Mid-Season Vineyard Tips

It’s easy to forget that it takes two full years to make good wine from your own grapes. The first year is spent in the vineyard tending the vines, spraying sulfur, removing basal growth (suckering), positioning shoots, adjusting the canopy so the fruit receives flecks of sunlight, watering, testing and harvesting. The second year is spent in the wine cellar taking care to treat the wine well. A lesson that I’ve learned in the wine growing and winemaking business is that there’s always something to do to make the vines healthier, make the crop more intense and to keep the wine clean so that it will express the place where it was grown. The purpose of this article is simple: To discuss ways to improve wine quality in the vineyard. It’s summer, and the vegetative growing cycle of the shoots and leaves is slowing. Sugar is beginning to accumulate in the berries via photosynthesis. The grapes are going through veráison (or berry softening). Before you know it, harvest will arrive. The key to success is to consider your viticultural practices