On Sunday (the 14th of April) sap was flowing from almost every vine in Neive

A little speck of sun

Then on Monday, the moment everyone is waiting for, the official start of spring "bud break"

With all the rain and now temp's in the mid 70's ( 23 C.) the cover crops between the rows of vines is growing fast

Spring 2013 has begun. The fruit trees are starting to flower and the buds on the hazelnuts trees are almost ready to pop.

Cottà is back on her princess balcony with the newly planted Primuli flowers enjoying the sun after a long winter.

The restaurants and wine bars have all been busy planting their flower pots in time for Easter.

With the Tanaro River in the background, we were enjoying a glass of wine at Boffa winery while they were working in there vineyard repairing poles.
In the Bricco San Giuliano vineyard of Pasquale Pelissero here in Neive, bud break is full speed ahead on these nebbiolo vines. It is the beginning of Barbaresco Bricco San Giuliano 2012.

With all this spring going on around us, it's time to move our daily aperitivo outside. Robert is sitting outside at Al Nido della Cinciallegra with Cotta' and her friend Daisy
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The fruit trees are starting to bloom. The landscape is spotted with shades of pink and white blossoms.

Above is the first curry club meeting with our English friends of 2012. We love the cuisine of Piedmont, but we need an occasional break of something ethic or different. This time it is Indian but no beer this time only local white wines.

As spring approaches we are hurrying to finish as many of our winter work/projects as possible. Robert has been shooting a ton of photos (in his new studio) for new website clients along with updating bottle shots for existing winery sites. Leslie has completed two more original paintings that have been ship to far corners of the world.

A sure sign of spring for us is when equipment vendors start showing up at our local Wednesday market. The growers hang out for a few hours chatting about which tractor or accessory is best for a particular job.

From chainsaws, cover crop movers (the grass between the row of vines) to articulated tractors, it all is displayed at markets around the region where as most of these vendors don't have a retail showroom.

On a completely different subject, at a recent tasting with clients we came across our first sighting of a screw cap closer in the Barbaresco zone. It should be noted that by DOCG regulations only very high quality extra long natural cork is allowed to be used on Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello , etc.
Here the Albino Rocca winery is using them for there stainless steel aged Barbera and there white wines. We feel this is a change in the right direction.