Every growing season imparts a unique experience on the journey from bud break to harvest. Consider our Tradition Sauvignon Blanc for 2008 and 2009, each spaced apart by a single year, and yet, each yield an experience uniquely their own.
For 2009, we increased the irrigation in Kick Ranch while maintaining the same pruning as in 2008. [...]
With 4 inches of rain measured on the ranch in 36 hours, I joked with Dave and Denis that perhaps we didn’t need to irrigate this week. In fact, as the sun dried everything up this morning, we were relieved that the early season storm that hit the entire Bay Area Tuesday and Wednesday left [...]
When it comes to Sonoma County, Fall must wait it’s turn. For a while there, the weather had been particularly heated with several days mounting over 100 degrees. However, this great heat was not without its great rewards. As temperatures shot up, so did the sugar levels among all of the red grapes still maturing [...]
It’s easy to fall in love with the routine of vineyard life.
Know the familiar faces which appear around the dinner table after an honest day’s work, or, the enchanting sights caused by the setting sun, and you’ll begin to understand why routine is a welcomed necessity on Tin Cross Vineyards. Of course, where all those [...]
The difference between grape growth and grape ripening hinges on a french term known as véraison or, as it’s more commonly written with its acceptance into American vernacular, veraison. It is the transitional stage in which varietals such as our Cabernet Sauvignon begin taking on a their accustomed purple-blue appearance. Visually, it’s as striking as [...]
Not all grapes are created equal–even within the rows of Tin Cross Vineyards we constantly strive for balance in our clusters. Just as we only have so much time in a day, vines are limited to the amount of energy they can provide their offspring. This is the primary reason we go through fruit-thinning; like [...]
This year’s harvest arrived early for us in the way of peaches. Here, only 40 acres are planted to grape vines, but scattered among the additional 200 acres of Tin Cross Vineyards, some delicate heirloom peaches have been ripening from the ancient limbs of their progenitor. What had normally provided us solace from the sun [...]
While laying down some organic compost along a vineyard row, Max (one of our team members) asked Daniel for the purpose behind this activity. Daniel paused for the answer. Sure enough, he looked toward Max with a grin and, in so few words, he said it all, “because you only get what you give.” It’s [...]
There’s a new containment unit in town, and, among winemakers all around the world, it stacks up as the best. Due to their dandelion yellow color, the industry has affectionately coined these units as, “Friggin’ Yellow Bins” or FYBs for short. Yet, these bins are nothing short on utility–the key quality is in their size.
As [...]
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