PLANTING BY MOONLIGHT
The first signs of light came not from the sky, but headlights and headlamps cutting through thick fog, making their way to the top of the vineyard road. At the front of the team was Ruben with over 10,000 bare root vines, a large box of breakfast burritos and his crew of around 45 hardworking men and women. Although we are novices compared to Ruben and his crew, there is no chance we could have slept in. Our family spanning four generations arrived before dawn. You can only plant your first vineyard once. Ruben showed us the right way to plant … The dormant vine cutting has five buds. Dig a small hole and plant with two buds in the dirt, and three sitting above. Cover the dirt back over and wrap a protective sleeve around the precious vine. Repeat 10,000 times.
GUIDED BY LUNAR CALENDAR
We worked fast. We were relying on the lunar calendar in order to respect the vines and plant at the best time for their growth in the lunar cycle. Our window was tight. It started early this morning and was ending at 3 p.m. tomorrow. We made great headway and by the end of tomorrow there will be over 6,800 Syrah vines, and over 3,500 Grenache vines spanning six acres. The remaining six acres will be planted with grafted green plants in July. For now, that is the extent of our plans, but Ruben continues to say how special this land and soil is. So, perhaps a white block is in our future.
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