Our current task is planting new vines.  We had a row (only 25 plants per row) of Pinot Noir, and a row of Pinot Gris.  They were originally planted in 2006, and there were 5 different rootstock/scion combinations from which we've learned which rootstocks work best for us.  However, 25 plants is nowhere near enough to make a commercial quantity of wine, so beyond the learning factor, these two rows take labor resources without contributing to our production.  At the same time (2006) I planted a row of a red grape from Austria called Zwiegelt.  This grape has shown to be a notably better choice for me, with earlier ripening and a resulting wine that is more to American taste than a delicate cool-climate Pinot Noir.  Last year I also gave up on another experimental row of a white German grape called Schoenberger as it never ripened once, thus is simply too warm-climate a grape for Puget Sound.  (Not to mention the fact that I already have 4 whites, I just don't need a 5th!)  This means I now have two rows of Zw.  So I'm in the process of ripping out the PN and PG rows, and replacing them with Zw.  It'll take several years to grow a good strong plant, and another year to make the wine, so start checking back in a year or so for our first locally grown red wine!  If you're interested in coming out and working in the vineyard on one of these fantastic sunny afternoons (I'm out in a T-shirt, it's really that nice when you're working), reply to this email or if last minute call/txt 206-200-5902.

Now that we've had a good freeze, yesterday all the grape leaves suddenly turned brown and dry, the plants will go dormant.  This means we'll be able to start pruning soon, if the weather is nice like we've seen up 'til now, I'd anticipate we'll start by 2nd week Dec.  This is a job I can use all the help I can get, and if you want to learn about growing grapes, this is the most important job you can learn about.  You might wish to consider joining our pv-helpers email list to be notified of these opportunities.

We're also planning to take down some trees allowing us to expand the vineyard.  There will be plenty of work clearing brush and bucking up firewood.  Perhaps we could trade some labor for firewood...  After that we'll have to amend the soil and put in plants - this will be a big project, so again consider joining the pv-helpers email list.

Now that you've got your new iPhone 6...  Do you use the earbuds that came with it?  If you've visited the winery you've probably seen me with earbuds hanging from my shirt.  I use these when I'm working in the vineyard, working in the winery, just working at the computer - most all the time.  With this much use they always eventually fall apart - I get maybe 3 months out of a pair.  I'll give you $5 cash, or $10 off any wine purchase for your unused iPhone earbuds.  I'd be willing to bet that your old iPhone 5 box is still sitting with it's earbuds unused too...  I'll take 'em!  (Has to be iPhone - from iPhone 3 onwards - iPad, iPod, Nano won't work as they do not have the microphone.)  You can swing by the winery with them, or just drop them in a padded envelope and mail them to me and I'll send you $5 for each, plus your mailing costs.