March Winery and Vineyard Update

I hope this email finds you all well. I am writing to give a brief update on the current state of affairs at Capstone. 

We are busily pruning and tying down canes in the vineyard as the season is “heating up” quickly. Dogwoods, Magnolias and Cherry blossoms are blooming early - vines will follow suit. The dormant buds are protected by a thick outer wall during winter, and as sap begins to flow, they take on a tiny cotton ball appearance and buds start to swell, this is the stage we’re at now. 

Spring is increasingly a pretty stressful time in the vineyard until Mother’s Day when we hope to be out of the frost window. We typically see bud break around the 3rd week of April, although it seems to be occurring earlier each year. Once there is green tissue exposed any temperatures below ~29F would kill that new shoot and any potential fruit. 

We have preventative measures such as wind machines, giant heaters, helicopters, large fires, beef tallow candles (little in row fires), and nutrient sprays but none of these are a sure bet - just acts of desperation by a farmer trying to save the crop.

On a lighter note, we started tasting room renovations this past week. Things are progressing nicely and we’re very excited to be able to show you all the new digs, which will be the weekend of March 22nd. We are hoping to be finished with the renovations but may still be short a couple pieces of furniture. 

I am patiently waiting on our branded corks so I can have a handful of white wines bottled by Spring. We are doing away with capsules on our wines because they are a poor use of resources and serve no real purpose other than aesthetics. However, if you make that move the cork better look damn good. Hence waiting to bottle until the nice cork is in at the end of the month. 

Looking forward to seeing you all and thank you for your patience as we begin to hit our stride. 

Cheers,
Theo