Vineyard vines have all flowered out and are growing like crazy now! Here in Virginia, the flowers that will become grapes have now bloomed and set as tiny grapes. June is major training time to get the vines tied up on the trellis to allow for optimum light for the grapes.
Japanese beetles arrive for work in June. Over the years we have kind of made a deal with the beetles. They love eating grape leaves but leave the baby clusters alone. We hate how the leaves look with holes chewed in them but … really, that’s what leaf pulling is all about! We thin the big top leaves off of the vines to get dappled light to the clusters. Our ongoing spray program is ready to be activated to fight pests and diseases if necessary, but here at Little Washington Winery we tend to our vineyards as tenderly and organically as possible.
In the winery June is time to make room for the upcoming vintage. This means bottling. We’re still bottling 2023 whites this month. We’re also blending & bottling the 2020 “George”. 2020 is tasting like a fantastic vintage!
Oh - We’re getting hayed - it’s beautiful out here - come play @ littlewashingtonwinery.com/events
