Spring update of the vineyard

Finally, sunnier days seem to be ahead of us.

And whilst (unfortunately) the sun doesn't yet come out every day, we definitely notice the difference in the vineyard as we are preparing for the season ahead.

Of course, these last months haven't meant that we have been resting on our laurels. A lot happens during winter, as this period is an essential time of year for the vines to recover, mature and prepare again for another year of producing fantastic grapes.

At the start of the year, we have been busy pruning the vines. This is a very important task, and essential for the successful management of a vineyard as the decisions made at pruning time will have a big effect on next year's growth and health of the vineyard. It is not a question of just chopping down the vine! Each vine is pruned by hand, to check on the health of each grapevine. We carefully select the best and strongest cane(s) to be our fruiting cane for the upcoming season. If not done correctly a vine might produce an overlarge, low quality crop, with uneven or unhealthy growth.

We have removed all the old canes from the previous season, and are now also starting to tie down the (new) fruiting cane. These canes are tied down horizontally along the fruiting wire, ready for the new growing season.

And meanwhile, we are keeping an eye out for those important buds! As temperatures are rising, the saps are rising too, and the vines once again begin pushing out the new green growth that will become this year’s shoots, leaves, inflorescences and of course grapes. This also means that "frost watch" will be starting. You might have seen that some areas in France are currently at high alert due to the sudden cold snap there. Frost protections systems (wind turbines, heaters and candles) have already had to be used on some nights to protect the precious buds.

At Larkhill our buds are still a bit too shy to show themselves, but once they emerge, we will also keep a constant eye on the weather forecast.

So whilst the vines may still look bare, there is the promise of what's to come...