As the colder months start to set in, we all like to hibernate to escape the cold or, for the lucky ones, head north to warmer climates. Obviously the vines cannot just pack up and leave the vineyard, so they too will hibernate. We call this the dormancy phase, where the vines are having a good snooze waiting for spring to come.
But while it may be snooze time for the vines, in the world of wine producers/vineyard owners post-vintage, they can’t really do the same, as the winter period is still a key stage in the timetable of the vineyard calendar. It is time for the vines to get a haircut; in other words, it’s pruning time.
Pruning is just one job that forms part of the vineyard’s cycle on the calendar and normally starts around June. The purpose of pruning is to discard any unwanted leaves and canes. These canes are the arms of the vines, so to speak, and where the new shoots grow from. Also, you do not want the vines to become too woody, canes dangling all over the place and looking messy.
To sum up pruning, its main outcome is to set the vines up for the new vintage season and determine how many new buds that become the shoots there will be and where on the cane they will grow. The vines do look pretty schmick too, once all pruned up, nicely shaped and ready to go.
Pruning can also take place in summer. It is done for a handful of reasons, one of which is to make sure the grape bunches can have maximum exposure to the sun by stripping a few leaves so the grapes can get a good tan from access to sunlight.
You have probably seen people wearing high-vis gear in the vineyards up and down the Peninsula. These are the hardworking pruning crews that snip away during these colder months and brave all the elements. It is certainly not an easy or glamorous job, as it can be quite physical work and needs a bit of practise to do what is required for the specifics of each vineyard’s pruning methods.
Next time you are out exploring our wonderful wine area, take a look at the vines and hopefully you will get an appreciation of the work that goes into this task and why it’s done. Chat to the cellar door staff about it too while tasting their wines from those vineyards. They can tell you more about it and might have even done a bit of pruning themselves.
‘Til next time, enjoy your wine journey.
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