Changing Over

We have begun the process of converting

 the 150 Pinot Noir vines at  the front of the property to

 Chardonnay. This was not a popular decision with all family members. When complete it will raise our  chardonnay production by 13% and give us a saleable quantity of fruit.

The first step in this process was to

 cut back the plants to a stump. All this year's growth was removed and hauled down to the burn pile. We will give the vines a few days to stop oozing sap before doing any more to them.

Saturday a budding crew will come in and graft new bud wood to the vine stumps. In about two weeks we should see new shoots of Chardonnay pushing out of what was a Pinot vine.

The clone we selected for grafting is Montrachet. The vineyard where we harvested the bud wood produces grapes for wines that consistently are getting tasting scores in the high 90's.