Bud break is occurring all over the vineyard! Now that the vines are slowly waking up after their restful slumbe
r over the winter months we are seeing tiny little leaves peaking out at us from the previously dormant canes. This means spring is officially here and the 2017 growing season has begun. The copious amounts of rainfall this winter were such a wonderful blessing for grape vines and fruit trees here at Heller Estate Organic Vineyards. It has significantly recharged the water tables on the property as well as giving all the plants plenty of water to quench their thirst. Meanwhile, our new pond has been completely filled. Lots of happy turtles are now swimming and sunning themselves at the pond.
Since the vineyard is waking up and there was a lot of healthy cover crops and grasses that grew tall over the very wet winter, our crew is now spending most of their time tilling the cover crops into to soil so the vines can receive all the great nutrients they have to offer.
As for the winery, things are status quo; all the wines in barrels are being topped every 3-4 weeks, and once a week I go around to check on the wines in tank to make sure everything is maturing nicely.
This spring we have several new wines to release, two of which are in the wine club shipment. A wonderful new vintage of Chardonnay will be arriving just in time for the warmer spring weather and can be enjoyed with a wide array of seafood pairings like clams
& mussels with a butter, lemon, shallot, and caper sauce over a bed of linguine topped with fresh chopped parsley. The new 2013 Petite Sirah is also being sent out which I personally can’t wait to serve with my homemade lasagna of locally sourced sausage, tomato sauce made with tomatoes I grew in last year’s garden, garlic, onion, fresh basil and, of course, plenty of cheese.
I hope you really enjoy all the wines you receive and share them over a great meal with good friends and family.
Salud,
Margot Federkiel, Winemaker