We are in the midst of March Madness here at Trueheart, which means that while we are in the midst of watching college basketball games around the clock (go Badgers!), all the plants outside are bursting with buds and new life. Well, except the vines. Petite Sirah is a late bloomer, literally.  Other varietals are budding like crazy right now, and ours probably won’t for several weeks. This means that we are less susceptible to late spring frosts, but then because we harvest later in the season than other varietals, we are a bit more vulnerable to early fall rains.  Well – all that is a long way off.  Right now, we thought we’d share a few photos.

Our bees love the blooming rosemary, and the wisteria is already peeking out.

The chickens love the moist, soft earth, as they are miniature (Bantams), and need all the help they can get to scratch around in the vineyard to find bugs to eat.  That’s Hazel, the last of our four original chickens. She is probably somewhere between 10 – 12 years old, and a huge character.

More soon, I’m off to photograph the wine tasting of our Trueheart Vineyard Petite Sirah ’09 we are doing at V Wine Cellar in Yountville this afternoon!