We had bud break in our Chardonnay around the weekend of March 26-27, which is close to TWO WEEKS EARLY! It can be an exciting time of year knowing the vineyard has taken it’s first steps toward harvest. It can also be some of the most worrisome parts of the year because we will spend the month of April worrying about frosts and freezes. They are very tender and fragile at this point and Virginia is notorious for throwing curve balls at farmers during the month of April. All 4 seasons are likely to make an appearance in April. The photo is our Chardonnay which is always our first to have bud break in the vineyard.
Our Traminette, Cabernet Franc, and Barbera have now had some bud break, but aren’t as far along as the Chardonnay. All of these started about a week after the Chardonnay, but still ahead of schedule.
Our Vidal Blanc and Chambourcin have only had sporadic bud break, but on the whole wouldn’t be considered as breaking yet. Now we hold on! Mother Nature has a reputation for not listening to us or caring what we want out of the weather. We shall see what happens.
