Vineyard Update | A Frosty finish to a promising start…

We couldn’t have asked for a better lead-up to Vintage 2025. Six months of beautiful, steady rain soaked into the soil, setting up our vines for what should’ve been a stellar start to the season. With the vines rested and recharged after a perfect dormancy over winter, we were set for an explosion of new growth to rival the lush clover and grass on the vineyard floor. We like to call this "lift-off"—though, more formally, it’s known as bud burst in the industry.

But, as is often the way in farming, the Almighty had other plans to keep us on our toes. Just when our Albariño was happily bursting to life in the first ten days of September, with beautifully even buds promising top-quality fruit, we got hit with a chilly surprise. Starting on September 18, three frosts swept through, dropping overnight temps to a brutal -3.3°C, -2°C, and finally -1°C. It wasn’t the typical calm, clear radiation frost we’re used to, either; this was a fierce polar blast that cut through with a freezing wind, freezing our tender little shoots.

Frost damage is a bit of a mystery to pin down—it can be patchy, with some areas spared while others suffer. From what we can see, our Albariño, Riesling, and some of the Shiraz that was pruned early took the biggest hit. The Cabernet, though, stayed snuggly asleep, waiting an extra three weeks to bud. Now it’s the most even burst we’ve ever seen in this block, which is a real silver lining.

In true farmer style, we’ll say, “there’s always next year.” But, truth be told, this year’s still looking pretty good, frosty challenges and all.

Cheers, Sandy.