2007-2-22, 10:01 pm
If you have been wondering what we are doing all day long in winter then you have come to the right
place. The first task which we have to carry out every new year is pruning the vines. This work consumes
all of January and even much of February in many years. Pruning the vinyards means to cut the vines
which have grown in the past year so that only short pieces of the shoots remain. This has to be done to
ensure vital growth and even more importantly to control the expected crop yield in the upcoming year.
Since every bud of a vine has the potential to form one or two grapes we have to intervene and regulate
here.
Many grapes on one vine mean a high yield but this comes with some severe drawbacks. A vine can only produce
a certain amount of sugar, aroma, extracts and other valuable grape constituents over the course of a year.
If it then has to split all these among many small grapes, the single berries remain tiny, sour and not very
aromatic. Grapes that are usable for high-quality wines definitely look different. For this reason pruning
is already the first and most important step in reducing the expected yield to only a fraction of the
theoretical potential of a vinyard. This provides the foundation for the development of healthy, big and
really ripe grapes at harvest time, just what is needed for the production of first-class, aromatic and
noble wines. Another effect of reducing the yield is that it also reduces the burdon on the vines. This
leads to healthier and more vital vinyards that are able to yield good harvests for many years to come.
Vinyards which are overloaded with grapes tend to degrade quickly in comparison and will not be able to
prosper fo a long time.
This reasons explain why pruning is the most important task in the
vinyard short of the harvest because it already defines the basics of a successful wine year. The specific
requirements and the significance of pruning naturally demand experienced hands. Still in a warm and nice
year like this has been until now the work is very pleasant to do and goes on quickly.
So you can
see the reason why we haven't posted any new stuff here for some weeks has not been an extended winer
holyday. We are already working with verve to do everything possible for an outstanding 2007
vintage.
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