The “petit pois” are here again…and other stories from the vineyard.

I know a lot of our supporters have seen Sœur Petite’s recent brilliant album of photos from Cardan. No photoshopping – they come straight from her camera to your screen!! We are very jealous that we cannot be there in person to see the rapid development of the 2011 vintage in the vineyard.

I saw a couple of things that I think are worth sharing with you. My first reaction was to compare these recent photos – taken on May 30th – with those from last year taken in the fourth week of June! Firstly it is clear that 2011 is very advanced by comparison to the previous year and a mid September harvest looks increasingly likely. The second observation I noticed is the amazing health of the vines. Without doubt, the warm dry spring has contributed enormously but also the detailed vine by vine attention from Pascale, our vigneronne, has had a huge impact as we continue the conversion to full organic viticulture. The results are stunning, take a look at the photos….. http://tinyurl.com/prphoto1105

Some of you have commented on the “scruffy” looking vines where you see Pascale working her magic in the photos. We are really looking forward to sharing the news of what is and has happened here and why the vines look a bit unhappy at the moment as well as our plans for the their future. However, a number of things still have to happen before we feel it is fair to publically discuss them. When everything is sorted, you will be amongst the first to hear the news. We are incredibly excited about this development for Paradise Rescued.

Finally, it has rained in Bordeaux. I am awaiting Pascale’s feedback on the outcome. Next week, our Patron will write from his heart as our blog celebrates its first birthday!