Spring Equinox News
Spring Greetings from Howell Mountain! As we emerge from winter, we witness a reawakening of life around the ADAMVS Estate beyond bud break in the vines. Persistent sunshine has beckoned fields of wild flowers and nutrient rich cover crops to breathe and stretch toward the sky. We watch beneficial bluebirds curiously explore their new real estate—birdhouses that our caretaker Victor handcrafted over the cold winter months—and we listen to their merriment of songs in the vineyard. Our chickens and sheep stir with excitement. As we pause to acknowledge the start of the season and phenomenon of our ecosystem, today we take a moment to focus on one of the most integral and beautiful acts of Spring: the dance of the honey bee.
The dance of the honeybee, also known as the bee waggle, is the incredible method that bees use to communicate the location and source of nectar to the rest of the hive. As spring begins, worker bees must leave the colony to forage for food. When a worker discovers a patch of blooming flowers rich with nectar, the enlightened bee returns to share her news with the rest of the hive. In a complex series of codes, the bee waggles and rotates in a representative circumference and direction to precisely reveal the exact location of nectar, sometimes miles away from home. Her fellow worker bees follow these instructions to amazingly pinpoint this newfound cradle of nourishment.
As the hives hum with the bee dance, we are humbly reminded of the importance of nuance in the ecosystem within our farm. If we consider this dance in the life and work of bees, and its profound effect on a species’ livelihood, we must also acknowledge every act, big and small, that all organisms play. The bees buzz and pollinate, the sheep graze and mow weeds, the chickens lay their eggs and boost compost microbiology, the bluebirds eat harmful insects, Victor whistles, and the cover crops and wild flowers enrich and enliven our soils. This is the terroir in which we grow our vines, the core and the foundation of everything that we do. As winegrowers and caretakers of our vineyard, we encourage, embrace, and respect this ecosystem, and we realize that biodynamic farming is our calling and is our way to grow and make ADAMVS wine.