The 2022 season proved to be a whirlwind of activity! With the generous help of friends and family, we rallied to plant the baby vines throughout May. Alongside a couple of part-time helpers recruited through Indeed, two wonderful friends graciously offered the assistance of their young adult sons and their friends, who dove into the vineyard work with enthusiasm, even helping install our 10-foot-high fence to ward off those pesky deer.

 

Come August, we tackled the installation of a drip irrigation system—a forward-thinking move aimed at nourishing the vines in the years to come. While our region typically receives a healthy 35 inches of precipitation annually, the young vines require a bit more TLC, especially during dry spells. In fact, we encountered two weather events that underscored the necessity for manual watering before the drip system was in place. It was a labor of love, marked by sweat, tears, and the occasional skipped meal, all driven by a burning desire to see this audacious dream through to fruition.