Giving the clusters a bit of light and air

26 Aug 2014 – General

In the past few days there have been seven of us out in the vineyards, working on the lower portion of the leaf-canopies–the cluster-belt- removing leaves in order to to give the grapes exposure to the afternoon sun as well as to the morning rays.

The side where the morning sun shines has already been thinned-out in early summer, after the flowering. During this process, the old leaves at the base of the fruit bearing shoots and side shoots are removed. This serves to shed sunshine upon the grapes as well as make it possible for the wind to dry the clusters more easily and thoroughly after a rain or morning dewfall. Getting sunshine to reach the clusters brings about a more effective retention of colouring agents in the berries, and it also enhances the development of tannins. Both of these factors improve the quality of the red wine grapes. This enables the harvest to proceed more quickly and efficiently, since the clusters are, shall we say, ‘offered up on a silver platter…’

This removal of leaves also helps to maintain the health of the berries. Certainly, the cluster-belt can be opened out as soon as the process of véraison is nearly complete—since before there is the danger of sunburn, and the vines react negatively to a dramatic reduction in the leaf-mass. With our white wines, the defoliation is done rather late, and to a more limited degree, since neither the augmentation of colour nor the development of tannins is desired. In this case it’s done only to maintain the health of the grapes.