Tour a Vineyard

“A big treat for me, any time of the year, is to walk around our vineyards and the surrounding landscape. The seasons vary and the time of the day makes a huge difference. Right now the small embryos of grape clusters have been through bloom but are still hard and green. The leaves are big and plentiful and it is an ocean of green as you walk between the rows. This time of the year the bees are busy and patches of flowers have come alive, each with a humming chorus. Especially the lavender turns the bees just crazy and they seem drunk as they plunge in. On the other side of the upper vineyard I smell the many flowering trees and the blooming cover crop as well.”

“My travel companions were Jimmy and Jennifer, who are both in my wine class. We made an appointment for a 1:30pm tour. We arrived early and we were given the option to start our wine tasting before the tour. [...] When it was 1:30 pm, Barbara Shinn, part owner of the estate, gave us a tour of the vineyard. [...] Unfortunately, she told us we missed their harvesting 10 days ago (darn!). [...] She starts off her tour by giving us grapes that were left on the vines during harvest.”