Our Florida vineyard - Spring and winter

Our Florida vineyard in the spring.



Our Florida vineyard in winter.

(Savannah, 2003)

Who is this brilliant, fiercely independent woman?

(Savannah, 2003)

My wife and I have been growing muscadine grapes since she mused one day that maybe it'd be cool to have a vineyard. That was in 2001. Since then we've planted over 300 vines including varietes as Welder, Fry, Carlos, Higgins, Noble, Cowart, Nesbitt, Black Beauty, Supreme, Granny Val, Jumbo, and Water Gate. This photo was taken last summer of a Noble vine, a great variety for making muscadine wine.

Muscadine wines are different from the traditional California and European wines and can require getting used to if you've never tasted them. Typically, muscadine wine is sweeter and "grapier" but it can be made dry by not adding sweetener during the fermentation process and/or letting ferment longer. We're still learning how to make drinkable wine and have much more know.

As I sit here typing this, Hurricane Dennis is in the process of slamming into Pensacola and Destin Florida. The media is painting it as a very wicked, deadly, ugly, mean, and dangerous storm. Their terms. Lots of reporters leaning into the wind and shouting into their microphones. My sister's neice lives in Ft. Walton Beach but decided to spend the weekend with her mother here on the west coast of peninsular Florida. The storm is having litttle to no effect here. Some light rain, on and off, for the last 24 hours. That's it. I even went out and mowed the vineyard this morning. Barely got wet. Word is her dad will be going back with her tomorrow and will take a chain saw. Based upon what I'm hearing on the TV, they may be in for much more that just a few downed tree branches.

Well, here I am. Arrived! I'm a blogger!

This is appareently a glass-house exercise, no less.

I'm not sure if I'm talking to you or thinking out loud to myself. Guess that will become clear as I learn more about how this blogging thing works.

I can blame this excursion into what could turn out to be a revealing mental exercise on the existance and westerly passing today of Hurricane Dennis. Being located on the periphery, we're not expecting much impact but it's dark and wet outside thus giving me the need to occupy myself inside.

The reference to "we" is to include my wife who will, I'm certain, read this and from time to time be contributing her own mental prolifera. Both of us find this very amusing, really ... to be sharing personal thoughts with the eavesdroppers of the electronic cosmos, though obviously only very benign thoughts at this point. Amusing and kind of spooky. Presumably one gets over such feelings as courage, understanding and confidence increases in what this process is all about. Does anyone really read this stuff"