Roses beside vineyard rows can prompt a useful conversation about vineyard traditions and the particular site you are visiting. Treat the explanation as part of the producer's story, and keep asking how that vineyard background connects with the bottle in your glass. Use those details to guide your next bottle choice at Wine Hardware in Walnut Creek. Tell us what you enjoy and ask about current availability for showroom pickup or local delivery.
They aren’t just for the obvious beauty that a rosebush can add to any setting, they actually serve a purpose to the winemaker. Roses are planted at the end of grape rows as an early warning system for the winegrower. Because they are fragrant flowers, they attract insects such as aphids before they can make their way to the vines. This way the winemaker or vineyard manager will know what insects are in the vineyard that could potentially threaten their grapes. They also attract beneficial insects that will prey on the undesirable insects.
It can also serve as an early warning sign of mildew. If the rosebush has mildew, it will let the vineyard manager know that the vines may be susceptible to mildew as well. It isn’t the same strain of mildew but if the conditions can cause it on the rose bush, it will also be good conditions for downy mildew on vines.
I also read that an ancient tradition of rose bushes at the end of a row served the purpose of pricking or poking the horses or oxen to turn properly at the end of the row…if they didn’t want to get pricked, they wouldn’t be able to take the shortcut of cutting a corner…they had to go all the way around.
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You can follow your interest in vineyard stories into a discussion of the wines currently available with Mike. Call (925) 944-1084 with a favorite wine in mind. Wines are available for showroom pickup or local delivery only.
