July already; in 75 days we won’t be far off bringing out the secateurs for the 2016 harvest. Here’s a quick review of the first half of the growth cycle:
Winter and spring were mild and wet, although there was little rain in 2015. A conveniently timed sunny spell coincided with flowering and fertilisation at the beginning of June, which is a key step in the growth cycle. The rainy spring weather forced our teams in the vines to follow developments very closely. Our strategy of “rational application”, mixing traditional products and organic ones depending on the circumstances, maintained good protection against disease. Now the bunches have closed, we are only using organic treatments.
The sun has been out more and more since 20thJune and rain has practically stopped. The vines have a lot of very green leaf cover. Since the 15th, our vineyard teams have started leaf removal in front of the bunches of fruit, to enable better circulation of air and to let the sun through for ripening. Depending on the how our rows are planted, we remove leaf on the eastern side, then on the west to avoid sun damage to the fruit.
And now of course we hope for a hot summer with plenty of sun and not too much rain. Our vineyard is ready to benefit and produce perfectly ripe grapes.
Have a great holiday!