There is something magical about bud break.  This milestone marks the beginning of the new growing season.  What makes it so exciting is the way the vines look so barren all winter, and then these tiny green buds break open and then things pretty much move at full speed until harvest. 

So much energy is channeled through the vineyard between bud break and harvest it boggles the mind.  Managing a vineyard is really energy management in many ways, and bud break is the awakening of all the energy that has been dormant in the deep root system of the vine all winter.

For 2009 we'll call bud break on April 20 - the vineyard doesn't all break at once and the Chardonnay is always a few days ahead at the beginning of the season - but it's often the last fruit we pick.  Though a few days later than usual, this is a huge improvement over last year's May 5th bud break.