On June 1, 2013 - 1,233 days, 50+ meetings and countless volunteer hours later, the first vine was planted in our research plot. By the end of the day, nearly 900 vines encompassing 21 different varieties were planted.
A crew of 13 volunteers dug, watered, planted, watered - dug, watered, planted, watered - and on and on throughout the day (eventually the day ended and we "watered" ourselves with some wine from Jody's vineyard). The work was so exciting we secured two new members on the spot. Welcome aboard Brent (from Nakusp) and Scott (all the way up from Nelson to help!) A big thanks to all the volunteers who showed up to help. As always I cannot say enough to express the thanks to each of you who sacrificed the day.
Each vine planted was supported with a bamboo stake and surrounded by a juice carton. These cartons are fairly typical in the grape world as they help provide a bit of mini greenhouse effect on young vines, as well as provide some protection from the mulch and mowing. 
Anybody ever try Arnold Palmer Raspberry Ice Tee? Did not think so, which would explain why there were so many unused cartons available! Colourful enough, and yes for the obsessive crowd, all are orientated in the same direction.
Each of the 21 rows contain an single variety and over the next few weeks I will try to post a short explanation of each variety and our reason for selecting it. All varieties were selected for our specific climate and growing conditions, so we are confident there will be some success.
The day was long, hard on the knees and back and tiring. It may have been a long road to get to this point, but even as the last vine was planted, we were all still smiling.
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