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| Dogwood in Bloom 4/12/2013 |
The long winter of 2013 is now history (we hope!) While we do not yet have budbreak in the vineyard this twelfth day of April, we are at last seeing some signs of spring in the dogwoods and redbuds that fill this beautiful mountainside at Ankida. Budbreak in the vineyard is a full month later at least than last year, which was abnormally warm in contrast to this year's weather. The woodland surrounding the winery is finally bursting open its buds and blossoms, thanks to a very warm stretch of temperatures this past week and also to the 1.5 inches of rain we got last night. The image below shows the contrast between the seasons of 2012 and 2013. I am happy to say that our view is now looking closer to the top image of last year than the bottom one taken just a couple of weeks ago.
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| Mar 27, 2012 |
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| Mar 27, 2013 |
In the vineyard, the vines are all pruned and waiting to begin the 2013 vintage. In the winery, we are preparing for a May bottling of the Chardonnay. In the tasting room, we are preparing for our first annual grand spring event, "Celebrate Budbreak!" this Sunday. We are busy arranging the main floor and the cellar/crush pad to be able to accomodate the sold out event of over 100 people that have signed up to come! Yikes! It will be a crowd for sure, but a great one with many wine club members, old friends and many new folks we are looking forward to meeting. The live music, the hayrides up to the vineyard, the wine and most importantly the wonderful friends of Ankida are going to make it one very special afternoon!
We were excited to read that we were included in an article in this week's Washington Post,
"10 Mid-Atlantic Wineries Worth Exploring," by Dave McIntyre! Dave is a champion of local wine and as one of the "wee wineries" of Virginia, we are forever grateful for his tireless efforts to promote the unique and those wineries around the country that express their region. Cheers to Mr. McIntyre and the
Drink Local Wine movement!
We are looking forward to seeing many of you this Sunday. Our next "Seasons at Ankida" event will be "Veraison in the Vineyard" in July. Check our
events page regularly for updates!
Watch for upcoming pix of BUDBREAK!!... coming soon to a vineyard near you!
Cheers!
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| The last of the winter pruning |
