Elise Prudhomme, Three Feathers partner, lives overseas in France with her family of three young adult sons, to whom she transmitted her culinary passion at an early age. In a world where how and what to eat is an increasing concern, not to mention balancing a student budget and eating healthy, Elise is thrilled to share some of her sons’ … Read More
Carrot Cake, Parma-style
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
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
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
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
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
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