Winter Pruning

Winter pruning is well under way at Addison Farms Vineyard. We have nearly half of our modest vineyard pruned, plus we have completed a couple of acres more for a neighbor. For me, this is an exciting time, with the prospect of what might be looming on the horizon. I love the potential the vineyard has at this moment – anything is possible. With the right weather, we might have the best crop of fruit yet. So much hope, so much potential.

Spring will be here shortly, bringing bud break right along behind… though I hope it is a little later than last year. We, and most other vineyards in the mid-Atlantic, saw 100% bud break by late March 2012, and we hoped against hope that we had seen the last spring frost. Unfortunately, Mother Nature dashed our hopes with two consecutive days of freezing temperatures in mid April. Our vineyard recovered nicely from the damage; we had a nearly-full crop through the growing season, but others did not fare as well. White grapes were particularly hard hit, and finding that fruit was a challenge. Many growers lost most or all of their white fruit, and those that did not became very popular and had a good year financially.

We are excited to know that spring is just around the corner, that the new season has infinite potential. As excited as we are, we hope the vines hold bud break until just a couple of weeks longer this year.