At First Crush, we give you the opportunity experience this exiting time.  Not only do you get to find out why pruning is important and how it’s done, you actually get the opportunity to roll your sleeves up, gets your hand dirty and actually do it. You also get to enjoy the beauty of being in the vineyard and the opportunity to taste our great wines.

To some wine lovers, pruning may not sound very sexy and exciting, but it really is fun, interesting and fundamental to understanding how premium wine grapes are produced.  For example, to prune a vine properly – whether training a youngster or maintaining mature one – it’s necessary to understand how grapevines grow. Otherwise, you can create an unruly mess and jeopardize fruit quality. How the vine is pruned depends on the training system, your quality goals and the vineyard’s terroir.

If you’d like to learn more, join us on February 26 @ 2:00 p.m. for our February Berry to Bottle University winemaking workshop, Pruning and Palate Building.  You’ll learn the how’s and why’s of pruning with viticulturist Lowell Zelinski. He’ll then take you into the vineyard, show you how it’s done and give you a chance to do it. In the winery, we’re gearing up for our spring blending program so I’m going to help you get your palates in shape. This doesn’t involve weights or aerobics. It’s an opportunity to learn how to taste for acidity, astringency, sweetness, balance and varietal components.

Our First Crush Berry to Bottle University is a fun way to get a taste of wine making. Each month the classes cover a different enology (winemaking) and viticulture (grape growing) topic. The topics mirror what’s actually taking place in the vineyard and winery and give wine-loving consumers like you an opportunity to go beyond the tasting room, and get an experience you will not find anywhere else.

For more information or to register, call (805) 434-2772 or CLICK HERE