Grapes are now turning color and producing sugar and flavor. Right on time.
How weather during ripening dictates style
Make a reservation.
Read MoreThe first part of the growing season has been kind to us.
Linden is known for Chardonnay. This is not by accident.
July Seminar
Read MoreThe vines are in bloom.
The decorative foil capsules on top of wine bottles serve no useful purpose.
Summer wines are by definition refreshing and vibrant. Here are Linden’s picks for this summer.
Read MoreThis week’s cooler weather will slow vine growth. This is good for our work pace. We are now in the “timing is everything” mode in the vineyard.
A focus on vintage variation: how the weather affects wine style.
Read MoreRight now spring is early, warm, and dry. Next week may be different.
Deer have always been a problem to anyone trying to grow anything in these parts. Back in the early 1980s, the deer population was much smaller than it is today.
With each passing week vines become more sensitive to warm spells. In December a stretch of spring-like weather would not phase them, but by mid-March they are highly tuned to temperature cues. A week of 70°s or 80°s F would swell tender buds. If extreme warmth were to continue, the vines would break bud early. So why would this be a problem?
In 1983, the state of this hardscrabble farm was typical of most of the Blue Ridge landscape. It had gone “back to the mountain:” a local expression for overgrown abandoned farms.
Linden is soon going into hibernation. We’ll be closing the tasting room for the holidays and the month of January. However, we’ve reached back into our library and are offering several DIY tasting options to help you celebrate the holidays, ring in the New Year, or perhaps hunker down for a blizzard.
All of Linden’s Chardonnay is now “in the barn”. The grapes took full advantage of dry, sunny weather.
Our eyes are now on red grapes and the track of Hurricane Ian. We’ll start red harvest on Wednesday. Ian will decide for us how much to pick.
Read MoreAt this writing the sun is bright and a drying wind gusts out of the north. Six hours ago it was damp, foggy, and drizzling. Our erratic growing season seems to want to continue into harvest.
Read MoreThe vines are looking good. Too good. There is a saying that struggling vines make the best wine. Let’s hope that’s not entirely true. This year the vines are exuberant, lush, green, and happy.
Read MoreSo far this summer’s weather has been pretty normal. We’ve avoided any damaging storms, but still have had a modest amount of rainfall. Temperatures have been average to slightly below average. All this makes the vines happy. They demonstrate their bliss by way of exuberant shoot growth along with large and copious clusters.
