It's the Spring Equinox!

Today is the Spring Equinox (aka the “Vernal Equinox”), which occurs when the Sun crosses the equator line, heading north. This event marks the start of spring in the northern half of the globe. After this date, the Northern Hemisphere begins to be tilted more toward the Sun, resulting in increasing daylight hours and warming temperatures. It’s when daylight exceeds 12 hours each day, and nighttime accepts whatever is left over.

Spring is a special season for so many reasons. Flowers bloom. Chicks hatch. Lambs (our future Manchego producers!) and other adorable baby animals are born. In spring, leaves start to form buds on the trees, the days lengthen, and kids start to take the field for little league games. But it also has a special implication in the wonderful world of potato-growing! For perfect potato crops, soil temperatures should be about 50 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of planting. In the regions that grow potatoes in the U.S., that means springtime!  

On the dairy farms that produce the Wine Chips cheeses, spring represents the time of year that cows are able to freely roam the pastures.  It’s always a beautiful sight to watch the cows the first day they are turned out in the fields. They run around, frolicking, and milking is done as a large community rather than from multiple siloed barns. It’s the time farmers most love to farm!

So while we realize that, with today’s advanced agricultural techniques and modern technologies, we plant and harvest potatoes virtually year-round in the western United States, and - yes - barns work fine for milking (when you have to use them), springtime still retains a warm place in our hearts.  

We have some wonderful springtime bundles in store for you here at Wine Chips, from Chocolate Room Easter Baskets to our Easter-Packaged Cheese & Charcuterie Baskets to other fun treats! It’s going to be a beautiful spring!!

The Wine Chips Team