What a difference a week makes! Just seven days after the photo of our viognier vines was taken, shoot growth in our vineyards has really taken off.

With the 2011 harvest behind us and budbreak in 2012 still two months out, it is a restful time in the vineyards atop our Spring Mountain ranch. The quiet is deceptive, though, as this dormant period is the perfect time to evaluate the soil in a small vineyard block that will be replanted in 2012.