April 20
Grenache is starting to come out - even before they are back in the ground! New vines arrive soon - will be waiting in water for the planting next weekend. Lots of activity this week!
April
Weeding and pruning continue - only 1 acre of Rousanne left to prune! The support posts are in - all lined up in the row. The irrigation wire & tubing is in place in this year's 5 acre block. The April Frost hit April 9 around dawn. At this point it only looks like the Reisling was out far enough to sustain damage. Let's hope that is the last frost of the spring!
March
whew - technical difficulties have caused me to fall behind on my blog! All is well now & I cannot believe how much work is being done. We fnished the "rocking" and have flattened the soil so it is ready for the posts, wire and irrigation tubes. Family and friends have helped us get rid of the weeds and prune the vines hoping to slow them down in case of an April frost.
February 26
Another successful MAN Weekend. Thanks to all of our great friends who helped plant the endposts for the next 5 acres of vines! Planting weekend is fast approaching so everything is moving very quickly now. The irrigation is almost completed. In April we will be adding the wires and the vines
February 16
I love the full moon and the zillions of stars that I can see from the vineyard!
February 13
We've started to develop the next section of the vineyard in preparation for the arrival or the next set of vines. The top of the hill on the west end was ripped this week. I will be uploading pictures soon. Next weekend the end posts, then the wire, the irrigation and we will be ready to plant!
February 5
This has been the coldest we've seen the vineyard - We had a low of 0 - yes, zero degrees this week! Most of Sonoita downtown has been without water and some without power for 3 days. So far the only casualty that we have discovered is the main water line coming out of the water tanks. This is the only place we have not been able heat in the winter. Now we will be looking for another little mini building to keep this line warm once it is repaired. This weekend we will be doing the prep work for "man weekend" which is coming up very soon. The 5 acres we are planting this spring will be "ripped" this week. Next the end post holes will be dug out and poles put in place.
January
Beautiful winter weather - lows down to 8 degrees in some parts of the vineyard. I absolutely love watching the snow fall on the vineyard roads. All the equipment is safe and sound in its mini barn - no casualties so far. The vines look like they are doing well this winter. The slow descent into cold weather in October was a welcome blessing. I am starting a small garden by the water tanks to take advantage of the new climate and the beautiful wildflowers we have onsite. Jim and friends have been finishing projects (like hooking up the water inside the barn). The next few months will be very busy - we will be adding end posts, irrigation and wire to the northern side of the farm road. This is another opprtunity to include our volunteers in the vineyard. Interested in helping? email us for upcoming projects and dates. Thanks again to all of our family and friends who visit and work with us throughout the year.
Ann's Rambling Thoughts from the Vineyard 2010
December 2010
Winter brings us time to complete the infrastructure projects that have been on hold as the vines grow. This winter we will be moving some of the grenache noir and the grenache blanc to the highest part of the vineyard. This will allow them to be warmer than they are in their current location. We will be planting another 5 acres this spring including tempranillo & durif. We will be assembling our volunteer crew and look forward to joining friends and family to plant our next set of vines in April.
November
First fall frost came in mid November this year. This allowed the vines to go gently asleep instead of the shock they experienced last year in early October! We continue to be impressed with the Rousanne vines. The vines bounced back well from the late frost on May 1. The new wine has completed malolactic fermentation. The wine is going to be a lighter fruit forward wine. Lots of strawberry so far - can't wait to see how it develops over the course of the next 8 months.
October
The wine is waiting - now comes the part where we monitor it for its richness and how the malolactic fermentation advances. Time to head back into the vineyard for fall chores. The vines need less water to help them shut down for winter. Hannah's Hill Vineyard expands again this year with the addition of Tempranillo and Durif vines This means that it is time for Rocking! This is the process where we use the tractor to remove rocks too big to move any other way. We have 5 acres to prepare this winter for planting next spring. The weather in the vineyard is perfect this time of year - warm sunny days and cool clear skies at night. For those who have not visited the Sonoita AVA - now is this time!
September 24
The cap on the must has fallen and the chemistry says the grapes have turned into wine - It is time to "press". Pressing is the process that squeezes the juice from the grape skin, seeds and anything else that is present. Our press has a rubber balloon that gets filled with water to squeeze the must very gently. Celebration from the team when everything is in the tank allows the long cleanup process to go more quickly.
September 15
Thanks to our friends in Sonoita we have had help in "punching down" the must. Must is the grapes, their juice and skins that stay together until the yeast has turned the sugars to alcohol. We added the yeast this week and is is frantically working to change those sugars into raw wine.
September 11
Beautiful day - although still warm (love the air conditioning in the winery!) Teams picked, sorted and de-stemmed and crushed the crop. The best advice we ever got on this adventure was start small - 1 macrobin this year - just the right size.
September 10
Chemistry from the grapes dictates picking this weekend so family and friends have gathered to help us. This is the first year for the mourvedre and the grenache planted 3 years ago. Lots of bird pressure has reduced the crop this year - next year we will be able to mange this better. We now know which birds are feasting on our grapes so we can better target out efforts to stop them.
