Spring 2010 seems to be a long time coming with extended cold, wet periods this year, exciting arrivals, and the really good news that with all this rain we will have a normal rainfall year.

This summer after a three year process Puma Springs Vineyards finally gained the coveted Demeter Biodynamic® and USDA certification for the grapes grown at the farm.

2009 is proving to be a challenging year in the vineyard so far.  Early and heavy rains in October are playing havoc with the harvest this year.

After winning a Gold Medal at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair the Benziger Family Winery the 2006 vintage of the Puma Springs Cabernet quickly sold out. The wine was a 700 case limited production bottling available only at the Benziger Family Winery tasting room in Glen Ellen and on-line

With weather reported directly from our vineyard and updated several times a day.

If you have been by Puma Springs Vineyards lately, you will see a lot of activity in the vineyard, but not of the grape growing variety.

Instead there are herds of sheep roaming around grazing on the ground. Sheep in a vineyard you ask? Most certainly! They make the cutest and most environmentally friendly lawn mowers.  While vineyards don’t have lawns, they do have weeds. At this time of year when the rain is falling and the tractors can’t get in the fields the sheep have the advantage of being able to work at keeping the grass and weeds under control rain or shine.

The Old English Babydoll Miniature Southdown sheep are rented from Canvas Ranch in Petaluma (www.canvasranch.com). The job of the sheep is to eat weeds and control the cover crop, while at the same time providing “natural” fertilizer back into the soil. They came at the beginning of January and “have been munching away ever since”.

For more info on the Babydoll sheep, please contact:

CANVAS RANCH
755 TOMALES ROAD
PETALUMA, CA 94952
707.766.7171
info@canvasranch.com