Once the arduous task of pruning has been completed, and the weight and strain is finally relieved from the wires that support the vines, we can begin the repairs. Every winter there are not only broken wires, but sometimes even the granite posts themselves succumb to the strain of carrying the huge weight of the canopy. Of course replacing a wire or a post is not quite as simple as it might sound, and indeed, when new vineyards are constructed the work is nearly always carried out by a specialist known as an ‘alambrador’ (a ‘wire man’).

The biggest difficulty is keeping the tension in the wire itself. Clearly it needs to be both strong and taught as it is stretched between the posts, and this is no easy task. We are quite lucky that our own guys have enough experience to carry out the majority of repairs themselves, which happily saves us just a few pennies. 

In today’s photo we are carrying out a repair in our ‘Pazo’ vineyard where you will not only notice the special tools that are needed, but also the substantial size of the old vines that these wires have to support.

Once the arduous task of pruning has been completed, and the weight and strain is finally relieved from the wires that support the vines, we can begin the repairs. Every winter there are not only broken wires, but sometimes even the granite posts themselves succumb to the strain of carrying the huge weight of the canopy. Of course replacing a wire or a post is not quite as simple as it might sound, and indeed, when new vineyards are constructed the work is nearly always carried out by a specialist known as an ‘alambrador’ (a ‘wire man’).

The biggest difficulty is keeping the tension in the wire itself. Clearly it needs to be both strong and taught as it is stretched between the posts, and this is no easy task. We are quite lucky that our own guys have enough experience to carry out the majority of repairs themselves, which happily saves us just a few pennies. 

In today’s photo we are carrying out a repair in our ‘Pazo’ vineyard where you will not only notice the special tools that are needed, but also the substantial size of the old vines that these wires have to support.

Yesterday I decided that I would make a new post about progress in our vineyards, or should I say, the lack of it. My intention was to nip out into the vineyard that surrounds the bodega and snap a few photos of the vines slowly springing to life. Only one problem – it did not stop raining all day, not even for one second, and so my photography mission had to be postponed until today.

From this morning’s photo you will see that there is actually very little growth so far – the buds have only just started to break, as the cycle towards the 2013 harvest begins. In some vintages we might already see a few small leaves by this date, and so I think it would be fair to say that we could be perhaps a week or two behind schedule. Of course this protracted winter weather is not such a bad thing (except in our home where the central heating was out of commission for a while!), indeed it gives the plants longer to recover from their summer exertions, not to mention that it also kills off a few of the unwanted vineyard bugs.

There has certainly been no shortage of water this winter as the rain continues to fall, and we have seen precious little sunshine at all. The temperatures during March have continued to hover in the range between 10°-15°C (50°-60°F), and it is looking like our Easter holidays will be decidedly chilly. 

Yesterday I decided that I would make a new post about progress in our vineyards, or should I say, the lack of it. My intention was to nip out into the vineyard that surrounds the bodega and snap a few photos of the vines slowly springing to life. Only one problem – it did not stop raining all day, not even for one second, and so my photography mission had to be postponed until today.

From this morning’s photo you will see that there is actually very little growth so far – the buds have only just started to break, as the cycle towards the 2013 harvest begins. In some vintages we might already see a few small leaves by this date, and so I think it would be fair to say that we could be perhaps a week or two behind schedule. Of course this protracted winter weather is not such a bad thing (except in our home where the central heating was out of commission for a while!), indeed it gives the plants longer to recover from their summer exertions, not to mention that it also kills off a few of the unwanted vineyard bugs.

There has certainly been no shortage of water this winter as the rain continues to fall, and we have seen precious little sunshine at all. The temperatures during March have continued to hover in the range between 10°-15°C (50°-60°F), and it is looking like our Easter holidays will be decidedly chilly.

Yesterday I decided that I would make a new post about progress in our vineyards, or should I say, the lack of it. My intention was to nip out into the vineyard that surrounds the bodega and snap a few photos of the vines slowly springing to life. Only one problem – it did not stop raining all day, not even for one second, and so my photography mission had to be postponed until today.

From this morning’s photo you will see that there is actually very little growth so far – the buds have only just started to break, as the cycle towards the 2013 harvest begins. In some vintages we might already see a few small leaves by this date, and so I think it would be fair to say that we could be perhaps a week or two behind schedule. Of course this protracted winter weather is not such a bad thing (except in our home where the central heating was out of commission for a while!), indeed it gives the plants longer to recover from their summer exertions, not to mention that it also kills off a few of the unwanted vineyard bugs.

