Whatever’s going on with weather, or in the world, a vine’s year always follows the same pattern where every stage is vital and nothing is missed. The vineyard is never out of season, and no two vineyard visits are the same. Whenever you come and see us, you’re stepping into a cycle that’s been repeating ever since life began!
Dormancy - winter
Above ground the vine looks still, but energy is stored deep in the roots and woody stems. This is when we prune - the nutrients have moved back into the roots and last year’s growth can be removed so that the vines can start again for the following growing season. Pruning is a complex and time consuming task - you can read more about it here.
Bud break / bud burst - early spring
As temperatures begin to rise, the sap begins to make its way upwards. Buds swell and burst open. Tiny green shoots appear, which at this point are very fragile. We keep everything crossed for a late frost-free zone.
Shoot and leaf growth - mid spring
The vine starts to pick up pace. Shoots lengthen, leaves unfurl, and tendrils reach out for anything they can cling to. The leaves capture spring sunshine and turn it into sugars through photosynthesis.
Flowering - late spring
Flowering is always slightly underwhelming - the small, delicate flower clusters form with barely visible white petals, but they’re flowers all the same. The vines self-pollinate and at this point, we hope rain won't disrupt this process - wet flowers don’t open so well which can impact on successful pollination.
Fruit set - early summer
The fertilised flowers become tiny green grapes. Not all flowers make it, and some drop naturally, allowing the vine to focus its energy on what’s left.
Berry growth - early to mid summer
The grapes increase in size but remain hard and green. Inside, the building blocks of flavour are forming, even though the fruit is still far from ready - sugars are still very low at this point.
Veraison - mid to late summer
Berries soften and begin to change colour - for white grapes, this means turning from an opaque green to a yellow-golden. For darker grapes, this means a more impressive move from green to purple. We usually start thinking about picking dates around now and what we’re going to make. Sugar levels (and excitement) rise.
Ripening
Flavour, aroma and balance develop day by day. Tanks are being furiously prepped and we’re nearly at a point where all the vineyard team’s hard work is getting closer to paying off.
Harvest - late summer to autumn
The culmination of the year’s work. Grapes are picked, ideally with high sugars and respectable acids and are taken to the winery to begin the next transformation!
Leaves yellow - autumn
Leaves turn yellow and gold before dropping. The vine starts to shut down, drawing its nutrients back into the roots.
Late autumn / winter
With the fruit gone and leaves fallen, the vineyard becomes very quiet again. Growth stops. The vine rests, ready to begin the whole amazing cycle again next year.
