Five years ago I concluded that my entering a seventh decade of life brought enough maturation to take on a backyard vineyard here in rural Maryland, where my saintly wife and I fled from DC after retirement. Planted 140 or so vines of Barbera, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot. This year was first harvest and wine-making.
It's all been a heckuva lot of fun for this geezer. None of this would have been possible without this forum serving as a continuing source of knowledge -- from initial days of laying things out and digging post holes to last week's problems with stupidly high pH at crush of the petit verdot. Solutions (usually multiple paths) and explanations can always be found. I have a particular appreciation for the willingness of some of the regulars (no doubt you know who you are) to chip in even on the most basic of questions and to consistently do so with a nice light touch that speaks to the many layers of enjoyment in this activity.
So I salute you guys. And hold my breath I don't have sipping vinegar next year.
It's all been a heckuva lot of fun for this geezer. None of this would have been possible without this forum serving as a continuing source of knowledge -- from initial days of laying things out and digging post holes to last week's problems with stupidly high pH at crush of the petit verdot. Solutions (usually multiple paths) and explanations can always be found. I have a particular appreciation for the willingness of some of the regulars (no doubt you know who you are) to chip in even on the most basic of questions and to consistently do so with a nice light touch that speaks to the many layers of enjoyment in this activity.
So I salute you guys. And hold my breath I don't have sipping vinegar next year.
