Yesterday we had a big storm with high winds and a big chill -- temps hovering around 0C at night. Today, we had a calm moody day with dramatic skies and warm drizzle. What a contrast.
I walked up to the vineyard after finishing work in the polytunnel thinking the vines might be dormant. I noticed that the Rondo had dropped all its leaves, the Solaris dropped most of its leaves, but the Chardonnay, Pinto Noir and Albarino were still holding onto the leaves. Strange. I guess the shorter season grapes also have shorter season vines. And whereas the Rondo leaves had turned red first, all the others turned golden yellow, even the Pinto Noir. Not yet time for pruning.
Well, it's almost the end of the month and we've increased our rainfall total to somewhat normal but are still way high on temperature average even with several days of bitter cold. In a couple of days, I'll report the final numbers.
Meanwhile, the Omicron variant that was detected in SA has taken off and travel restrictions are being instituted again. Looks like we'll be staying home for the holidays yet again. Glad to have our land.
