The Buds are Breaking - it must be Spring!

 We love this weather, it's great for running in the vineyard -- and the new buds are sooo cute!

Finally, bud break arrived! Not that it's late, mind you -- this year everything is right on time. Bud break came in mid March, and fortunately we had finished pruning as scheduled, by late February. Then we had some heavy rains, as much as 3.5 inches, but they only lasted a week in early April. Ever since, the weather has been quite beautiful -- now we only want it to last until flowering, which should happen in early May. The timely rains have added up to slightly more than last year's total rainfall to date, which is still below average for our region -- but not bad.  We are intent on not letting gophers invade our vineyards this year; using traps, we have caught about 200 at the Doña Margarita Vineyard and more than 100 at the Don Miguel. Yaay!  Our only regret is, WE  haven't been able to catch a SINGLE one. But we keep trying!

A young bud of Tempranillo, looking very healthy!	The Chardonnay shoots are fruitful, with two clusters. Many have wings, promising good sized bunches