Spring on the Hill
Spring on Stemilt Hill is full of life. Wine bottling on the hill and wine releases in the shop - never a dull moment. We look forward to new products and sharing them with you!
The greater Wenatchee valley bustles with life this time of year! Downtown Wenatchee hosts all sorts of Apple Blossom festivities - the carnival, the food court, and the parades. Waking up from their long slumber, the hills boast beauty and color with green grass, apple blossoms, dogwoods, balsamroot, and lupine.
Up on Stemilt Hill cherry blossoms burst forth. Diligently at work, the bees buzz to and fro from bud to bud. Grapes have yet to bud like the cherries and apples due to our early, yet lingering, winter, but green leaves pop up on the stretching, growing vines. The roots, too, work hard to bring nutrients to the branches.
Though the vineyard looks empty, vine clippings covering the earthen floor prove that no hands sit idle on the hill. The winemaker has much to oversee this time of year: pruning and shaping the vines, rotating and topping off barreled wines and ciders as they age, keeping a watchful eye out for the right time to cover the current vine’s roots with nourishing compost, bottling the sip-ready wines and ciders from seasons past, and delivering these beautiful bottles to our tasting room.
Before we know it, grapes will grace the vines. Until then, we can enjoy the first fruits and labor of last year. Liveliness on and off the hill makes for an exciting time of year for both the vintner and the sipper!
Post by Madison Nicole