Spring Awakening
Phew, we did it! The dangerous frost phase is over, and now we can plunge into the enjoyment phase of the year together with you with relief! Things are currently happening in the vineyard: the new fruit canes are forming their first leaves. As soon as this happens, photosynthesis begins and the plants grow like crazy.
For us, that means it's time to head back to the vineyard ! Over the next few weeks, we have to build the so-called leaf wall. The canes that shoot up freely are threaded into the wires so that they are secure and don't break off later due to the wind or the weight of the heavy grapes.
In the coming weeks, around three to five people at our winery will be working on this so-called " wire frame training ". Yes, the word is awful, it sounds like hitting the vines with a wire rope. But it is not like that. It is actually a dance of the vines around the supporting wire. Yes, that is right. At the next opportunity, we will suggest renaming the wire frame training to "spring tightrope walking training". Let's see if we can get away with it. We winegrowers don't like new-fangled stuff. :-)
During this training process, we don't just walk through each vineyard once , but at least four to six times, spread over several weeks. Because as soon as we reach one end of the vineyard, the vines behind us have shot up so much that we have to make adjustments. It's a race against time... but it's a nice job, especially when it's already spring-like and the birds can't calm down because they're enjoying the sun.
In other countries, vineyards are trained differently (why aren't we surprised?!). In Spain, for example, there is bush training. The plants are trained directly above the ground. Many of us know the pergola training from our holidays in Italy... the vines are laid across a pergola as a roof, so that the grapes practically grow into your mouth when you sit under it. La dolce vita par excellence! And then there is steep slope training, where the vines are attached to a post. This is also used in Germany.
But why did we choose the wire rope variant? It has one crucial advantage: the vines can be worked mechanically later because you can drive a tractor through the aisles. The other methods all require a lot more manual work and that is not only time-consuming but also very costly.
It's not just the leaves that develop in these weeks. At the same time, the inflorescences form! Never heard of them? They look like miniature grapes, but are the unfertilized precursor of the later grapes. The inflorescence later bursts, the seed sac opens, and the flower develops from it. Grape vines are self-pollinating - a little wind is enough for the flowers to be fertilized.
Leave a comment