Bud break begins in eastern Washington

Bud break has begun in eastern Washington. Hedges Family Estate reported seeing wooly buds on their Red Mountain Cabernet Franc on Monday April 8th. Sagemoor Vineyard in the Columbia Valley, meanwhile, saw bud break in their Chardonnay, pictured here, on April 11th. The latter is about the same as 2017, when bud break was noted in Chardonnay in the Columbia Valley on April 12.

Grower Mike Sauer of Red Willow Vineyard always says that, historically, bud break would occur right around tax time. If so, this would equate to a fairly 'normal' start to the 2019 growing season compared to historical averages, certainly compared to the very early starts of recent years like 2015 and 2016, when bud break began in mid to late March.

Let the 2019 growing season begin!

Picture courtesy of Sagemoor Vineyards.