Winter in the vineyard. The vines are asleep but there is no rest for Brad and Stacey - It is time to Prune
Misty COLD morning in the vineyard
Winter is the perfect time to visit the Granite Belt to capture amazing pictures of mist and frost in the vineyard, just like the picture above. That is, if you don’t mind getting up early and walking out into the freezing cold, usually below zero, to get the perfect shot. I’d rather be tucked up warm and cosy in bed with my electric blanket!
When the ground temperature starts to drop during Autumn the vine’s leaves start to change colour and eventually drop off leaving the vines naked and eventually they move into dormancy. I like to say they have gone to sleep, storing their energy for spring and the next vintage. This means it is time to prune. We cut back all of last season’s growth and start over each vintage. In some varieties we cut off everything back to the trunk leaving just 1 cane on each side to lay down. This is called cane pruning and is perfectly suited to varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and Alvarinho. New shoots will grow from the buds on the canes we lay down and each shoot will grow 2 bunches of grapes.
In other varieties we have permanent ‘arms’ growing each side of the main trunk with canes growing from these arms. Spur pruning is when we cut these canes down leaving just 2 x buds on each one leaving a hand space between each cane. All other canes are cut off so we don’t over load the vine and create too much canopy during the spring. This type of pruning is great for Semillon, Merlot and Gros Manseng.
We hand prune all of the vineyard during winter. It has to be done before the ground temperature starts to warm up and the vines wake up and want to start growing. We try to get started in June and generally dont get done before September, so if you are coming to stay in the accommodation during Winter you will probably find us in the vineyard pruning away. Brad will be listening to music and Stacey will have an Audio Book on, currently listening to Knight, Heir, Prince. Book 3 in the Crowns and Glory Series (very Game of Thrones like)
Note: It has to be above zero for Stacey to prune.
We still have plenty of wine available on our website, click on this link to head straight to our shop: Cellar door wine shop | Traditional and unusual varieties — Welcome to View Wine
If you are thinking about a little getaway and would like to stay in our accommodation click here: Sancerre Estate, Ballandean