September 2
Still lots of weeds - cannot wait until next year when we can eliminate them earlier before they get so prolific. The grasses are in full bloom in areas of the vineyard where there was none less than one month ago. Such are the hazards of planting in cattle grazing country. Evening views are stunning with spectacular light shows in the sky after dark.
August 28
Grapes are getting very close to harvest. Time to move the winery equipment down to Elgin for an early September harvest. Light rain and thunderstorms still falling - hopefully they will not upset the balance between the sugars and acids before harvest.
August
Hail hit the neighboring vineyards but skipped us. Weather is a factor for everyone but the storms in Elgin are so localized and can have dramatic results.
August 13
Rain has finally slowed down enough to allow the tractor back into the vineyard. Jim removed a ton of weeds and growth that were blocking the rows. Using the refractometer and other assorted cheminstry experiements we know the grapes still have a ways to go before they can be harvested. Lots of acid - not enough sugar. Sugar is what will eventually provide the alcohol when the grapes are processed. The early frost has delayed the development of the grapes.
August 6
With lots of rain comes lots of growth! Weeds and vines. With all the rain that has fallen, we cannot get the tractor into the vineyard to clear the weeds out. There is a beautiful sunflower growing in one of the rows - cannot wait to harvest the seeds and plant them in the wildflower garden next to the barn. The rain was so heavy last night that the river started flowing on our neighbors land. The cows next door seen to take it in stride. The stars are spectacular - looking forward to the Perseids shower next week. The dark skies in our part of Arizona allow for beautiful star/planet.meteor shows.
August 1
Lots of rain from the south and east - It must be monsoon season. The grapes continue to mature and look just beautiful. Look for some updated pictures soon.
July 22
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs - summer rains bring out summer bugs. It is so wonderful to stand next to the barn and watch the rain. Unlike rain in Phoenix rain at the vineyard seems to come from individual clouds. Rain on our vineyard does not translate to rain in Elgin or even at our neighbors houses just a few miles away. The individual clouds are beautiful to watch - some have light rain, some have heavy rain, some just have lots of wind.
The wildflowers are coming back too. The wildflower garden near the barn is blooming again.
July 14
Grapes are starting to change color! As the grapes turn red the birds start to be interested in them. Jim installed a distressed bird call system this week. In a couple of weeks he will install a solar panel to power the system full time.
July 9
Two of Jim's sisters and their families came to help us with our vineyard chores today. We had 6 extra people to help with the weeding, tying of the rousanne, reisling and malvasia vines. Jim even got extra sets of hands to help assemble the new sprayer - a terrific tool that comes with no assembly instructions. I now know why farmers are so self sufficient in repairing their tools - they learn by doing.
July 4
Important rule in the vineyard - when pulling weeds don't pick up the snake by the tail - unless you plan to let him go quickly. Weeding can be exciting as several of our volunteers learned this weekend. Since there was a great outcome - snake was dispatched and no one was hurt we can poke fun at the experience. Thanks to our volunteers who continue to allow us to keep up with all the vineyard chores.
June
The heat just keeps coming. Arizona seems to be much warmer than normal this year. Weather at the vineyard is a terrific break from Phoenix. What a pleasure to spend time and beautiful sunsets with our friends and neighbors in Sonoita/Elgin. Work in the vineyard this month...lots of weeding, tieing up of vines and grading of rows.
Memorial Day Weekend
What a difference a month makes! From freezing conditions straight to heat. Now almost 100 degrees during the day and upper 50s at night. Beautiful weather to be working in the vineyard. The Grenache Noir is overloaded with grapes this year. I imagine we will need to thin them out soon. We planted a wildflower garden near the barn using plants we found around the vineyard. Pictures are coming online soon!
May 24 - The wind continues - 30mph sustained with gusts to who knows what. The mourvedre is looking great this year. Can't wait to pick some this fall. Lots of time this month spent attaching the vines to the stakes and the stakes to the wires. Survey coming up soon to see how the vines did over the winter. Already looking like the vines made it through the fall frost with flying colors - now if we could just predict the spring frost (and hold off the vines of course)...
May 17 - new vines starting, old vines picking themselves up after the frost and starting some new growth. Wind seems to be the theme this month - lots of sustained winds and lots of winds gusting down the hill. All of us are grateful for the barn which is built to withstand it all.
May1 - Planting
Thanks again to all of the friends who came to help this year. We were able to accomplish so much in such a short time. I think the only casualty this year was Bob's boots. Lots of sore muscles however. Looking forward to seeing the experimental rows of new types of vines...Thanks to our friends at the Sonoita Cafe for all of the great food and Callaghan Vineyard for the terrific Arizona Wines!
April 30
Frost settled into the lower half of the vineyard - upper half seems to have stayed warm enough. But seriously - frost in the last couple of days of April...
