A day in the Vineyard: May/June 2026 Edition

Our alarm goes off before 6am. By the time the sun is properly up, we're already in the rows.

This is the unglamorous stretch of the growing season: no harvest, no pressing, no ceremony. Just monitoring the vines and the weather (a lot of watching).

The mornings belong to the canopy.

Right now, the main job is hedging (trimming back the top and sides of the canopy), so the vine stops putting energy into leaves and starts directing it toward the fruit. It sounds simple, but the timing isn't. Too early and you trigger regrowth, but too late and you've lost light exposure on the bunches. So we walk the rows every morning and make the call day by day.

The clusters are still small and green, hard to the touch. They don't look like much yet — but everything that happens between now and September is already starting here.

Water stress is the thing we watch most.

When a vine starts curling its leaves inward, it's telling you it's working too hard. We check soil moisture, we check the canopy temperature, we look at how the shoots are moving. A vine under stress will rush its ripening. A vine that feels supported will take its time — and that patience is what builds complexity in the wine.

"The vines are carrying a good load this year. What we're focused on now is making sure they don't exhaust themselves before we even get to August."

— Romik

The days are long and physical.

Most of the hands-on work happens before noon. After that, the heat makes the rows uncomfortable and the vines don't need the disturbance. The afternoons go to record-keeping, working in the cellar, equipment, planning the next day's work.

"June is when you find out how well you prepared earlier in the season. The vines remember everything." 

— Marine

Harvest is still months away. But it starts now.

Everything we're doing in June feeds directly into what September looks like. The pruning decisions made in winter, the canopy work happening now, the weather we can't control but can respond to. It all accumulates.

We'll keep sharing updates as the season moves forward. The next chapter is veraison, when the grapes finally start to change colour and the countdown to harvest begins.

Follow along on Instagram for regular updates from the vineyard.