Vines to grapes to wine...and lots of work.

Unweildly, unpruned St. Croix vines. There are several rows of these grapes. Despite the work, the vineyard is a lovey place to be.



These are the vines after being pruned.


And this is the wine, though not made from our grapes.



As much as I have wanted to be in the workshop weaving on my days off this week, it is the vineyard that has demanded my attention. This is the 9th summer for our organic vineyard that started as 1/2 acre and has grown to 2 acres. Growing grapes is no easy task under any circumstances, especially in the midwest, trying to do so organically tips the scale of sanity. Mostly for us it means hoeing the two acres by hand rather then using herbicides. But that is only one of the chores that demands hour after hour after hour of backbreaking work. As our vineyard is located in a 'bowl' that ferociously holds the cold air, we have put off pruning , which is generally done in March, until April, hoping to delay bud break and avoid that late spring hard freeze. Now it is very late and we are madly trying to get this accomplished. It is heartbreaking work because the vines don't look all that good to begin with, having suffered major winter damage the year before, and we are positive again last winter. I don't think anyone loves a glass of wine with dinner more than I, and having grown up surrounded by vineyards, I was eager to enter this venture, but at this juncture, I can no longer claim eagerness except to perhaps let it all go. We'll see, this coming fall's harvest or lack thereof, will tell the tale. Still, as I sit in the workshop and look out the window at the vineyard, I can't help but be struck by the beauty of it. Sometimes Freddie and I sit on the deck of the cabin with a glass of wine, a loaf of bread and some cheese and gaze at the leafed out vines and wish it would all work out.