A year in the vineyard in 7 crucial stages: from pruning to harvest

Introduction - the main lines of our season in the vineyard

In this article I want to explain to you the cycle of the vine in the vineyard. The magical moments of the vineyard. I am not going to talk about diseases or pests in the vineyard. Those are there too. There are even moments when you want to level your vineyard with a tree saw. That is the passion of the (beginning) wine grower. Fortunately, there are also moments when you are intensely happy in your vineyard. Those moments surpass everything and also last the longest. But information about crop protection will come later. My vineyard is my muse who gives me so much love but sometimes rejects me and does her own thing. But as I get to know her better I accept her whims and moreover, I prepare myself for them and anticipate them. True love. I speak of my vineyard in the feminine form, you choose the gender of your vineyard yourself :)

Phase 1: Winter pruning or soft pruning (March)

Since last year's harvest, our vineyard has been in a well-deserved rest. The sap flow in the vine stopped after the harvest when it got colder. The vine is in vegetative rest until about March. At the beginning of April, when the average daily temperatures rise, the vine starts a beautiful story again. But before that happens, we do a winter pruning or soft pruning. We only need the wood from last year to a limited extent. The longer we leave the vine alone, the later it starts to grow. If you wait to prune, the energy or growth power is distributed over the remains of the shoots from the previous year. If we prune earlier, all the energy goes to the remaining branches and they grow much earlier. I previously wrote an article about Pruning Vines: Pruning Vines: Building Up the First 3 Years and Then Maintaining It

Phase 2: The budding (le débourrement)

Just like the blood of the winegrower, the saps inside the vine also flow faster. This is because there are more hours of light per day and the average daytime temperatures are rising. It is a very nice phase to see a few dots of green in the vineyard again. At the same time, fear strikes every time the mercury flirts with freezing point. Until the Ice Saints have left the country on May 15, we must remain alert for night frost. It is great to know that the grapes inside the buds are already formed, they just have to grow. If only it were that simple :) Each stage of budding has a different frost tolerance. I will list them:

• Swelling of the buds: -8 °C
• Wool stage: -6 °C
• Green dot: -2 °C
• Buds break: -1 °C
• Young leaves / stems: -0.5 °C

These are estimates, the wind and thermals (specific weather conditions) in your vineyard also play a role. The same button 1 week later

Stage 3: Leaf development in the vineyard

Many growth substances for cell construction and chemical processes in your plant come from your soil. But the leaves also have a crucial task. The leaves are the solar panels of your vine. They get energy from sunlight during the process of 'photosynthesis' in which fructose and glucose are created, the Red Bull for your grapes. The journey for your vine now takes at least 5 months and that requires energy. The shoots grow centimeter by centimeter. Leaves appear in a zigzag pattern over the shoots. As soon as your shoots get 10 leaves, you have to start thinking about crop protection. From now on, canopy management is also on the agenda. We need a minimum of leaves that make energy drink to let our grapes grow and build up sugars. But an abundance of leaves also gives a risk of mold formation when your canopy cannot dry in time after rain or morning dew. If we remove too many leaves, there is also a risk of sunburn (burning of the skin of your grapes). In addition to crop protection, there will also be an extensive article about canopy management. What I do want to say now is that when the fourth to sixth leaf is there, you can remove all double shoots that come from the eyes on your bender. There is no point in growing two shoots from one eye. The shoots that are too close or with little growth power, the weak brothers, can also be removed. Personally, I only keep 6 to 8 shoots or shoots per stick.

Stage 4: The flowering or flower setting of the vine (la floraison)

Earlier (in this article at least) we talked about the leaves that grow. But also the bunches that will later become grapes and your top wine, are soon visible on the plant. They are green bunches of balls that you see on the main tendril. That is of course not yet the flowering, they are also not yet grapes (see photo early flowering). After about the tenth leaf the flowering also starts. During the early flowering the caps of the previously mentioned green balls fall off and the leaves of the mini flowers unfold. The total flowering lasts about a month. At the end of the flowering the leaves fall off and the next phase starts. After the start of flowering, it is still an average of 100 days until harvest. During flowering, the flowers are fertilized, grapes are self-pollinating so you don't have to do anything yourself. With a perfect flowering, the grapes are fertilized. If something goes wrong, abortive flowering can occur. As a result, the bulbs where the flowers emerge can fall off and you therefore have no or partial fertilization. A reason for failure to bloom can be bad weather or that your vine is growing too vigorously, causing the flowers to receive too little nutrition because all energy goes to the growth of your shoots. Too much fertilization or a too vigorous rootstock can be the cause of excessive growth of your plant. Often, in the case of excessive growth, the shoots are topped earlier to prevent the flowers from not receiving enough nutrition. At the beginning of the flowering you can still treat well, during the flowering it is best not to spray on the bunches. Only at the end of the flowering can you do that again. In an article about crop protection you can read more about it.

