Hardscrabble Journal

Going Dormant

This cold, but not too cold, weather pattern is just what the vines need. They had a most confusing growing season, so a long, restful winter will bode well. A normal, typical, average, uneventful winter would be ideal.

Back in the 1980s we worried about the potentially damaging impact of severe cold temperatures. Today we worry more about excessively warm winter days that can fool the vines and partially wake them from their slumber only to be ambushed by a late winter Alberta Clipper. Weather extremes are bad for farming.

I’m hoping for a bit more rain or snow this month. Not for the vines, they have certainly had enough moisture, but for my own psyche. We only need about a half inch more rain to break the all time precipitation record. 2018 would then have the dubious distinction of being the wettest year on record. If we are able to make some pretty, quaffable wines under these circumstances, then just think of the possibilities in a normal year. Farmers have to be optimists.

Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Journal: December 10, 2018