Off to the Races! Our Pinot Noir grapes are popping out of their buds ten days after showing a “baby bump” on April 15. This is called Bud Break and is the start of a grape’s annual growth cycle in the spring. Vineyard owners use bud break to calculate the harvesting date; the average number of days from bud break … Read More
Celebrating the Circle of Vineyard Life | Holiday Baked Brie
Celebrating the Circle of Vineyard Life What an eventful year it has been! Starting with a few weeks of planning in January we pruned vines the first week of February. In March and April we prepped the soil and the aisles and started preventative spraying. The vines broke their dormancy the first week of May and after that it was … Read More
Bringing in the 2018 Harvest
Bringing in the 2018 Harvest Choosing the best moment to harvest grapes is a delicate matter. We spent three weeks in the vineyard, three hours a day, trimming leaves away from the fruit and thinning clusters that seem to be lagging behind. We checked the sugar content (Brix) every few days to see if the fruit was at the perfect … Read More
So, where are you located exactly?
The Big Picture “So, where are you located exactly?” is a FAQ at Three Feathers Estate & Vineyard. During travels within Oregon, out-of-state and overseas, we are amazed at how many people recognize the Willamette Valley as a Pinot Noir wine producing region. Some even recognize “Willamette Valley” before they mentally locate the State of Oregon! Explaining what an AVA … Read More
Veraison Diary
50 Shades of Purple Véraison is a French word describing the process of ripening in grapes. After the plants bloom, they go through a two month long period of maturation during which the plants, essentially climbing vines, put on tremendous growth of the shoots and tendrils. Just when you are exhausted from trimming, hedging and trying to keep the vines … Read More
2018 Vineyard Grower’s Update
2018 Vineyard Grower’s Update The 2018 season in the vineyard began with pruning in early February. The winter was cool and dry punctuated with rainy periods, but not characteristically wet. Even spring was not very wet despite lingering cool temps and Bud Break was a month later than last year, on May 2. Once the plants started growing it was … Read More
One New Year, two Full Moons and a Liver Pâté Recipe
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below… – Twas the Night Before Christmas, by Clement Moore Celebrating the New Year and two Full Moons… We all know the poem. In this case it was not Christmas Eve and there was no snow in Oregon. It is midnight on … Read More
2017 Grape Harvest
Three Feathers Estate 2017 Grape Harvest The year in the vineyard has come to a close. The grapes are picked, sorted, de-stemmed and nestled in their vats at Lady Hill Winery where they are on the road to becoming the 2017 Vintage Three Feathers Pinot Noir. It has been a year of difficult decisions and challenges, but in many ways … Read More
Smuggled!
Smuggled! My adventure began on Saturday August 12 when I and my eleven case companions were taken from our distinguished labeled carton and stuffed into smelly suitcases full of human laundry. What was happening? Were we being bottle-napped? After some bouncing and jostling and many hours of silence I felt a strange sensation of lightness, very cold and noisy. I … Read More
Lines on the Vines
2017 Vineyard Season Update We have been frantically busy since our last post about the vineyard at bud break in May. I analogize the season in the vineyard to a horse race with us in a race to keep up with the pace of the vines as they grow. There’s weeding and mowing, fertilizing and disease control and the perpetual … Read More