Bud burst, Covid19, Frost and more Frost...

My last update was at the end of February and little we knew that our lives were going to change so much at such a global level. Covid19 has entered our existence and has affected so many people in so many different ways that it will be difficult to forget a year like 2020. I sincerely wish everyone is safe and well. 

When I left you, I had already pruned the “windy” site and I was about to start pruning the “frosty” site. It all went well and the task was finished by the 9th of March. I really cannot stress enough how amazing it is to do the pruning, together with Harvest is my favourite thing to do in the vineyard, as you have to consider each vine individually.  The next thing in the diary of the Vigneron is to tie down the canes that have been selected to bear the gorgeous fruit of the season. Because we have selected a Single Guyot pruning method, this means that one cane (in our case, but could be two depending on your strategy, and then it would be called double Guyot) will be laid onto a horizontal fix wire in the trellising, so that the buds in the the canes where the new fruit will grow, are placed in a way that do not break, as the fruit develops and gets heavy. Because our strategy is to produce great quality fruit, not volume, we only lay one cane. 

Since I have been adopting Organic and Biodynamic principles, the learning curve has been fantastic but pretty steep. Last year I lost to the powdery mildew and I am determined to not let that happen this year. So my first step was to spray Lavender oil to “cure” the wounds we made with the pruning, use it as prophylactic and to strengthen the immune system of the vines. Is a super treat for my girls. 

And then it was the Lock down, I am not going to dwell on how much it has affected us because all in all I feel grateful that we are healthy and well, everything else we can try to go back on track afterwards.  

As we went into spring we also moved the wires that will keep the foliage tidy as the vines grow, and we harvested some dandelion and nettles from within the vineyard itself, to make tea and spray on the vines as well. Dandelion reinforces the resistance to fungal diseases and the nettles regulate and stimulate the vegetative growth. The glorious buds started bursting around the 13th of April and the feeling is just so joyous that I cannot even describe it. My babies were coming out, life is magical. 

As the vines grow, so do some little water shoots around their trunk and their base. The idea is to take these off, to channel the energy towards the buds that really need it to produce the fruit. So another of the tasks around this time is to go vine by vine and “rub off”  these little growths that are also called suckers, we refer to this as bud rubbing, and depending on who pronounces it, brings out a few perplexed faces :) . It is a necessary but lengthy process and will ensure no goodness is wasted. 

There is one thing that is sure in Vineyard and Winemaking life, you live on a roller coaster, as fast as the happiness of budburst came, I also started worrying about another batch of arctic weather coming towards us around the 11th of May. We had a close call around the 23rd of April when the temperatures went down and some of the vineyards around us were hit by frost but we were lucky to get away with it. We mowed the grass really short and strimmed everything to allow the heat that had been absorbed by the soil in the previous weeks, to be retained, as we have had an amazing spring. There is the thought the temperature of a bare soil can be up to 2C higher than one that has 5cm of grass. No such luck, this time, we got hit by the frost on about 10-15% of the vineyard, not for nothing we call that corner the “frosty” site.

As I finish this update, I am going to go around the vineyard spraying more nettle tea to strengthen the vines again and stimulate growth after the frost, fingers crossed, next time you hear from me I will have better news… In the meantime, please go to our online shop https://www.bsixtwelve.co.uk/wineshop, we have a fabulous offer with free local delivery and on orders over £125, plus a 10% discount. Salud!