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Friday 11am - 5pm Saturday 11am - 5pm Sunday 11am - 5pm

https://www.lindenvineyards.com/

Linden Vineyards, 3708 Harrels Corner Road, Linden, VA (2026)

06/10/2026

Growth Spurt. The vines are finally taking off. Late May rains combined with June sun and heat have provided ample fuel for rapid shoot growth. Vineyard activity is at peak. All hands on deck. Start times have shifted to 6:00am.

So what exactly are we doing? For the next several weeks our two main tasks will be shoot tying and cluster zone aeration.

We use a universally common training system called "Vertical Shoot Positioning" (VSP). All the shoots originate from the lowest wire (also called the fruiting wire) and then grow upwards to the top wire (at 6' in height). But they need help. They don't always grow straight up and attach themselves with tendrils. Wayward shoots need human assistance. We hold the shoots up against a wire and then use a tying tool to secure them. We do this all day. For weeks.

The fruiting wire is called such because all the grape clusters are conveniently located in a zone just above this wire. This is not by chance. The beauty of this system is uniformity. All the clusters are in a zone that can be easily attended to. In our humid and occasionally rainy climate those clusters need good air flow and some (but not too much) sun exposure. Disease prevention and flavor enhancement are improved. So again, we humans slowly crawl up and down the rows meticulously and strategically removing excess green growth in order to open up the fruit zone. We take out undesirable secondary shoots, lateral shoots originating from the primary shoots and some leaves surrounding the clusters.

Timing is critical, the work can be backbreaking, and the bugs and the heat don't help.

This is all part of what is known as canopy management, and it's not necessary in order to grow grapes. But it is necessary if the goal is to make great wine.

06/08/2026

Flowering and Set. Finally a weather break. We’ve had ideal conditions for flowering over the past 10 days: hot and dry. Cabernet Sauvignon clusters went from trace bloom to full bloom in a matter of a few days which may help mitigate the uneven cluster development we’ve been seeing (probably due to the hard winter).

Unfortunately Chardonnay was in full bloom ten days ago during a week of rain. Cool, rainy weather is problematic. I anticipate less than ideal set. Set refers to the percentage of flowers that are successfully fertilized. Typically only around 30% of flowers become grapes. Less than that results in loose, scraggly clusters. This reduces yields. Alternatively, a higher percentage can lead to big, tight clusters were the berries eventually crowd and push against each other. This can lead to rot, cracking and poor quality, especially in a wet vintage.

It’s still a bit early to make the call, but this adds to a turbulent growing season.

06/02/2026

Native Cover Crops:* Black Medic. Black Medic is my favorite native cover crop. I only really noticed it ten years ago when its abundant but tiny yellow flowers were in full bloom. While it is slow to spread, once it establishes it reliably reseeds itself each year. It grows in a dense thicket that out competes any undesirable weeds. It stays low enough to not reach the vine canopy. Finally, it is leguminous meaning it fixes nitrogen from the air into the soil. Free fertilizer.

To establish Black Medic in new areas the seed heads can be gathered and hand spread under the vines. It takes time to establish, but winegrowers are patient. We have to be.

*Formerly considered weeds, Jim Law documents the results of 20 years of nurturing low growing ground covers in the vineyard.

05/30/2026

Rhythm. One beauty of wine is vintage variation. Every year’s bottling is different because of the weather. For the winegrower each growing season also has a rhythm. Exclusive of harvest, this is our busiest time in the vines. It’s a marathon for the next month. Shoot positioning, suckering, leaf pulling and hedging all require a paced sequence. Timing is critically important. If we get behind, it can take much longer to accomplish the same task. Each variety and each block has different requirements. There is a comforting rhythm to the sequence. Chardonnay needs extra attention early as its shoots grow fast and are susceptible to breakage in a thunderstorm. Unruly Petit Verdot’s tendrils will grab anything within reach and won’t let go. Cabernet’s lateral shoots grow fast and hold on tight. If the timing is right, they snap off with fingers. but if we miss the window it takes twice as long using shears.

This year the rhythm is off. The hot/cold, dry/wet spring has confused the vines. Our hope is that with this beautiful weather they will gather themselves. Same is true with us. After a week of rain and “inside” work, we’re having trouble prioritizing and organizing. It’s not so black and white right now, but lot of grey. We’re not behind, nor are we in “the zone”. I have a feeling that will soon change.

05/22/2026

I Don't Know. This spring “I don’t know” has been my reply to most questions concerning this growing season. This is my 47th year growing winegrapes. It feels like it could be my first. I truly don’t know what to expect of vintage 2026.

A warm (hot) March and April pushed the vines to bud break a few weeks early. Then there was the frost. An April 21 frost is not unusual, but it used to be that the vines were still mostly dormant and unaffected by the cold. Our frost damage here at Hardscrabble ranged from 0% to 100% depending on where you were standing. This presents a complexity of vineyard management that I am still trying to wrap my head around.

The three weeks after the frost were unseasonably cool. Nothing was happening. The healthy vines grew at a snail’s pace and the frosted vines stayed brown with no regrowth, which was alarming. Every few days I would make a shallow cut through the wood of these vines to make sure they were still green and alive.

