We just spent our first weekend at the Cauquenes property as owners. We drove down on Friday, camped for two nights, and drove back on Sunday. It was a lot of driving, but a great weekend nonetheless. Don Ismael is our caretaker. He runs his six horses on the property, which has a huge effect in terms of keeping the weeds down. Abandoned properties nearby are nearly impassable with waist-high weeds. The ground is still pretty wet from the winter and spring rains, although the creek is already dry. There are a lot of wild flowers, including wild roses (called rosa mosqueta in Chile) and pennyroyal (poleo).
The first step in planting the vineyard is clearing a section of the land. We decided where we want to start, and Don Ismael will start clearing the area this month.

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