With the end of year upon us, I decided to celebrate the vine by addressing what it does all year long. Harvest occurs once a year, but we work with the vine all year round as it prepares to provide us with its delicious fruit that will become wine.
Pruning The winter is a quiet time in the vineyard as the vines rest from all of the recent activity. Although we are busy in the cellar, working with the newly arrived vintage (racking and pumping into tanks and in barrels), the vines are dormant. In January we usually begin pruning our Cabernet Sauvignon. Pruning gets the vines ready for the growing season. Prior to pruning, the vines are bare, with one year’s worth of cane growth. We cut off most of this growth, but we leave behind a selected number of spurs (a short part of the cane containing buds). These buds will generate shoots, which will grow into new canes, and the newly grown canes will grow fruit. The number of spurs and buds we leave behind is determined in advance, to control the amount of clusters each vine will produce. It is important to have a balance between the amount of canopy growth (vines and leaves) and the amount of clusters, so the vines are able to channel their energy into the right amount of fruit. This way, the fruit will receive enough nutrients, creating intensity of flavors and allowing it to ripen properly.
FloweringIn late spring or early summer, small clusters of grapes appear on the vines. Each of the clusters contains tiny flowers that bloom. If a grape flower pollinates successfully, it will turn into a grape. Wind, rain and other weather conditions can affect the number of pollinations that occur on the cluster. If any of the flowers fall off, or if they do not pollinate that cluster will have less fruit. This is known as “shatter”.
VeraisonAs we move from spring into summer, the grape berries begin to grow. By the time the vines finish flowering, we have a sense of what the size of the upcoming crop will be. Sometimes, if we determine that there are too many clusters on a vine, we cut off some fruit to allow the vine to focus its energy on ripening fewer grapes. At some time during the month of August, the red grapes will begin to turn color (from green to purple). This process is called veraison. Veraison represents the transition from berry growth to berry ripening. The acid in the grapes begins to drop gradually as the sugar starts to rise. It's a beautiful time in the vineyard as the red wine grapes become purple and the white wine grapes take on a translucent green color with a golden hue.
Harvest Harvest can begin as early as August and can continue through mid- to the end of October. However, in recent years (with the warmer weather conditions), harvest has begun earlier. Different grape varietals ripen at different times. As a general rule, white wine grapes ripen earlier than red wine grapes (with a few exceptions). Each grower, winemaker or vineyard manager determines when to pick the grapes based on a number of factors such as PH, acidity levels, sugar levels (called Brix in grapes) and flavor development. Determining when to pick is a complex, stylistic and strategic decision since it depends a lot on Mother Nature. If it gets too hot too fast, sugar rises before flavors are able to properly develop. If it’s too cool, it slows the ripening of the fruit. Kristin Belair, our Winemaker at Honig, has proven to be a pro at this, and time and time again, has been able to find that perfect balance.
Today in Napa Valley, the vines are dormant; the leaves have turned colors and fallen to the ground. We (just like the vines) are ending an exciting year and are about to begin a new cycle in 2009.