temperatures dip into the single digits. Over the next month we'll see how much, if any, bud damage this caused.
We've also had a dryer than normal dormant season - during the October through January period we had less than 7 inches of rainfall, compared to a normal level of over 22 inches. In February and March, we recovered somewhat with over 14 inches. By the end of March cumulative rainfall for this season was still 10 inches lower than normal.
During the "off-season", in addition to the regular pruning and trellis work, we planted another 3 acres of Pinot vines, and put in the associated trellises. We are now nearly done with our second phase of renovating the vineyard, having substantially increased vine density, introduced phylloxera-resistant rootstock, and planted additional Pinot clones.
