In March of 2013, I became a Vine Mama. Yep, that’s right- I had a baby grapevine gifted to me, and my life changed for the better. While it hasn’t been easy, and there were definitely days when I thought I was crazy to even embark on this new journey, that sprawling leafy green canopy and those cheery little green-purple grape bunches smiling up at me have been totally worth it.
My baby Grenache Blanc, aka Queen Grenache Blanc, is from Tablas Creek Vineyard in California but in her heart, she is truly “une française” (a French girl). In fact, when I adopted her, I learned that she is actually descended from Château Beaucastel in France! Tablas Creek was founded in 1989 by two of the international wine community’s leading families: the Perrin family, proprietors of Château Beaucastel in the Rhône Valley in France, and the Hass family of Vineyard Brands in California. The imported cuttings from Château Beaucastel form the selection of grapevine material from which all of Tablas Creek’s wines are made. My little grapevine gets to stand proudly with this story as her heritage.
What does a grapevine look like as it grows? I’m going to take you along Queen Grenache Blanc’s journey this year. But here is a photo of her as a baby- so tiny and cute!
She’s gotten steadily taller and stronger, as little ones do, and while she lives in a large black pot on my patio and not on a rolling vineyard hill, she’s had a happy life. Her sunny South facing spot on my patio is beside the house, so she benefits from warmth on her leaves and bunches directly from the sun, and indirectly from the heat reflected off of the house and up off of the flagstone patio. Thankfully, the cold and damp which settles on the ground across from her pot does not affect her much.
Today is Valentine’s Day 2021, and this is what she looks like today:
I just pruned her last weekend when the sun was shining here in Redwood City, CA. I wanted to be a bit more diligent this year about her pruning. Last year I kept putting it off, letting buds start to form on 2019’s growth, and when I did prune back her wild arms, I did so rather harshly and probably cut back too far. Her resulting growth wasn’t as expansive as past years, with less greenery and fewer bunches than years past. So this year, I have been careful to leave 2 buds per spur in the hopes that she produces more bunches and lots of foliage this year. Stay tuned as we watch her grow!