COVERING THE PLANTS

I'm sitting here behind the desk in the tasting room on the coldest day of the year so far. I was planning on staying home today, wrapped up in a blanket doing work in the comfort of our living room. However, I couldn't shake the feeling of needing to check on our century old succulents and newer greenery here this morning. I covered the plants before I left last night. 

Covering the plants has been a part of my winter life for more years that I can remember. It was often a mad scramble after dinner while growing up in Texas as a kid on a sudden freezing night. In my adult years and becoming responsible for a yard and (if I was lucky) garden, covering the plants became a sense of pride and nurturing. I do come from a family of green-thumbs, so maybe it's just in my blood. 

Covering the plants around your house is similar to frost-fans and sprinklers going off in the vineyards in the middle of night and in the early hours around sunrise. Protecting the vines from frost is crucial as bud-break begins, flowering stages and while clusters develop. A nervous time for all vintners and farmers. We've had a warm and sunny start to 2022. We anxiously await for this cold-spell to move along because buds are pushing and we've seen areas of bud-break already too. Rain is expected soon (paws crossed) and we'll take all Mother Nature can pour down for us here in NorCal. 

Now off to cover the plants again before I head home and crawl under that warm comfy blanket. A glass of 2017 Smith Story Cabernet Sauvignon awaits! 

 - Ali Story