There has certainly been no shortage of water this winter as the rain continues to fall, and we have seen precious little sunshine at all. The temperatures during March have continued to hover in the range between 10°-15°C (50°-60°F), and it is looking like our Easter holidays will be decidedly chilly. 

Yesterday I decided that I would make a new post about progress in our vineyards, or should I say, the lack of it. My intention was to nip out into the vineyard that surrounds the bodega and snap a few photos of the vines slowly springing to life. Only one problem – it did not stop raining all day, not even for one second, and so my photography mission had to be postponed until today.

From this morning’s photo you will see that there is actually very little growth so far – the buds have only just started to break, as the cycle towards the 2013 harvest begins. In some vintages we might already see a few small leaves by this date, and so I think it would be fair to say that we could be perhaps a week or two behind schedule. Of course this protracted winter weather is not such a bad thing (except in our home where the central heating was out of commission for a while!), indeed it gives the plants longer to recover from their summer exertions, not to mention that it also kills off a few of the unwanted vineyard bugs.

There has certainly been no shortage of water this winter as the rain continues to fall, and we have seen precious little sunshine at all. The temperatures during March have continued to hover in the range between 10°-15°C (50°-60°F), and it is looking like our Easter holidays will be decidedly chilly.

You could be forgiven for thinking that at this time of year a vineyard trim would refer to the pruning of our vines – but not so. Today I am referring to the other trimming that has just taken place. Our family of sheep have just had their hair cut (or should that be fleece?) As you may know we make a big effort to be as Eco-friendly as possible in our vineyards and whilst we do not qualify for the full bio-dynamic certification, we still take as many steps as possible to minimise the level of intervention that is required. For example, we allow the grass to grow between our vines, which, under normal circumstances would require regular cutting by tractor. By putting sheep in our vineyards they can happily graze under the pergolas, not only keeping the grass down, but also providing a bit of natural fertiliser at the same time. Indeed the use of pergolas in our region probably evolved in order to accommodate this practice, as the poor local farmers (who lived from hand to mouth), could maximise the use of their small plots of land – growing crops and grazing cattle at the same time. Or at least that is one of the theories…. Naturally, when we plant new vines, we have to take steps to protect the young plants, as our sheep will quite naturally eat anything that’s green.

So, in today’s picture, you can see Galicia’s version of sheep shearing – not the tanned, muscle-bound, sweat-dripping, bare-chested young men wrestling on the ground as they do in the Hollywood films, but instead two men in blue overalls, wellies and rubber gloves, pinning the sheep to a table, with not a single chest hair in sight. Perhaps not quite as romantic, but effective nonetheless!

You could be forgiven for thinking that at this time of year a vineyard trim would refer to the pruning of our vines – but not so. Today I am referring to the other trimming that has just taken place. Our family of sheep have just had their hair cut (or should that be fleece?) As you may know we make a big effort to be as Eco-friendly as possible in our vineyards and whilst we do not qualify for the full bio-dynamic certification, we still take as many steps as possible to minimise the level of intervention that is required. For example, we allow the grass to grow between our vines, which, under normal circumstances would require regular cutting by tractor. By putting sheep in our vineyards they can happily graze under the pergolas, not only keeping the grass down, but also providing a bit of natural fertiliser at the same time. Indeed the use of pergolas in our region probably evolved in order to accommodate this practice, as the poor local farmers (who lived from hand to mouth), could maximise the use of their small plots of land – growing crops and grazing cattle at the same time. Or at least that is one of the theories…. Naturally, when we plant new vines, we have to take steps to protect the young plants, as our sheep will quite naturally eat anything that’s green.

So, in today’s picture, you can see Galicia’s version of sheep shearing – not the tanned, muscle-bound, sweat-dripping, bare-chested young men wrestling on the ground as they do in the Hollywood films, but instead two men in blue overalls, wellies and rubber gloves, pinning the sheep to a table, with not a single chest hair in sight. Perhaps not quite as romantic, but effective nonetheless!

As I left home this morning the outside temperature was only 4°C (just under 40°F), and on the horizon I could not believe what I saw……. snow covered hillsides – in the middle of March! Unfortunately I was on a motorway at the time, otherwise I would have stopped to take a photo, so therefore you will just have to take my word for it. I could of course have made something up using Photoshop – perhaps a beautiful shot of Angela making a snowman in front of the bodega, but that would be missing the point. The real story is that it’s been a long, cold and wet winter, so far (and maybe it’s not over yet).

