Ah yes the pruning

Well - did I say that I went on a Vineyard Management Course at Plumpton College last September to learn all about vines? Mmmm yes and did I say I got a merit in my exam?

Well anyway, in a cold week at the beginning of February I decided it was time to put it all into practice. So I bought us some new shiny kit  - short loppers and new secateurs and off I went.

Yikes!!! This isn’t like any of the diagrams on the course! OK - so I took some photos and sent them off to my tutor for help, and headed back to YouTube for another look at the pruning guidance. My tutor's first comments were “I’d pull them all up and start again if I were you, they are all pretty derelict!” Mmm helpful I thought – but then he was helpful and gave me some suggestions.

Now if we put our yellow hats on here – we could say – woooo! we got 163 lbs of grapes off these “derelict” vines last year – what could we do if I have only half sporting chance of bringing them round a bit further? So I ploughed on and after three days the place was looking – well OK-ish.

Dave Brown, when released from his electrickery in the Barn, came and helped me bash in a few posts and tighten a few wires – and it ended up looking pretty respectable! Btw did I say I went on a training course and got a merit?

Meanwhile back at the Barn - the windows are going in thick and fast, and the boys have their first beer at the Barn bar  (to be).

 BTW did I tell you...


 So a new seasonal cycle of the vines to learn about and enjoy, and another attempt at producing wine in October. And we’ll be bottling last year's wine in the middle of April.

Hey here is a picture of my merit certificate!

On a final note: James (Steve's son) is raising money for his World Challenge. I asked him about it and he told me this....
"We will be trekking to the small community of San Vicente, Napo which is located around half an hour by vehicle from the town of Tena. Our project is to help the local community advance their water pipe line which was started back in 2010 by world challenge. Once out there we will be clearing vegetation so that we can dig a trench which we will then place 2" PVC pipe inside. By doing this we will be advancing a vital pipeline which will supply the local community with safe drinking water. This project phase spans over 5 days and will be physically challenging yet despite this, it will be amazing to have the opportunity to work with the local community in order to improve their quality of life."
 It seems that his biggest challenge in fact is raising money whilst studying hard for his GCSEs. If anyone could find a few quid to help that would be FANTASTIC!! (email me and I will send you the snailmail address to send a cheque to). Thanks! (on his behalf).