Grappling with Grapes
My grape vines arrived yesterday. I opened the box and read the instructions: "After the plants are set, select the largest, strongest cane and cut it back so that two nodes or buds remain. Cut off all other canes." Great. What's a "cane," a "node," and a "bud"? I looked at the vines, and I just see a bunch of sticks. Any help is greatly appreciated. A quick internet search served no immediate results, but I'm sure there's a grape-grower glossary out there someplace. * * * * * * * And that is a legitimate BYCU piece, by the way, because grapes are used to make wine. I have no wine plans, but you never know. The newest issue of Gilbert Magazine features a visit to Santa Maria Winery in Iowa. It sounds like a great place that uses imported grapes and grapes they grow themselves. I'm linking to the website. Maybe they'll notice a ton of hits coming through, then they'll ask their grape gardener to respond (email link on the left, or use comments box) to my question above and maybe offer other helpful hints. I ain't counting on it, but hope springs eternal. * * * * * * * Go to Seattle right now: It's Beer Week there. May 13 to May 23. That's 11 days, but if you're drunk, you can't count. They should declare May 13 to 20 as Beer Week, then 21-23 as Hangover Weekend. * * * * * * * Might be worth a try: "Batch 19 is inspired by the last batches of beer brewed before Prohibition made it illegal in 1919. When the 18th Amendment was ratified in 1919, breweries across the nation were shut down and many brewing recipes lost. It wasn't until 2004 that a logbook of old pre-Prohibition recipes were discovered by the folks over at MillerCoors, and they started taking a stab at a new (or should we say old?) pre-Prohibition brew." For your listening pleasure (PG-13. . . video on next page):
