Bud break...AHHHH...Bud Break

What a relief!  So many of us vineyard managers were joking whether we would get bud break at all this year...that joke got old when we entered May and still no bud break.  This year I am calling it the Cinco de Mayo bud break event, one of the latest we have recorded in the Willamette Valley.  Bud break normally occurs around April 15th. 

This week marks the true beginning of the growing season for growers.  The time of year when the vineyard manager brushes the moss off his back, puts on his running boots, fires up the equipment and begins the dirty dance of growing fine wine.  There is so much to look for when the buds start to push.  What I like to see is very clear in the picture above: little pink flower buds waiting for their chance to be the most noble of all white wines, Riesling. 

Let the sun keep on shinin'!

-Jason