We have all seen vineyards at different parts of the year. For a few months they are just sticks, whereas the rest of the year it may just look like a sea of green leaves. Sometimes there may be a team of workers on foot busy in a block, other times it may be a lone tractor driving down the rows.
But what is actually going on in the vineyard all year? Is it as simple as sticks >>> leaves >>> grapes >>> wine?
Like anything worth dedicating oneself to, the lifecycle of a vine is complex and fascinating. There are decisions being made every single day to not only help the current years crop, but the overall health and success of each vine for vintages to come.
To take you along on the journey of the vines for a growing season we’d like to introduce you to Sugar and Spice.
Sugar is a 22 year old Sauvignon Blanc vine planted on one of the highest slopes on the farm in our registered single vineyard Sugarbush block. Sugar is located 8 rows from the lower northeast corner of the block, 5 vines up.
Spice is also 22 years old but is a Syrah vine located in the sandy soil on the flatter, lower, opposite side of the dam. Spice is 10 rows down from the northeast corner and 6 vines up.
We’ll be following both vines throughout the 2023 vintage from bud break, to harvest, and back into winter.
Today, we have just finished the first major task to take place in the vineyards for the growing season: pruning.
Pruning is done every year, typically in late winter for us. It is the method of cutting back canes/bearers to aid in the shape, vigour, and crop of each vine for the coming growing season.
At Lomond, all 130ha of vineyard are pruned by hand. It’s a serious endeavour, but the precision and vine-by-vine discretion our skilled team takes with them into each block of vineyard is unmatched. And it is this process that sets the foundation for the 2023 crop to begin growing on.
This process is affecting everything from the size and quantity of bunches a vine will grow, how the vine utilises the trellis, how the vine will be able to withstand things like wind/rain/humidity, and much more.
During pruning, there are many factors being taken into consideration, and a very critical one is timing. Pruning early aids in growth of the vine for the coming year. Whereas pruning later aids in fertility and therefore helps to yield a larger crop. Finding the perfect pruning time for each block of vineyard is key.
Typically Spice is harvested about 6-8 weeks after Sugar. However, Spice was pruned 1st week of September whereas Sugar was only pruned the 3rd week and is of the last of the vines on the farm to be pruned. The main reason for this is the bud timing between these cultivars.
Bud break tends to reach Syrah early in the season whereas Sauvignon Blanc is a late budding cultivar.
With the first major task of 2023 out of the way, we now hand the reigns back over to Mother Nature.
As the days become longer and warmer, bud break is sure to be just around the corner. Once the first small leaves begin to burst from the vines these seemingly barren blocks of vines will soon be transformed to fields of green. We will check back in soon to take a closer look.
