A sunny day and the absence of my walking partner inspired me to head out today and go on a walking tour of Sokol-Blosser Vineyard just west of Dundee. I've been wanting to get some new shots of the vineyard, and also some shots of the ancient vines next door at Eyrie Vineyards.
Sokol-Blosser is in the midst of building a new tasting room. It looks like it is going to be much larger than their current one. It will also have an underground cellar which should be a lot of fun. In the photo above you can see the solar panels which stand atop the lower vineyard. The new construction is going on just above the panels. These solar panels enjoy a striking view of the valley below.
These vines in the photo above are at Eyire and were planted in the 1960's. They are huge. It's amazing to me that these old, dry-looking stumps continue to put out new growth each year. There is a lot of activity in both vineyards. You can see the cuttings at the base of the vines. The workers are still going over the upper parts of the vineyard. There are tractors mowing down the grass in between the rows. Neither of the two vineyards use chemicals to keep weeds in check, so it ends up being a lot of hand work. I'm not sure when bud break will take place, but from the feel of today it could be soon. There is no sign of that happening anytime soon. The buds are still small, hard and compact.
I love walking in a vineyard this time of year. Everything is so green and clean. There is something so attractive about the way the vines are all lined up in an almost endless pattern. We're going to a wine club pick up tonight, so I didn't do any tasting today. Just a beautiful walk around the vineyard. Maybe we'll head up later this summer when the new tasting room is scheduled to be complete. It's days like this when I wonder why I don't do this more--get out and walk around a vineyard. I'm sure the weather has something to do with it. But it's sunny now, and those solar panels are churning out electricity without putting any CO2 in the atmosphere. And that it is a beautiful thing.
