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Journey to Harvest:
03/01/2010
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Journey to Harvest
Pruning – An exercise in optimism Take a trip along Highway 12 this time of year and you’re sure to see groups of men out in the cold, wet, and windy vineyards. It’s pruning time, perhaps the most important cultural action of the year and, with the exception of harvesting, the most expensive. Oddly enough, these lean financial times have produced an unusual benefit. Son John and I decided that – to save some hard-to-come-by cash – we would do some of our own pruning this season instead of having our professional crew do it. As the Old Patron here I had not been out doing any actual pruning for some years. I have been astonished by my feelings. As I go down each row of vines, it’s as if I have a personal appointment with each vine, each one an old friend. Years ago, I brought each vine from the nursery neatly tied in bundles of 25, covered with a tarp in the back of my pickup. I remember working on our knees with our planting crew, placing each new ranch member carefully in its surveyed spot, then pressing the dirt carefully around its roots. As it grew, we trained each vine to grow up its stake and then along its trellis wire. And now, years later, as a mature vine, we meet again. Each vine is different and requires individual and personal attention.  A magic Zinfandel dormant grape bud holding the secret of vintage 2010.  The diagram above shows what is going on inside the grape bud. A, main growing point; E, lateral growing points; B, leaf primordia; C, flower clusters primordia; D, tendril primordia; and F, hair for protection against water loss. Source: General Viticulture, 2nd Edition, by A.J. Winkler, J.A. Cook, W.M. Kliewer and L.A. Lider. Experienced growers believe that the best quality grapes are produced by a fruit load that is precisely in balance with the amount of canopy needed to get the entire crop mature at the right time. Our goal is to individually adjust each vine’s potential summer leaf canopy to its expected grape crop. Leave too few buds on a strong vine and its grapes will mature early while it grows excessive canopy. Leave too many buds on a weak vine and its fruit ripens too late and it will have a weak canopy. The winemaker wants a uniform crop at harvest, with consistent sugar and acid levels. And after our 30-plus years of harvests here at MacLeod Family Vineyard, we have a good feel for how many pounds of grapes a typical balanced vine can bring to maturity with our lean and rocky soils. The magic in these wonderful plants resides in the small buds along each of the canes that grew last summer. Now pay attention – this is truly amazing. These buds were formed last May and June and contain the embryonic bunches for this year’s fruit. The formation and productivity of these buds depended on the health of the vine last year, the climate during bud and cane growth, and vine resources. It’s as if within each vine there is a production committee making decisions for what the vine is going to produce next year, based on the conditions it is facing this year. Frankly, the vine does not care about making wine or earning ranch revenue. It is worried about self-preservation. Within each bud there are three different tiny buds and the embryonic beginnings of future grape bunches. The first of these will be the one that will burst forth in late March and produce a cane for this summer along with (hopefully) two bunches of grapes. If a late frost comes and kills this new tender shoot, reserve bud number two springs into action. Bud number two however, typically produces only one bunch of grapes. If a second frost kills the second shoot, bud number three comes into play. This bud will carry no grapes. So when we are pruning we have to take into account what the vine’s Bud Committee was thinking last year. Grape crops the past three years have been very light, indicating to me that the Bud Committee was thinking about the light rainfall for the year and did not want the vine to be stuck with a large crop and no water. As I move down the row, I greet each new vine and make a personal appraisal of the vine’s health, last season’s growth, the health and vigor of the canes, and the vine’s overall structure. How should I make pruning cuts to leave just the right number of buds to bring all into balance and to simultaneous maturity at harvest time? I do some quick math – each vine can produce from 15 to 20 pounds; each Zinfandel bunch weighs about six-tenths of a pound (Sauvignon Blanc grape bunches weigh about a quarter of a pound); each bud will produce two bunches…Yikes! Who ever thought pruning would be so complicated? Too many buds left on the vine will mean we will have to come back in summer and thin fruit. Well, the rows are long and the stakes are high, and decisions are made in an instant. And from time to time I will make a pruning mistake, but there’s nothing to do but apologize and keep going. I find this a very personal experience with each vine. The work is fascinating and, in spite of growing fatigue, the hours fly by. There is always another vine waiting just ahead for personal attention. And for my part, continued optimism that all this will work and we will have a great vintage for 2010. Owner, Indian Springs Ranch and Vineyards Email: george@kenwoodpress.com |
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