Steven was out on the tractor last week clean-cultivating the Maresh Vineyard way.

Maresh-steven-tractor-1-850p

Update on the season:

A vineyard crew of 5 came this morning at 5:30 and they are finishing the last of cleaning the “heads” of all our vines and raising second catch wires (this weather has vines growing rapidly) so today that important part of vineyard work – getting more airflow to the inside trucks of the old vines – will be completed.

Now it’s just removing (for the second time) the emerging suckers at the base of these trunks so all energy goes into the fruiting canes and the soon-to-flower grape clusters. Inflorescence within a week. Clusters are long this year – much like 2011 – cultivation finished (until another rain then Steven will get in the rows with the disk, again) and Dad finished grapehoeing our long rows this early morning, too, so, as I wrote “All is well.”

– Martha, Steven, Jim Sr, and Jim