Summer in the Vineyard!

Well, Spring semester is over. And I finished with grades I was entirely happy with - as opposed to the previous semester when my 4.0 was ruined with one B! I will take one short class this summer, in canopy management, but I'm very excited to report that I have TWO vineyard gigs lined up! First, I applied and was selected for the American Vineyard Foundation 2011 Shone Farm Viticulture Scholarship/Internship. I will be working 6 hours a week in the Shone Farm vineyard doing cluster counts, pest monitoring, vine leaf stress monitoring, calculating degree days, etc. This is a full-on academic program, where I will have to compile information into a final report that will be submitted to the department head. In addition, I am particularly excited that I will be working two days a week in the Chateau Montelena estate vineyard in Calistoga! I had asked them to consider me for an unpaid summer internship, just to get the hands-on experience, but they ended up offering me a paid position which will include two days working in the vineyard AND writing about my experience on THEIR blog! What a nice surprise, and what a great opportunity for me. I hope to keep up on this blog through the summer, but also want to encourage my followers to look for my blogging on the Chateau Montelena website under "Blog"......it should be posted every Thursday or Friday. So I'm looking forward to a summer of hard work and valuable learning experiences. Also, losing some weight - I just hope my body doesn't go into shock but instead adjusts to my new lifestyle of manual labor!