First Day of Harvest: Valvin Muscat 2012

Meet Valvin Muscat. These white wine grapes develop early and burst with flavor right off the vine. They are exotic, the pineapple of wine grapes. But also floral, and we might even say tropical. Their low acidity allows for a dry wine style, but there is just something a little different about a Valvin Muscat grape. We have found this particular grape’s flavor is best when picked at high pH. Which is why we had to pick this year’s crop, a whole 2.5 tons, before lunchtime today.

Ross, harvesting the Valvin Muscat

Valvin Muscat 2012

Harvest season is officially on. The picking began at 7:30 a.m. and ended with an additional 2.3 tons of Pinot Grigio, another dry white grape that we found to be perfectly ripened on Monday. This year we’re working with about a half-acre of mature Pinot Grigio and a half acre of four-year-old vines. Our vineyard staff found no rot whatsoever in the Valvin or Pinot crops, but did come across a few bees.

Ben and bee

We also had some visitors from WTIU who filmed some action shots in the vineyard. We think the grapes really enjoyed the attention.

Expect to see a lot more from us this fall. We’re looking forward to a fantastic vintage!

A new way to prune at Creekbend Vineyard

Post by Bernie Parker, Vineyard Manager

It has been a while since my last blog.  We have been busy in the vineyard pruning as well as helping out in production on those really nasty days.  In the vineyard we are happy to have a new piece of equipment that has been a real time saver and reduced the strain on everyone’s shoulders.  As you can see in this video it is a trailer on which the staff rides to prune the vines at about waist high instead of shoulder high.

It also gives everyone a steady pace to work at.  The crew is happy to be out of the mud and snow and we haven’t had any problems with our shoulders.  What a great addition to the vineyard!