Mount Alto Vineyards

Mount Alto Vineyards Focused wine-growing... Located on the slopes of Mount Alto in central Virginia. Mailing list, photos and journal on web site.

05/23/2026

Just now beginning to push some green.

The advantages of being late to the party. We simply must plant and manage for vines that "wake up" after the threat of...
05/08/2026

The advantages of being late to the party. We simply must plant and manage for vines that "wake up" after the threat of frost has passed. These all show some aspect of delayed bud break that will allow them to cope with the climate changes.
1: The damaged bud at the top of the spur is done for. But the next one down is just emerging, and may bare fruit. The bud below that is from the older wood, a "basal" bud, that while it may not be fruitful, will give us next years crop.
2. A long cane that lost some buds that had come out early, and had some the skirted the frost. While the yield was reduced 25%, it will still help us make wine.
3. A vine that has not yet sent out growth. It will likely emerge sometime next week 🤞. Is this a trait of this vine? Something that can pass genetically via cuttings for planting? Something that emerged due to vine age? Whichever, we will monitor this vine and other late comers like it because breaking bud in May is the solution to the problem of early heat and late frost.

The vineyard has been sluggish since the frost. It's a little unnerving actually, as we're counting heavily on those bud...
05/03/2026

The vineyard has been sluggish since the frost. It's a little unnerving actually, as we're counting heavily on those buds that had not broken before the frost to pop out and save our bacon.

This is not unusual, vine growth often seems to stop dead its tracks when we go through those chilly late April stretches.

Slowly things like this spur are giving us encouraging signs. We've got a stretch of warm weather next week that will hopefully push us forward.

The April 21st frost gave us a little smackdown. In terms of buds, maybe 35% lost. Unclear how that will translate to yi...
04/26/2026

The April 21st frost gave us a little smackdown. In terms of buds, maybe 35% lost. Unclear how that will translate to yield, only time will tell. Uphill vines had no problems, older vines (only partially open) had less problems, and young vines at the bottom of the slope got a proper thumping.
This was NOT a particularly late frost, but the vines were 4-5 days advanced in bud break as a result of extremely high temperatures over the last month. The outcome reinforces the law of growing: one has to select vine varieties that match the local frost pattern, no early breaking buds are gonna live on this hillside.

All in all we consider ourselves lucky, and will be focused on the best strategies to manage vine recovery, and balance maturity from replacement shoots.

Un-seasonably hot, un-nervingly dry... still seems like magic to watch the vines burst forth.
04/19/2026

Un-seasonably hot, un-nervingly dry... still seems like magic to watch the vines burst forth.

04/17/2026

The game is afoot!

Dafodillain like a villain. Wait; are these narcissus? Either way, narcissin like I dunno ...
04/12/2026

Dafodillain like a villain. Wait; are these narcissus? Either way, narcissin like I dunno ...

Dogwoods, lizards, and the madness of spring.Weather like this makes us giddy, ready to get to work, and fearful of a la...
04/01/2026

Dogwoods, lizards, and the madness of spring.

Weather like this makes us giddy, ready to get to work, and fearful of a late frost. But mostly we're just ready to go! Pruning is done, trellis maintenance completed, the cellar is warming up. Every season is like a live recording, there are no redos, and we're so eager to grow some more fruit, and shepard its transformation into wine.

03/29/2026

Here's hoping the Hewes crab sets a nice crop this year so we can have some sparkly little drinkers during summer 2028.

Oblong stacks of pruned vine-canes lie at the end of every row right now, like sedentary tumbleweeds. We're about 2/3 of...
03/21/2026

Oblong stacks of pruned vine-canes lie at the end of every row right now, like sedentary tumbleweeds. We're about 2/3 of the way through the vineyard now, aiming to wrap it up right before bud-break begins in mid April.

Address

10436 Howardsville Turnpike
Esmont, VA
22937

Telephone

+18044760883

Website

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