Then late last week came the heat. An explosion of growth that sent us scrambling to start tying new tender succulent shoots. These shoots are fragile and, if unsecured to the trellis wires, they could break during a gusty thunderstorm. Many vines were already lacking enough shoots as a result of the frost. We did manage to tie most of the susceptible vines before Wednesday’s big storms.

Now it rains. We need the rain, but not a week’s worth (as predicted). This could reduce the potential crop, as many vines have started to flower. Pollination succeeds best under warm, dry conditions.

I feel like we are being tested.

05/10/2026

Native Cover Crops*: Blue Field Madder. We are shoot thinning in earnest right now. Our eyes are focused on the low growing trunks and canes. Looking down all day, we are especially appreciative of the often overlooked. Blue Field Madder produces a delicate, low growing carpet that you want to pet. Beautiful tiny purple flowers brighten the vineyard understory. A minor player right now, but over the years it has been slowly spreading.

*Formerly considered weeds, Jim Law documents the results of 20 years of nurturing low growing ground covers in the vineyard.

05/09/2026

Cellar Tastings

Between Spring bottling and setting up for harvest, the cellar is delightfully quiet. So we now are able to revive Cellar Tastings for select summer weekends. This in-depth tasting compares and contrasts our smaller production single vineyard wines and is conducted by one of Linden's experienced staff. The cool cellar is a nice refuge from the summer heat. (Just in case, you may want to bring a sweater.) Space is limited, we plan to offer more cellar tastings later in the summer.

May 30 and 31 and June 6 and 7
11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm
$50 per person

Reservations required: https://www.exploretock.com/lindenvineyards/experience/602817/cellar-tasting?date=2026-05-30&size=2&time=12%3A00

05/08/2026

Native Cover Crops*: Catchweed Bedstraw. Catchweed bedstraw is not super prevalent at Hardscrabble Vineyard. In some instances it does get a bit too tall for my liking. It barely qualifies to be included in my list of desirable native cover crops.

I have to admit that its endearing name gave it the edge to be included on my list. Some of the names given to weeds and wildflowers seem from a different era. Because they are. Until a few centuries ago most people farmed and paid great detailed attention to their environment. Bedstraw catchweed is an euonym: its name describes its characteristics. (If I was an attorney this would apply to me).

Catchweed because of its fine Velcro-like texture that lightly clings to any object close by, including vine trunks. Bedstraw because once this high-density plant attains a certain height its weight pulls the whole mass down to the ground making an inviting mat on which one might think about taking an afternoon nap.

*Formerly considered weeds, Jim Law documents the results of 20 years of nurturing low growing ground covers in the vineyard.

05/07/2026

New Comparative Tasting. We like to change our tasting with the ever-changing seasons. Our comparative tastings contrast across themes of age, vintage, and terroir. With things warming up, our new tasting is quaffable wines.

We start with two Chardonnays highlighting the power of age - the complex 2019 Village Chardonnay and bright 2023 Village Chardonnay. Next is a terroir comparison of two punchy 2022 Sauvignon Blancs - Avenius and Hardscrabble. We finish with a vintage comparison of Clarets, which tell the story of each growing season.

Tastings are $30 per person. We are open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11-5pm. Reservations are recommended; walk-ins are welcome as space is available.

Make a reservation on our website!

05/06/2026

Frost Follow Up. Two weeks ago frost damaged some of our lower vineyard blocks. We are starting to get a handle on the scale and consequences. Damaged vines are taking their time pushing out new growth. Some blocks still look bleak. We are hoping that this sluggish rebound is due to the cool temperatures over the past few weeks, but also fearful that their recovery is slow and uneven.

We are looking at three different scenarios. The vines on the upper slopes are happy and healthy. These vines are teaming with clusters and we are now shoot thinning (hand removing excess shoots) to reduce what would otherwise be an excessive crop.

The second scenario is the most challenging. The vines at mid-slope suffered varying degrees of frost damage. With strategic and meticulous thinning some will have a full crop and others a partial crop. However there could be a lack of uniformity. Vines should have even separation between shoots and clusters so each receives the same amount of sun and air flow within the canopy. But in the "partially frosted" vines we will have clumps of fruitful shoots, crowding some areas and at the same time gaps along the trellis where nothing is growing.

Eventually new shoots will emerge with clusters that will be weeks behind. This would lead to uneven ripening and poor wine quality (what we refer to as an "underripe/overripe" profile). We need to remove the clusters by hand before color change in August while we can still see a distinct difference. By harvest time they would all look the same, but taste very different.

Finally as to the lower parcels that were completely frosted, we are just hoping they can be back in production for 2027. These poor vines have already experienced two years of sap sucking Spotted Lanternflies, two drought years, and a severe winter. Initial growth is generated by stored carbohydrates from the previous growing season. This spring those frosted shoots had already used up a lot of their reserves, so we worry about how much more is now available.

Lots of unknowns, lots of challenges, lots of decisions, and a lot more work. We know quantities will be down. Our job is to make sure that quality doesn't suffer.

Linden Vineyards

06/10/2026

06/08/2026

06/02/2026

05/30/2026

05/22/2026

05/10/2026

05/09/2026

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05/06/2026

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