Ann's Blog
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.