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The journey of the taste buds has begun! I dropped Kathleen and Richard off at KCI this morning where the first leg of their trip took them to Philadelphia. After 5 hours in Philly, they boarded the plane that would take them to their destination, Venice. Though as I tracked their flight up the eastern shore over Maine, the plane diverted and headed back south. Not a good sign! After watching with no small amount of anxiety as the plane returned to Philly, I learned that the plane's weather radar had failed and the pilots decided to turn around to get it fixed before crossing over the ocean. I must say, that's probably a very good plan.
After hearing from my dad and learning the nature of the 'diversion,' I'm much more relieved. Traveling is always an adventure, and the duo are taking t
he set back in stride. Though the arrival into Italy will be a little later, the plans are still set for the 14 day trip.
The first two days will be spent in Venice - the City of Water. Kathleen and Richard then head off by train to Vincenza and Verona Padua. They will then head to Florence followed by Cinque Terre, an area known as the Italian Riviera that is made up of 5 coastal towns. Of course, a visit to Pisa is on the agenda and a stop in the Tuscany region. And lastly, they will experience Rome. Stay tuned for the first entry from the traveling duo!
It's a fun time at the vineyard as we patiently (or impatiently) wait for bud break to occur. Luckily, we finished pruning our vineyard today so we are officially ready for the season to begin. Because of last year's freeze, we waited a little longer before starting to prune. While we only lost about 30 percent of our overall tonnage last year from freeze, it's enough to make a vineyard owner nervous.
Bud break is later this year than normal. Somewhere around April 15 -17 is normally bud break. As of yet, we aren't seeing a lot of bud swelling on most of the vines which tells us that bud break is still a week or more away. That said, with these 70 degree days, that could shorten a week or less. Flexibility in vineyard management is a key ingredient!
As we begin to journal the happenings at the vineyard and winery, I hope you check back often to see what's going on. Two of the owners are headed to Italy next week, and we've planned to post their experiences, likes, dislikes, and hopefully photos, here. So be sure to stop by back through to see how the trip to Italy is going.
Welcome to our blog. I thought it customary to introduce ourselves before jumping straight to the pulp of running a winery and vineyard.
Baltimore Bend Vineyard is owned by the Livingston family:
Richard Livingston
Titles: winemaker, cellarmaster, vineyard manager, dad
Kathleen Livingston
Titles: grounds and maintenance, tasting room manager, mom
Scott Livingston
Titles: distribution strategist, all around great advice giver, son, brother
Sarah (Livingston) Schmidt
Titles: vineyard manager, winemaker asst., daughter, sister
While we do all have 'duties' we seem to perform for the business, we all take an active role in decision making and shaping the business into what we have envisioned. And while we are the core management team, we have a number of others who help make it all come together.
Tasting Room Personnnel - We have some of the best and most personable people working our tasting room. If you visit us during the week, you will meet Ronna or Ann. And on the weekend you could also have the chance to be introduced to Cindy or Staci.
In the vineyard, we have the best help ever - Karen and Sherry - who without their hard work and attention to detail we couldn't produce an excellent grape crop.
There is much more to come in the blog in the coming weeks. Drop by again to read more about life at the vineyard and winery!
he set back in stride. Though the arrival into Italy will be a little later, the plans are still set for the 14 day trip.
