Owner/Winemaker at Peony Lane Wine Low Sulfite wine from the highest elevation vineyards in 🇺🇸 Governor's Cup Award Winner 2022, 2023, 2024 Host of @SoakQuest - Make Bitcoin Fun Again
Public Key
npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 Profile Code
nprofile1qqs2gndun24r2utk5l20tscsdprw5zttvm0qk58w8xhl2ja2kmzt7jcpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejszrmhwden5te0dehhxarj9ekk7mgpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6ur4vgh8wetvd3hhyer9wghxuet5qywhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68yttyv4mzuam9d3kx7unyv4ezumn9wsq3gamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwv3sk6atn9e5k77yf8ex
Show more details
Published at
2026-01-13T20:26:38Z Event JSON
{
"id": "c3242d0aa74adfafc5095956025b45c8ed7092d5c904a67bf96348ff6da99afc" ,
"pubkey": "a44dbc9aaa357176a7d4f5c3106846ea096b66de0b50ee39aff54baab6c4bf4b" ,
"created_at": 1768335998 ,
"kind": 0 ,
"tags": [],
"content": "{\"name\":\"BenJustman\",\"nip05\":\"[email protected] \",\"about\":\"Owner/Winemaker at Peony Lane Wine\\n\\nLow Sulfite wine from the highest elevation vineyards in 🇺🇸 \\nGovernor's Cup Award Winner 2022, 2023, 2024\\n\\nHost of @SoakQuest - Make Bitcoin Fun Again\",\"lud16\":\"[email protected] \",\"display_name\":\"Ben Justman🍷\",\"picture\":\"https://i.imgur.com/opkDhvJ.jpg\",\"banner\":\"https://m.primal.net/NnBT.jpg\",\"website\":\"PeonyLaneWine.com\",\"created_at\":1768335745}" ,
"sig": "154700746701c1d3ba1c6b5367b0467396ba839fdbf881097eea1ededcc927c2907f8ce6429cf94b7dbafbfa006deec10f9584343ee4b526f6c3ae3163899e9a"
}
Last Notes npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman They really wanted you to sell your Bitcoin. npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman DM me. VA changed their laws to cuck it's citizens. We may be able to find a way to get you wine tho npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman You can change that 😉 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman At a blind tasting with Pinot Noirs from around the world, professionals swore my 2023 Estate Pinot Noir was Burgundy. They were shocked by where it came from. The 2023 vintage is special to me. 5 years into Peony Lane Wine production, this was the vintage I had been waiting for. Each year before had gone wrong. 2019 was my first year making wine and the learning curve was steep. Normal crop. Average wine. 2020 was weird. California wildfires pushed birds off their migratory pattern. By the time we noticed, they'd eaten half our grapes. After harvest that Fall, a hard frost wiped out the whole state's crop. 2021: zero grapes. 2022 was a second recovery year. Vines had grown back from the roots, but they weren't ready to produce much quantity. Good wine, very little of it. By 2023 the vineyard was reestablished. Growing season went without a hitch. I got a full crop with amazing ripening. I was ready to take advantage of it as a winemaker and I'm proud to say it is the best wine I have ever made. People tell me they like my wine all the time, but when a blind tasting has professionals confidently declaring my wine to be a Burgundy, I know I did good. https://blossom.primal.net/22067c2272bc9bd04efaa0561a01a21e86b2b6c1574d4ed2f35d335cb7fa6e8e.jpg npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Drink good wine -> Feel fine #nevent1q…w3lv npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman 👀 #nevent1q…tthz npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman The death in the metaphor is the death of the dollar npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Your AI is retarded npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman #Bitcoin #nevent1q…8f8m npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Wow npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Many won't so it's a question of how much people will care and how much money is in it npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Yes, but the next step consequences could come for me as well as the market will shift in a meaningful way npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Agree and I think most winemakers will lose their job because most wine is made without soul npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Excited for you to try em. Thank you 🫡 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Peonylanewine.com/Bitcoin If neither of those packs look good to you DM me and we can get you all set npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I'm a musician npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Modern problems require modern solutions npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Celebrate the Bear Market #nevent1q…zswz npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Eyyyo. What's occasion? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Why not both npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman This is what happens when I try to help my family understand Bitcoin. https://blossom.primal.net/c2e13f5fa4e236060c3aba966b4586f447b79143871a4950dde1990eb5d8ae7b.mp4 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Could get paid more* People or robots still have to value our labor more which isn't certain npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Absolutely npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I'm still trying to answer the question for myself npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Bitcoiners will be able to afford those things as well npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman What is art? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Agree with all that. Most won't be able to tell the difference npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Many people just want wine. How many will search for meaning in wine? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Starr journaling before bed. Briaindump the things you are thinking about that are clearly stressing you. Get them out so your brain stops obsessing over them npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman And everything that you think is bad is actually good npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Will do npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman 💯 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Crypto https://media.tenor.com/tQsEuOLGy5YAAAAC/tim-gunn-eww-gross.gif npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Makes me think we need Bitcoin to spread farther and faster into the global populace NOW npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman And you'll be able to afford to do so thanks to bitcoin npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Is my career safe from AI? We're all thinking it. A winemaker's future isn't as simple as "a robot will take my job." I'll benefit from the first wave of automation through better software tools for marketing and production. When I zoom out, I see robots working my vineyard, trained more precisely than any human. A robot can't make good wine though, right? Most wine, especially in the USA, is ready for robotic production. Massive wine operations focus on reproducible, consistent, and formulaic results. This doesn't create interesting wine, but it's big business. Winemaking is a balance between art and science. A robot will definitely be able to complete the science based tasks, but the question remains: Can AI do art? There's this concept of "wu" from The Man in the High Castle - this soul-connection between maker and creation. You notice it when AI images lack that certain something that gives it soul or makes it feel real. AI will get better and better at replicating soul. The masses won't care, they already don't, and will appreciate cheaper wine. My career future rests on whether people care enough to spend the extra money for wine with soul produced by a human. https://blossom.primal.net/03622944b48c00feeb99c1701486f9b2021ca39233fbbff14ed66083aa385868.png npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Dude you're in fire npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Absolutely. Well said It's no shock that the California wine scene and thus the American wine scene came to be taken seriously at the same time as we went off the gold standard (re bottle shock) npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Definitely more US compared to Europe, but I think it's coming for everyone npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Affording human made will be the new luxury brands npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I am honored 🫡 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Absolutely, but it's harder and harder for people to afford it which makes it harder and harder for those companies to compete which makes it harder and harder for people to take the time to find and appreciate those things Vicious cycle that. I hope Bitcoin helps us get out of, but I fear that things that are real and connected to nature going to continually become delicacies for the rich npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Save the best for your loved ones 🍷 #nevent1q…3fmz npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Damn. Valentine's Day was the occasion. That's wholesome as hell compared to saving it for a price target npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Stop aging cheap wine. That wine was made with enough preservatives to make last forever, not age gracefully. Your kitchen wine rack isn't helping either. Get serious about aging or drink the damn bottle. https://blossom.primal.net/cb0782a14b6e619868ef665b36c0f69de61d83cb0122b144a74c1245c49c8548.png npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I think that being able to afford to enjoy the uniqueness of different vintages is becoming or is completely an upper class delicacy in the United States generally speaking npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Hell yeah. Enjoy man! And thanks for reading npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman When you're over there especially as what gets imported to the US is gonna be a bit more mass produced and disconnected generally It's a philosophy thing, I think, where the young United States wine World was built on a Fiat standard while while the old world still has influence from Gold standard times npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman My doomer take is that the real will be a delicacy for the rich npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman The only way to learn is to drink (and be present with the experience) npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Do it pls npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Terroir is dead. Wine was once nature's signature, bottled. You could taste the soil, feel the topography, sense the climate, but those days are largely over. Natural variability is bad for business, and consistency sells. Why risk a bad year when you can prevent it? Why let vintage variation affect sales when consumers want the same taste every time? I'm not suggesting malice from winemakers. The problem is systemic. Making wine with a sense of place is hard, and every tradeoff pulls you further from that truth. Each decision can make wine cheaper, more reliable, or less connected to its origin, but it all exists in a grey area. There's no fine line to cross. Take drip irrigation. You farm with less water, but your vines get lazy and their roots stay near the surface instead of diving deep into the soil profile. You gain ripening control, but lose the signature of seasonal rains. If you add compost or fertilizers you get more grapes, with "better" quality, but you've masked the natural nutrient balance of your land. Commercial yeasts bring foreign cultures to any cellar that wants them. Even farming and fermenting is done traditionally, a winemaker can use a seemingly endless list additives to manipulate flavor, texture, aroma, and color to whatever profile they're chasing. Even if terroir still exists in some wines, how do you really know that its the earth you are tasting? https://blossom.primal.net/d8f6b745fc602f7211a6de2470c2e7c760fef78193d96eb3cdfc0ba825e885d7.png npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Any ideas on how to do that? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Easy to bypass and not always applicable npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I like this, but automating it is easy to rig Could be cool to set a bounty for best comment and yeah it may need to be judged by the poster and that's extra work, but if they value it they will do it npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Work has felt incredibly gamified since I got my openclaw bot going and started listening to the AOE2 soundtrack all day. npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Who knows where things lead with nuance, but if you take this graph seriously, it's clear that the baseline is getting raised npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Whenever I see people act scared about AIs never ending need for more energy, I think of this graph. The future is bright. https://blossom.primal.net/6146f9935f52c436832ffd977c0915854a777d3579c97574b00f8e0f7d63649d.png npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Weird. Other zaps are coming thru npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Can you zap other people just fine? