Wine News
We all know it’s winter here in NZ, but did you know it’s also a very important time in our vineyards? The following article is taken from The Sisters’ latest wine newsletter. It gives you a great insight into what goes on in a Marlborough vineyard over winter to prepare for the next harvest – repeated with permission.
In the Vineyard
Winter a time for rest and repair
After the frantic period of harvest in late summer and autumn and the excitement of grapes coming in and winemaking getting underway, winter seems a very still, quiet time. While this is true for the most part, important things are happening in the vineyard.
Row upon row of vibrant green, busy vines gradually change during autumn and early winter as the canopies begin to shut down, and the leaves change colour. Once brown, they fall to the ground, and the bare vines head towards dormancy.
And winter means pruning. This involves cutting off the canes (branches) that produced this year’s fruit and laying-down new fruiting canes that will bud come Springtime. There are many ways to prune vines, and methods are chosen based on the grape variety and the amount of fruit desired.
Generally, the more fruit it produces, the harder the vine must work and the more challenging it is to get it all ripe before the end of the growing season. This can lead to quality issues as grapes need to be ripe to produce flavoursome fruit with the right balance of natural sugars and acidity.
Once pruned, the vineyards are quiet, although buffeted with winter weather. It’s a period of rest and repair as their roots grow and strengthen, looking for the all-important nutrients from the soil, building up their resources in preparation for the growing cycle to start again in the Spring.
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