Our New Vineyard Dog

Buttercup the Beagle has recently joined our canine family here at Cave Vineyard. Norton and Tram (our two Labs) have indicated that, “yes, she is okay, she can stay.” She is already doing a great job in the vineyard keeping rabbits and deer at bay. She even entices the two overweight boys to join her instead of just watching! When visiting the tasting room during the week you may see the trio, they love to greet guests! If you wish not to be greeted, ignore them, and they will move on. Take one look at Norton and Tram and you will see they are not undernourished, so please don’t tempt them with any tidbits. On weekends, I try to keep the “kids” at home, so if you don't see the trio, that’s where they are - probably snoozing. Leashed canine family members are always welcome to enjoy the grassy areas and shaded Pavilion here at Cave Vineyard, however, they are not permitted inside the cave.

Planting a New Vineyard

Yesterday, we began planting Vignoles. This new acre is located along the driveway as you enter the winery. There were five of us in the field dealing with gusty winds and more rocks than you could ever beleive! This has to be the rockiest section of our land. Can you imagine digging 350 holes by hand and hitting rock each time? Our crew was great - they just kept digging and planting. I heard rumor we will be picking up all the exposed rocks at a later date. I think there will be enough rock to build a heck of a wall somewhere!! By end of day, each vine was watered and a grow tube was placed over it. The vines are dormant now and the grow tubes act as a hot house. They also protect the vines from nibbling animals. We only completed half of the acre yesterday. We will be planting another 350 plants as soon as they arrive...and we will start all over again. I only hope the gusty winds are gone by then!

Also, good news today - we received word that 2 of our wines won medals in the Fingerlakes International Wine Competition. Our Blush took Bronze and Chambourcin took Silver! Winning medals never gets old, it’s always exciting!

Pruning

Pruning is a wintertime chore at the vineyard that literally takes all winter long. It is definitely not always the most fun job either. Imagine standing out in the middle of the vineyard on a blustery, 20 degree day!

We start pruning once the leaves drop from the vines, usually around the end of November. It is always a race against the calendar to get the entire 14 acres finished by mid to late March. Needless to say, it is always a relief when the pruning is finished.

Marty and I used to do a good bit of the pruning, however, as the winery has grown, other tasks keep us from this wintertime routine. This year’s pruning has mainly been completed by one terrific vineyard worker – we call her our “Vineyard Mistress”. She pruned 95% of the vineyard herself until the last few weeks when Marty hired a person to help do the things that she doesn’t care to do (like drive the tractor). The two of them completed their task and made it to the finish line by the end of March. Our 14 acres are all pruned, tied, and ready for bud break. We anticipate bud break in the next week or two. Next week (if it stops raining) we will be planting a new acre of Vignoles located as you enter the winery and tasting room property. We’ll keep you posted on how the planting goes!