12 Jun Field of Dreams – The Birth of our New Vineyard
Heart & Hands began with a dream of finding a limestone-rich site for Pinot Noir. Our first vineyard is thriving, and we are now embarking on a vineyard expansion...
Vineyard
26 Apr Pruning & Tying
The first months of the year are a quiet, peaceful time of rest and rebirth in our vineyard. After Autumn's harvest, the vines store energy for the upcoming season, shed their remaining leaves, and transition to a state of dormancy. The once lush vineyard is...
01 Feb Starting the new vintage…
As the bountiful harvest from the 2013 vintage rest in the cellar, we begin to prepare with anticipation for what 2014 will offer us. In this viticultural environment, the grape variability from year to year is truly dependent on what mother nature provides. A warmer...
16 Jan A new year… a new friend
While each year harvest activities bring us a great deal of joy and euphoria, this year was bitterweet - as our hearts were heavy this past October with the passing of our wonderful winery dog, Fíon. She was a fantastic companion to us and provided...
01 Aug A break from the work to enjoy the beauty…
Just sharing a quick time lapse video from this evening taking in the rolling clouds and beautiful sun...
05 May And now for the clusters…
With the San Diego-like temperatures this past week (clear, sunny, mid 70's), the vines made a quick leap from bud break to a first showing of the clusters. The forecast for this week doesn't look like there will be much of a change, so we're...
01 May Bud Break 2013!
Just in time for the derby season...
02 Apr The Start of the Season
One of the first signs of season for the vine is the movement of sap. Stored in the trunk throughout the winter, the pruning cuts stimulate those juices moving upward. The vine wounds naturally heal themselves (but draw plenty of activity from the insect community)...
26 Mar Pruning Complete. Now On To Tying.
So we wrapped up pruning and tying trunks over a month ago and we were waiting for some "warmer" weather to begin tying canes to the fruiting wire. Normally, I like to tie canes once we get into the 40's and 50's because the canes...
15 Mar What’s Happening This Winter?
Many people ask me what we end up doing in the winter (usually assuming that we have absolutely nothing to do). While things are comparatively slower during our "off-season", there are still plenty of things to work on. From a winemaking aspect, there are usually a...