Atwater Vineyards Shares: In the Vineyards

From a vineyard perspective, this was one of the nicest vintages we have seen (and hopefully the winemaking team agrees). We had much more even and consistent weather than we typically get. Rain and heat were moderate, so growth was good without being excessive, and vines were challenged but not stressed. All of this generally led to moderate crop loads (not too heavy, not too light) and clean, ripe fruit to the very end. Perfect!  Harvest ran smoothly, and we were rained out only one or two days. The fruit chemistries and flavors all came in very nice as well.
 
Now that harvest is complete, we are walking rows to check for broken posts and wires. We also did a bunch of ditch mowing that has been overdue. It’s nice to keep them mowed so that we can have as much room at the ends of the rows as possible—it makes tractor jobs so much easier!  Fields and empty spaces that had some drainage work done were rough fit and seeded with cover crop to help hold the soil in place for winter. We have a little bit of rock picking to do in those areas as well. In the spring they will be ripped and plowed and rock picked (again and probably again) and seeded with another cover crop to build and improve the soil to be ready for planting in 2026.
 
We are also beginning to work on the trellis installation in the blocks that were planted this year. It is a major undertaking to install a new trellis, so we will be at it for a little while, along with trellis repair on mature blocks. The ground is very dry right now, which might slow us down a little bit. We will likely rent an excavator with a vibrating head to put in the new posts more quickly and efficiently, then we will turn to running wire and installing catch wire clips.