December 2018

Right now, all that’s going on in the vineyard is some minor landscaping. We’re addressing some drainage issues in order to get rid of standing water, and also some cosmetic work that has nothing to do with how the vines will grow. Pruning could begin in late January, but we may not do it until February, depending on weather and anticipated temperatures. If we prune too early, we risk damage to the buds by frost, if a freeze occurs. I like to prune as late as I can, sometimes in the middle of February, for frost avoidance.

We have set out owl houses, but we haven’t seen any owls yet. January and February are when they’re on the move, looking for a good place to nest. I’m optimistic they’ll choose our houses. We placed the houses in locations that will give them an opportunity to oversee rodent activity, which is definitely something they look for…a good, local food source. Owls like a clean environment, so our plan is to do a good job cleaning the houses next fall after they’ve nested, in order to encourage them to return again the following winter. We’ve done everything our owl consultant has suggested. Now, we’ll just wait and see what happens.

Ron Buoncristiani