Bud break came two weeks early

A warm, dry March pushed bud break across the high ridge nearly two weeks ahead of where we'd expect it. By the first week of April, the Chardonnay was already showing green against last year's wood, and Marco was out walking the rows more than usual, doing the arithmetic in his head.

An early bud break isn't good or bad on its own — it just moves everything else forward with it, and moves the risk forward too. A late frost that would normally arrive after the buds were hardened off can instead catch them exposed. We kept an eye on the forecast for three tense weeks and, this year, got lucky.

What it likely means, if the season holds its new rhythm, is an earlier flowering, an earlier veraison, and possibly an earlier harvest than the usual late-September start on the ridge. We won't know for certain until August, but we've already adjusted our own calendar, and started warning the harvest-day guests who've booked ahead that dates might shift slightly.

It's a reminder that thirty-nine vintages in, the hillside still sets the terms. We just try to keep up.