The Vineyard Diaries

The Blessing of the Vines

On an overcast Thursday evening in June we teamed up with Rookes wine merchants of Stratford-on-Avon for a traditional "Flowering of the Vine" ceremony conducted by the Vicar of Warwick, Rev. Roger Garrett, and witnessed by the Alcester Chevaliers Bretvins and the Warwick Commanderie du Taste Saumur. Despite huge misgivings about the weather, John and Carole from Rookes reassured us that all would be taken care of: the gazebo they brought turned out to be the XL version which could accommodate two tasting tables, the buffet AND (in case of an inconvenient downpour) the 45 invited guests. The short sermon by the vines was solemnly received - though not half so solemnly, we suspect, as if the prayers for good weather and a bountiful harvest had occurred a month later..fortunately, as you can read below, the 2007 vintage survived the ravages of the unseasonal English "summer"!