Soon after the fall harvest months, vineyard managers begin preparing for the next growing season.  When I first started helping out at Long Point Winery, we were out in the vineyards in our Carhartts in 20 degree weather trudging through the snow.  January, February, and March are when the vines need to be pruned.  It’s at this time that the vines are still dormant and easier to manage.  Pruning is a simple but necessary process of selecting the healthiest or best positioned canes and removing the rest.  Because Long Point Winery’s vineyards utilize a vertical shoot positioning system, we only left 3 or 4 canes per vine.

After pruning is finished the vines need to be tied to the trellis system.  We do this to maximize the vine’s sunlight and air reception, thus lessening disease pressure and improving the overall health of the vine.  This process of tying the vines down is also known as ‘wrapping’, and ideally you want your vines to be tied before the buds begin breaking open.

Tying vines

More tying

3 acres of Riesling

This spring we experienced an early bud break from a stretch of warmer days in mid-March.  Because of this we had to hurry to catch up with the vines and get them tied.  But as you can see from the pictures, the vines not only opened up but had quite a few shoots by the time we finished tying.  On a side note, it should be interesting to see how this year’s early bud break will influence the vintage of the wines they will produce.

More soon.
Ryan