Bud Break Yet?

 
I decided to sneak up on the vines to see if they had come out of their deep sleep. It was a unique feeling walking around the vines on the hilltop this morning. Except for a few curious birds, it was as quiet as any spring morning.
 
As we move through February and March, the vine pruning kicked into high gear. If you look closely, you can still see the cuttings lying in the rows. Markus Bokisch's crews were working hard, pruning last year's growth carefully to create the perfect balance for our 2009 harvest.
 
I looked at the vineyard pictures taken at this time last year and other than a little more maturity in the wood, and the rain that happened to be falling that day, it's hard to tell the difference. Bud break is happening in most vineyards around the appellation. The forecast over the next seven days is mid-70's, so I'm going to come out again next week to see the difference...I bet there's green in them thar hills. I'll post those pictures too so you can see.