Grape Expectations

Overlook Vineyard

In 2003 , my husband dug up part of the lawn, planted grapes and started a vineyard. After much research, he planted three rows of Frontenac grapes on a high cordon trellis system, and one row of head trained vines. Our urban oasis was born. This vineyard is such a special part of our property and definitely unique to our neighborhood. Through the years I dabbled in the harvesting and other tasks, but it’s really been Edgar’s passion. The growing, the pruning, the bird netting, the crushing, the sanitizing, the bottling, the corking and labeling. It’s a lot of work year after year.

This year I am making it a priority to do more. Last Monday the grapes started veraison which means the grapes begin to ripen, turning from green to red. All birds notice, so it was definitely time to secure this year’s harvest. I rallied our visiting Florida family for an early morning bird netting session during another summer heatwave. Take a look, and a laugh and see how it worked out.

Cheers to the 2022 vintage!