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman 👀 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman That's the neat part. You dont npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Banger npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman The Florida ones? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman 🤣 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman We're unsure if that's the issue. Air temp is much worse. We're gonna be fine tho npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I'm actually not terribly worried about this year and didn't mean for my post to come off as as negative as it seemingly did npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Loved him before he quit on the Spurs npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman 10? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Wait so not everyone owns Bitcoin? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Definitely. I posted this in contrast to the "ai is gonna take everyone's jobs in a year" mania npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Just now? What are you a luddite? (Just got mine configured today) npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Doxxed npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Think there's actually gold or are they just pure scams? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman 14 dudes at pickup basketball tonight only 1 has even heard of Openclaw. We live in a bubble. npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman When 2 boys find your comments section and go back and forth it's like mini hell thread npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Trade with your friends 🤝 #nevent1q…pfyx npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Some are calling it the future of money npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I could try to swap it for gold but I bet I'd have to buy more of them to be able to do so npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Make bots drink wine again npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I was told it's worth 5 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Tell ur bot to buy wine with bitcoin #nevent1q…d8zv npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman What am I supposed to do with this? I can't even buy Bitcoin with it. https://blossom.primal.net/e7ff58b05ea52b9eb4d98e57750a149f54c69c1023e711359ca97ab507e67e46.jpg npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman The current system of a bunch of poor people being ruled by an upperclass of pedophiles doesn't seem like it can last much longer. The fourth turning is accelerating. npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I come to Nostr escape the noise of Bitcoin tourism. If you're here, you're not phased. npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman 1 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman People do propane for spring frost on trees Less effective for mid winter cold and is crazy expensive both to run and install. Not worth the cost for me npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Might be good for a glass npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman It's a combination of the altitude and the aridness. I'm in a high elevation desert so it's got extremes on humidity and temperature that most bad insects can't take npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman 🫡 npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman More than I can do npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Entrepreneurship stems from a need to take radical control over your time and energy. It's not for everyone. npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Fkn a bro can you even count that high npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman YOU WANT SPICY WINE?? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Humidity plays a role as well. We're in a desert here too. Extremes on all ends npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Wat mean? npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman The beauty of farming at altitude is that most pests can't handle this climate. We have no need to spray pesticides. #nevent1q…0wyt https://blossom.primal.net/443deb47a1ea1e8a0d9d754be57670f8196633e936404b04a09fb2d749be3ebf.jpg npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman Freezing every night for months, pretty sure yes npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I'm working on @nprofile…yvv9 to diversify, but the beauty of wine is that you can use time to your advantage. Produce more in good years and less in bad years npub153xmex42x4chdf757hp3q6zxagykkek7pdgwuwd074964dkyha9s82ryu8 BenJustman I've lost entire vintages overnight. Here's what winter survival looks like when you farm wine in the highest elevation wine region in North America. Winter is the most important and least controllable season in my vineyard. I can't stop the cold and since the vines go dormant, I don't find out the results until May. Most years blend together, but there are three scenarios that keep me up at night. The Fall of 2020 was unseasonably warm. Days got into the 70s without a freeze until November. Then it dropped to 13 degrees overnight. Without a gradual decline into dormancy, every vine above got zapped above ground. They came back from the roots, but I lost my entire 2021 vintage with zero way to prevent it. Before I took over, my dad had also lost the entire vineyard to hard frosts that dropped below -10 midwinter. This is rare, but when it happens the grapes simply can't survive it and there's nothing I can really do to prevent it. Last year I lost a third of my vineyard above ground and so did other growers in the region. It never got excessively cold and it was a normal Fall so we are a bit stumped as to why. Our best hypothesis is that since it was such a mild winter without snow, the ground got so dry the vines couldn't make it through. The only thing I can do about that is irrigate heavily right before the water gets shut off in October. I'm not sure how effective it is because that water would have to last 5 months but it's all I've got. This winter has been even drier than last. I could get crop insurance, but prefer to steer away from government subsidies to make my own contingency plans. We'll see what happened in May! https://blossom.primal.net/aebff5e46ac013de467179d190e186048a330a64b48a073558260ee06eb65ece.jpg