Notes
Find out the latest on what’s happening in the vineyard, from our grapes to the bottling of our wine.
Mildew
It happens every year, and it is one of the most painful discoveries of all. In spite of our herculean efforts to open up the canopy of the grapevines and maintain a sanitary growing environment, we have discovered a few
Canopy Work
As the Solstice approaches, in the vineyard we have turned our attention to what I like to call “Canopy Work.” That is to say, the process by which the unruly chaos that governs a totally untended vineyard is neatly guided
Suckering
Now that we’re a few weeks to a month into the growing season, I’ve begun to turn my attention to the process of shoot thinning. The tender young shoots are beginning to harden off some and are ready to be
Mechanical Weeding
With the rainy season drawing to a close and the fear erosion beginning to subside, we have turned our attention to weed control in the vineyard. Generally speaking, in an organically farmed vineyard, weeds will always be the most irksome
Extended Barrel Aging
The Sunstone Estate has a tendency to make very concentrated and, at times, extremely tannic wines. To help mitigate this tendency we occasionally employ the technique in the winery of extended barrel aging.
Bud Burst
Welcome to the Sunstone Vineyards & Winery Winemaker’s Blog. In search for a topic for my first entry, I decided to look to the beginning of the growing season and to bud break as a source of material. The first