April 23
Wild weather this week. A cold storm came through with lots and lots of wind. Gusts into the 40's and 50's. Rain, sleet snow - but it stayed above freezing! Clouds so low you cannot see the Biscuit. The great news is the vines are fine. Dexter managed to get snow covered and then mud covered as everything melted. Next week is this year's planting event. Vines arrived this week (and were supposed to be warming up) The cooler in the winery was working alittle too well so we turned it off for now. Looking forward to all the excitement of this years planting.
April 18
Spring weather in the vineyard welcomes us. The vines are all starting to show signs of waking up. This is one of my favorite times of the year - warm and sunny during the day and cool evenings. Dexter thinks this is the perfect time to take a nap on his dog bed. The cattle should be returning to the neighbors parcel soon - hopefully bringing the antelope back with them.
April 12
Planning for this year's planting and 2011! Next month, we will be planting some grenache noir and grenache blanc that suffered from winter kill over the past 2 years. In 2011, we will once again be planting 5 acres - this time tempranillo.
March
Spring is here - with lots of wind. Still pruning, probably until the end of the month. We are saving the Grenache for last to try to delay bud break as much as possible.The days are beautiful highs in the 60's evenings still going down near freezing. Winter projects slowly finishing up
February 19
Pruning continues... we are still on the mourvedre block. Looks like this grape is very very happy where it is planted. February has brought lots of rain and snow - perfect for the vines - slow and steady moisture
January 18
Wow time is flying by very quickly. Time to catch up on all of the chores you cannot do while caring for the growing vines. While they sleep - we do all the odd jobs that have been piling up all year.
January 1, 2010
Happy New Year! The sun is very warm yet the air is cold - Welcome to winter in the Arizona high country. The mountains seem to turn white at the peaks each night. It is a beautiful setting...
December 26
Merry Christmas from the vineyard! A beautiful snowfall just before Christmas helped water the vines this month. On the 26th, there was still enough snow left on the ground to make snowballs and a very small snowman. The is very exciting news for Wisconsin raised Arizonans. As the sun sets it is definately getting cold. So far the vines have enjoyed an ideal journey into winter.
December 10
Winter is upon us. The temperatures have dropped below freezing. It is time once again to do the everyday chores (fixing irrigation pipes, etc) and the special projects resserved for the winter season.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 22
The Sonoran antelope are back to visit! Jim saw 17 this weekend. It is great to see them graze outside the vineyard fence.
November 20
Winter (for Arizona) Fall for those of us from Wisconsin has arrived. About 33 degrees last night with daytime highs around 70 degrees. Now is the time to finish up all the late fall chores. Thanksgiving is fast approaching and I would like to give thanks to our many friends and family who take the time out of their busy lives to help us install fruit wires, remove growing tubes and tie up the vines for their winter rest. Thank you. Your gifts of time and talents are making our dream a reality.
Dexter (our white german shepherd) was really excited to get back on the vineyard. He missed a trip and didn't have a chance to play tag with the cows along the fenceline. This week he spent an entire day at the door making sure he did not get left behind! He is currently racing up and down the road just for fun.
November 9
Beautiful fall days - weather in the 70's this past weekend. The vines are shutting down but the countryside is beautiful. Looking at the vineyard from Elgin road is an amazing site. Thanks to all of our friends, family & neighbors who are helping to make our vision a reality.
October 30
Vineyard temperatures reached 28 degrees last night. This is our first hard frost of the season. Wednesday was very very windy and it looks as if stronger winds had come through the day before blowing most of the beautiful leaves off the vines. Looking forward to starting some of the "winter" tasks this month.
October 20
The lower vineyard has seen some frost this month. We expect our first hard freeze by Wednesday.
October 16
Getting ready for winter - cutting back on the water to the vines and taking the shelters off the new vines. Winter will bring changes to the barn including some updating to the water system and the electrical system.
September 12, 2009
September has arrived! The monsoon is sending us rain and crazy weather - although if we were attempting to harvest this year that would not be a good thing. Luckily, we don't harvest until next year so we can soak up the rain and just enjoy the weather. We are starting to send the vines into hibernation for winter. This means we are cutting back on their supplemental water. Last year, our first frost was in early October. We want to be sure we have everything asleep by then. Despite alot of pruning to insure no grapes this year, some vines just insisted on hiding grapes in their tubes. We picked some mourvedre last week and it was terrific. Not ready to pick yet - would need a couple more weeks. That is one of the beautiful aspects of farming - the vines and the winemaker decide when the balance has been reached. It is a joint decision that does not use a calendar or clock.
August
Wow, what a summer this has been. The weather is warm - but not as warm as Phoenix! The storms are beautiful - blue skies turn into puffy clouds who join into beautiful storms. Last weekend I looked up at the sky and it was covered in stars. Perfect sleeping weather with nights in the 60's. The vines are growing strong.
August is the month that brings many bugs into the vineyard. We have spent a portion of each weekend just walking the rows and removing hornworms and caterpillers. They can eat alot of leaf if you don't keep up with them. This allows us to avoid using pesticides which kill off all bugs good and bad.
Hannah's Hill is a dream in development. We hope you enjoy following us on this journey.