Here are a few recent pictures of tasting room, vineyard and winery activity.
In March we had a new sign painted onto the tasting room building. Gropen, Inc., based in Charlottesville did the job.
Bloom was early this year, due to the unusually mild winter
Lots of ox-eye daisies this year. This is the flower for which we named our farm.
Ox-Eye Daisies on Ox-Eye Farm
We bought another stainless steel tank for the winery. It’s used, but in great shape. I used to think the other tanks were huge, but Roland, as my daughter dubbed it, dwarfs the rest.
Not a great image, I know. But maybe you can get an idea of Roland’s size.
I didn’t know how we were going to get it off the trailer, but John has a can do attitude and a little too much self-confidence. Amazingly, we got the tank situated without a hitch.
Right now, in the vineyard, we’re hedging the vines. Hedging is important for several reasons. First, grape vines are extremely vigorous and could easily create a canopy that would shade the grapes and trap in air. Healthy vines (and grapes) need sunshine and air circulation to stave off molds and diseases.
Perfectly hedged Lemberger, June 20, 2012
This Pinot Noir needs a haircut!
Another reason for hedging is to remove the growth tips. That forces the vine to expend more energy ripening fruit instead of adding more leaves.
Hedging is a sweaty, exhausting job, done manually on Ox-Eye Farm.
We also must trim unwanted growth off the vine trunks.
Cleaning off the trunks, June 20, 2012. Hopefully she won’t snip her earbuds!
So far, everything is looking good on Ox-Eye Farm this season!
