Deer, Rabbits, and Birds Oh My

If you have ever visited Cellar 426 in  Late July and August odds are you have seen nets covering all of the grapevines. It may seem a little funky to cover all our vines with netting, however, they are a crucial aspect in our vineyard management plan. These nets, commonly referred to as bird netting, are put in place to keep any animals from eating our crop. While we can’t blame them for having good taste, we would hate to lose our beautiful clusters right before harvest. The nets are harmless for the vines as they still allow for sunlight to enter the canopy. The only challenge with the nets is timing. If put on too early the vines will grow through the nets and be quite difficult to remove. If put on too late, the obvious feast plus a mess of weeds can complicate both keeping out the birds as well as getting the nets off of the vines.