The good news is that out in the vineyard the pruning is finished and we are currently working on attaching the vines to the wires. Fortunately we now have small hand-held machines for doing this, so the whole process is speeded up considerably. Previously every single attachment had to be tied in a knot by hand! As soon as we have a period of dry weather we can start to burn the mountains of cuttings that have accumulated in the corner of each vineyard. Of course by burning the cuttings we reduce the possible spread of any fungus spores.

Significantly there is no new growth on the vines as yet. In some vintages we have had buds, shoots and even leaves on the plants by this time, but as I write this entry everything still lies dormant, which is actually no bad thing.

As I left home this morning the outside temperature was only 4°C (just under 40°F), and on the horizon I could not believe what I saw……. snow covered hillsides – in the middle of March! Unfortunately I was on a motorway at the time, otherwise I would have stopped to take a photo, so therefore you will just have to take my word for it. I could of course have made something up using Photoshop – perhaps a beautiful shot of Angela making a snowman in front of the bodega, but that would be missing the point. The real story is that it’s been a long, cold and wet winter, so far (and maybe it’s not over yet).

The good news is that out in the vineyard the pruning is finished and we are currently working on attaching the vines to the wires. Fortunately we now have small hand-held machines for doing this, so the whole process is speeded up considerably. Previously every single attachment had to be tied in a knot by hand! As soon as we have a period of dry weather we can start to burn the mountains of cuttings that have accumulated in the corner of each vineyard. Of course by burning the cuttings we reduce the possible spread of any fungus spores.

Significantly there is no new growth on the vines as yet. In some vintages we have had buds, shoots and even leaves on the plants by this time, but as I write this entry everything still lies dormant, which is actually no bad thing.

The skies outside our Bodega are leaden with rain, the temperature hovering between 8 and 12°C (45-55°F), with hardly any variation between day and night. The damp, cold weather penetrates through to the bone – the worst possible weather to be out in the vineyards pruning. At this time of year there is not a lot of activity in the bodega itself, apart from  in the office where Luisa is busy with our year-end accounts! The only other development worthy of note is the continued maturation of the 2012 wines as they sit quietly on their lees, waiting to be racked in the spring. (We do, of course, have to make regular tastings to ensure that all is well, and that no ‘off flavours’ are developing).

All the ‘action’ is really outdoors, the unenviable job of pruning our 11 hectares. I say unenviable simply because the weather is so awful at the moment – perhaps the typical Galician winter, but pretty grim nonetheless. There has been a lot of rain so far this winter, and the ground is completely sodden, some vineyards (not ours) are actually under water as there is simply nowhere for the water to escape. There have been very few sunny days, in fact, it has been quite rare to see the sun at all and so there is really nothing to warm things up.

I suppose we shouldn’t complain as, yet again, we witness forest fires raging in Australia, and other parts of Europe that have stumbled to a halt under a blanket of snow. Roll on the Spring…. please!

The skies outside our Bodega are leaden with rain, the temperature hovering between 8 and 12°C (45-55°F), with hardly any variation between day and night. The damp, cold weather penetrates through to the bone – the worst possible weather to be out in the vineyards pruning. At this time of year there is not a lot of activity in the bodega itself, apart from  in the office where Luisa is busy with our year-end accounts! The only other development worthy of note is the continued maturation of the 2012 wines as they sit quietly on their lees, waiting to be racked in the spring. (We do, of course, have to make regular tastings to ensure that all is well, and that no ‘off flavours’ are developing).

All the ‘action’ is really outdoors, the unenviable job of pruning our 11 hectares. I say unenviable simply because the weather is so awful at the moment – perhaps the typical Galician winter, but pretty grim nonetheless. There has been a lot of rain so far this winter, and the ground is completely sodden, some vineyards (not ours) are actually under water as there is simply nowhere for the water to escape. There have been very few sunny days, in fact, it has been quite rare to see the sun at all and so there is really nothing to warm things up.

I suppose we shouldn’t complain as, yet again, we witness forest fires raging in Australia, and other parts of Europe that have stumbled to a halt under a blanket of snow. Roll on the Spring…. please!

The first frosts of winter are always warmly welcomed by us, but perhaps not so much by our vineyard guys. The reason? Well, this type of weather usually signals the start of the pruning season! Despite my my current excuse of having back problems, this is not a job that I really envy at any time of year. It’s a punishing chore, not only for the back, but also for the neck, the shoulders and the arms, made worse of course by our pergola system of vine training…. don’t forget this is all overhead work.