Phase 5: Fruit setting in the vineyard (la nouaison)

When the flowers have disappeared we need to be alert for mildew , downy mildew and botrytis. With the falling of the leaves there are vulnerable spots on your mini grapes where fungi can take advantage of to penetrate your bunches with all its consequences. After the flowering, the berries swell and the real bunches of grapes are formed. When the berries start to touch each other and the bunches start to close, la 'fermeture des grappes', you have to be on your best behavior again. This is the last time that you can spray crop protection agents between the grapes. Once your bunches are closed, it is no longer easy. You have very compact bunches such as with the Johanniter where it is impossible. With stretched bunches such as with a Regent grape, for example, this is less of an issue.

Stage 6: The discoloration of the grapes or la véraison

The discoloration is beautiful to look at and reveals that the grape is getting riper. But the most important thing is that a few very important things happen during the véraison in the grape. I will summarize the three most important things during the ripening process for you:

• The increase in sugars. As mentioned before, your vine produces sugars (fructose and glucose) via its solar panels, leaves and the process of photosynthesis. These sugars are essential for the production of wine. So your foliage wall must be in top shape. It must be healthy and must also receive sufficient nutrition and water. Otherwise you will not get enough sugar in your grapes and you may have to add sugars during the winemaking process and that is never good.
• The polyphenols (flavour) and anthocyanins (colour) in the grape ripen. All the flavour and colour components of the grape are in the skin and the seeds. As the grape ripens, the polyphenols become softer in character. Just try biting the seeds of an unripe grape (green seeds) and then of a ripe grape (brown seeds). This also applies to the skin. If it is unripe, your mouth will dry out due to tannin (one of the polyphenols). Unripe polyphenols represent bitterness and unpleasant aromas in your wine. Ripe polyphenols represent body, elegance, structure, ripe aromas, beautiful colour, ... Polyphenols can also be too ripe, which sometimes results in jammy wines that do not always invite you to take another sip.
• The decrease in acids. With the increase in sugars and the ripening of the polyphenols in the grape, the acids decrease. The acids are expressed in different units. For convenience, we use the pH value and the number of grams of tartaric acid per liter. Professional wine growers often send samples of grapes to a lab where much more is measured. We do everything ourselves.

As mentioned, as a hobby wine grower we will use our pH meter and refractometer to find a balance and determine an estimate of the harvest. When you approach that date, you should also start measuring the number of grams of tartaric acid per liter with a titration test. The pH meter is indicative and easy to measure. There will be a separate article about measurements in the vineyard. Not every grape or wine style requires the same ripeness. In sparkling wines or sparkling wine you have very early ripening grapes with little sugar, less phenolic ripeness and high acidity. In contrast to a red, full, powerful wine for keeping where ripeness and alcohol are more important and acidity less.

Phase 7: The harvest of our wine grapes - the supreme moment

It's always a wonderful moment. I swear, the night before the harvest I can't sleep well. In my head I go over all the steps 200 times. That's very personal, other winegrowers might sleep very well the night before the harvest, but I don't :) Harvesting is not just cutting grapes and putting them in a harvest box or a peat box. No, before you can harvest, a lot has to happen. Your winemaking equipment has to be there and it has to be clean and sterile. Nothing is more annoying than something missing. Every year I make a shopping list of what I need. I try to have everything in the house on time. Also try to have your notepads ready for the vinification. The information you write down during the winemaking is so valuable! In the weeks before, I go through the list in my head 100 times: cutting, destemming, de-stemming, bruising, pressing, measuring, ... Everything is also quite ready like a scenario of a film where you only have to take on the task of director. For white, red or rosé wine, the script will also be different. Everything has to be physically ready and clean, but you also have to be mentally ready and you have to have space and time. If you have to hurry or still have to find and clean everything, making wine is really not fun. Make sure you have clean pruning shears and harvesting bins and harvest in the morning when your grapes are still cool. They will oxidize less quickly and with white wine you can cool it down faster for pre-clarification. Warming up is always easier than cooling down. You can find all the information about it in the articles or making wine.

Finally, about the different phases of a year in the vineyard

Every vintage is different, that's what makes it so exciting. Nature is the boss and you are standing on the sidelines doing your utmost to harvest healthy and ripe grapes. Only after the harvest can you let your vineyard rest until the winter pruning or soft pruning of the following year. If you find the information on Wijnbouwweetjes.com valuable, talk about it with your friends and consider buying your stuff in our webshop . In this way, you help to spread the passion for the vineyard. A webshop with wine growing equipment, wine making equipment and lots of information to make wine, that did not exist yet. And I want to change that. Hopefully you want to help with this. Good luck with your vineyard, your vineyard in the making or your vineyard dreams. Tom I in my vineyard