Micro-vineyard in Mt. Helix is starting to show signs of life

One misty day in spring of 2009 while strolling the Little Italy Mercato, my husband Tim and I met Grego (owner) and John (vineyard manager) of Casi Cielo Farms & Maness Vineyards.  They were selling tiny grape vine cuttings for $10 each cultivated from one of their Jamul vineyards. Since we live in the Mt. Helix area of San Diego's east county, we decided that might be a great opportunity to save water and grow our own "juice" since the vines had been tested in a similar growing environment only a few miles away.  We made plans to visit them in Jamul, take a look at their operation, ask a few questions and eventually decided to take the plunge. Since then we've been to Casi Cielo Farms several times either to ask questions, buy gift vines, attend a clinic or mixer, but mostly just to hang out with the great people (and animals) at the vineyard and estate.

Back at home, we rented a rototiller for 4 hours, tilled the lawn and planted 22 Cabernet Sauvignon cuttings.  We put them in the ground about a year ago. At first the neighbors were curious. Some stopped to ask questions or offer advice, others asked us if we were starting a Christmas Tree farm!  It's true that at first it looked like dirt and sticks with wire, not much more. The Mt. Helix walkers kept a close and supportive watch over the progress of our tiny vineyard. The first year we had a lot of greenery and the vines quickly established into healthy stalks.

Only a few weeks ago, the vines were still dormant and looked like dry sticks.  Fast forward a short time (including some pretty rainy days) and today we found the vines to be in excellent health.

Tim spent a few hours this morning trimming back some of the vines as due to quick growth they are already weighing down the guide wires we had set up.  

As we took a closer look we discovered tons of tiny little cabernet grapes starting to take shape!

In order to have a good shot at making some decent tasting wine on our first growth, we decided to invest in a home winemaking kit and practice with some Zinfandel grapes we purchased.  More on that in our next installment!