Blue Door Vineyard’s Grapelog :: Grape-growing, winemaking & wine

Since our back-to-back late winter snowstorms, the weather in the vineyard has definitely been on a springward uptick. All of our snow has melted, the ice is off of the vineyard pond and even a nearby lake. Additionally, I heard the first spring peepers of the season Saturday evening.

Here’s a picture of a spring peeper…more information can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_peepers

Temperatures have been in the 60’s and 70’s the last couple of days. Today’s forecasted high is 74 F! Thankfully the ground is still either frozen or too cold for the grapevines to begin waking up. If they were to break bud this early, they’d be sure to get hit hard by frost. I did notice that Lilac buds seem to be swelling along with a few maples and poplars.

That’s all for now, enjoy the spring weather!

Since my last post we’ve experienced a fairly typical Minnesota March. First we were hit with another round of snow – to the tune of about 11″. This was accompanied by wind too – parts of the state had blizzard conditions. As a matter-of-fact, yours truly decided that was a good weekend for a ski trip to Lutsen on the North Shore. Needless to say, it was an interesting drive.

Since that storm hit, things have been warming up. And the snow has been rapidly disappearing. Yesterday’s high was right on about 50F. Today it’s supposed to be even warmer – closer to 60F. As much fun as the snow has been to play in, I think I like watching it melt even more. It reminds me that I *really* need to get out there and prune the grapevines!