Perhaps on a crisp, dry, sunny day it’s not such a bad thing being out in the fresh air, as long as you’re wrapped up warm, but imagine how unpleasant it can be in a typical Galician winter with the rain beating down in your face (not to mention running up your sleeves as you reach up to prune).

I suppose the only good thing is that the first frost has come much earlier than it did last year – last winter we did not see any before January, and so the start of pruning was delayed until the very end of the year. At least by starting a bit earlier this winter it will take some of the pressure off, but it’s still a job that will take months to complete. Of course pruning is not just the physical act of cutting the vines, once this is done the shoots then have to be ‘trained’ and tied to the wires. Thank goodness we now have machines that doing the tying – remember that it was only a few short years ago when this task was done using short lengths of cord and every knot had to be tied by hand.

The first frosts of winter are always warmly welcomed by us, but perhaps not so much by our vineyard guys. The reason? Well, this type of weather usually signals the start of the pruning season! Despite my my current excuse of having back problems, this is not a job that I really envy at any time of year. It’s a punishing chore, not only for the back, but also for the neck, the shoulders and the arms, made worse of course by our pergola system of vine training…. don’t forget this is all overhead work.

Perhaps on a crisp, dry, sunny day it’s not such a bad thing being out in the fresh air, as long as you’re wrapped up warm, but imagine how unpleasant it can be in a typical Galician winter with the rain beating down in your face (not to mention running up your sleeves as you reach up to prune).

I suppose the only good thing is that the first frost has come much earlier than it did last year – last winter we did not see any before January, and so the start of pruning was delayed until the very end of the year. At least by starting a bit earlier this winter it will take some of the pressure off, but it’s still a job that will take months to complete. Of course pruning is not just the physical act of cutting the vines, once this is done the shoots then have to be ‘trained’ and tied to the wires. Thank goodness we now have machines that doing the tying – remember that it was only a few short years ago when this task was done using short lengths of cord and every knot had to be tied by hand.

It’s quite amazing to think that in only a few week time we will have the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice – it doesn’t seem that long ago that the days were grey and cold. Oh, just a minute, that was only a week or two ago!

In our vineyards it seems that most of the flowering is just about complete, and whilst the weather was not totally perfect (with a couple of damp, grey days thrown in), it looks like it has passed off quite successfully. Certainly the number of bunches per vine is well down on last year, but of course, as 2011 was by far the biggest vintage ever recorded, this is only to be expected.

So, today starts a slight change in our daily routine as our Bodega moves from the winter timetable to the summer timetable. We are already quite different from many other businesses in Spain as our working day is not split in two by a long lunch break, and so today we will be working from 8am until 4pm. (In winter we work a simple 9am to 5pm). This gives us more time for the beach!

Although I am only joking about that last remark, I did notice a road sign the other day, giving directions to Praia do Caeiro (Praia means beach in Galician), but I should emphasise that there is absolutely  no connection between this beach and one of our main wine brands Casal Caeiro. Indeed, Caeiro is just a place name, and in this instance the place, or should I say beach, is actually several kilometers from our wine cellar. (Although I must say that having a business on the beach is an attractive idea – we could sell albariño ice lollies).

It’s quite amazing to think that in only a few week time we will have the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice – it doesn’t seem that long ago that the days were grey and cold. Oh, just a minute, that was only a week or two ago!

In our vineyards it seems that most of the flowering is just about complete, and whilst the weather was not totally perfect (with a couple of damp, grey days thrown in), it looks like it has passed off quite successfully. Certainly the number of bunches per vine is well down on last year, but of course, as 2011 was by far the biggest vintage ever recorded, this is only to be expected.

So, today starts a slight change in our daily routine as our Bodega moves from the winter timetable to the summer timetable. We are already quite different from many other businesses in Spain as our working day is not split in two by a long lunch break, and so today we will be working from 8am until 4pm. (In winter we work a simple 9am to 5pm). This gives us more time for the beach!

Although I am only joking about that last remark, I did notice a road sign the other day, giving directions to Praia do Caeiro (Praia means beach in Galician), but I should emphasise that there is absolutely  no connection between this beach and one of our main wine brands Casal Caeiro. Indeed, Caeiro is just a place name, and in this instance the place, or should I say beach, is actually several kilometers from our wine cellar. (Although I must say that having a business on the beach is an attractive idea – we could sell albariño ice lollies).