Parma-style Carrot Cake by Giada De Laurentiis This fabulously subtle and unique Carrot Cake, Parma-style recipe by Giada De Laurentiis, makes repeat performances in our family ever since we discovered it on the Food Network. Lightly sweet, not too spicy, well-balanced and zingy with a touch of fennel and lemon zest, this carrot cake can be eaten for breakfast, lunch … Read More
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
Winter arrives, finally We’ve been experiencing a mild winter this year with temperatures rarely below freezing and despite the weather reports, rainfall seemed pretty normal. We were all beginning to think that we would not be getting any cold weather and many vineyards, including ours, chose to prune vines a little earlier than normal. Last week, however, temperatures took a … 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
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
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
Hay Harvesting on Three Feathers Estate
Three Feathers Estate 2017 Hay Harvest The day the Prudhomme boys landed in Portland from France, Three Feathers hay was ready to harvest. We drove the French contingent right to Wilco to buy double-reinforced leather gloves and it was off to work. In three days, Big Blue and Baby Blue (our two New Holland tractors) cut and raked and win-rowed … Read More
Living with the Wildlife
Living with the Wildlife Our Ford F-150 gets a lot of use during the growing season, but when it is idle, it is parked in a dry spot by our goat barn. Last summer we noticed an odor inside the cab; a faint odor of manure. We checked our shoes, nothing. As the odor persisted we looked further, under and … Read More
God Speed The Plough
Let the Wealthy and Great Roll in Splendor and State, I envy them not, I declare it. I eat my own Lamb My own Chickens and Ham I shear my own Fleece and I wear it. I have Lawns, I have Bowers I have Fruits, I have Flowers The Lark is my morning alarmer, So Jolly Boys now Here’s God … Read More
New Buds on Pinot Noir Grapevines
New Buds We go out frequently to see if the vines are coming to life. Today I could detect the tiniest little swelling on a new bud. We have had a record breaking winter of ice, snow, rain and mud with many slides in the valley. With the coming of spring it has warmed a bit and we have had … Read More