Right now we are in the middle of the pruning season when each vine must be pruned with special attention. This is not time for hackers! To me, pruning is an art.

 It is already February and all of the Italian variety vines have been pruned except Nebbiolo. We prune the Nebbiolo last because it breaks bud and comes out early and is very susceptible to frost. Late pruning delays the bud push. 

The grape crop is behind in our area and all over the state, around 15-25 days behind schedule. A very cool spring can be blamed. Our recent weather has been on the warmer side but not enough to catch up. Our Italian grapes are progressing well. 

I love baseball. I played catcher in school and my idol was the late Yogi Berra, whose famous saying was “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” And our 2015 crop is over!