Here's the May newsletter.
Please read and provide feedback. I tried a different layout to mix things up.
Bud Break - Growing Season Begins! One of the first signs of spring at Maggie Malick Wine Caves vineyard is bud break. That's when green leaf shoots emerge on the vine. This spring, bud break was a little late - just a few days behind the typical mid-April date. (Last year, it was two weeks early!) Moving earth Over the winter, Mark rented a 55,000-pound excavator and spent weeks clearing land at the foot of Short Hill Mountain, a location for possible future vine plantings. The land clearing also promotes air drainage in the existing vineyard. Cold air drainage in the spring and fall helps prevent damaging frost from forming on the vines. Air flow also is important for the grape vines during the growing season because it is critical in drying foliage and preventing fungal spores from settling on leaves, fruit and vines. Nothing goes to waste Mark excavated 15 tractor trailer loads of logs that became lumber you may have purchased at the local hardware store. Smaller branches are used at the vineyard property to fuel the fire pits at the Wine Cave during the cooler times of the year. The newly cleared area will be seeded with grass. The same area of the vineyards was farmed more than 100 years ago. But Mark unearthed a lot of rocks in the area. "I think whatever vines we might plant up there," Mark joked, "are going to have a lot of minerality!" | | Dog Days Chesapeake DockDogs hosts PuppyPalooza May 19 and 20 - the first competition of the 2018 season - at the Wine Cave. There will be plenty of dogs watching and participating in the competition. Maggie's refreshing Sangria and her award-winning wines will be flowing in the Cave throughout the weekend! Watch for Jet, Maggie and Mark's 18-month-old black lab, in the DockDog competitions this summer. | Summer weekends at the Wine Cave feature live musical entertainment by a variety of local musicians and singers.
- Saturday May 5, Mosby Territory
- Sunday May 6, Mangione & Benton Jazz
- Saturday May 12, Anthony Semiao
- Sunday May 13, Tim James
- Saturday May 19, Damion Wolfe, Puppy Palooza, Loudoun Farm Tour
- Sunday May 20, California Bob Hale, Puppy Palooza, Loudoun Farm Tour
- Saturday May 26, David Davol
- Sunday May 27, Dan Cronin
| | Maggie is participating in several upcoming events. Sip Maggie's award-winning wines while strolling the grounds of George Washington's estate during the Mount Vernon Spring Wine Festival May 18-20. Mark and a handful of our regular Wine Cave team members will be pouring at the festival. The Wine Cave is one of only 20 wineries invited to participate! Maggie bottled her 2017 white wines in April. That means that one of them is likely to show up on the tasting room menu before the end of the month. Will it be one of her two new Rosé wines, or the brand new Sauvignon Blanc? Watch our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages for the announcement about the new release! | | | | | | | | |
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