Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards reposted this
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards Vineyard Director, Brad Kurtz shares a #BTS look at recent vineyard activity. "Early and heavy rains in November of 2024 gave us a head start on cover crop establishment this season. By early January, we had enough growth to bring in a flock of 500 lambs and ewes. This year's strategy was to graze in two passes, separated by 50 days to allow for regrowth of the ground cover. Our goal was to maintain soil coverage which reduces erosion risk and provides a diverse ecosystem, while minimizing water loss due to evapotranspiration." "Additionally, grazing sheep give us an advantage such as nutrient cycling, improved soil health, reduced frost risk, weed control, and fire risk mitigation. As we approach bud break we are just up are finishing up our second grazing pass just in time to move the sheep out of the vineyards as the vines wake up."