Rapid growth in the vineyard

Thanks to the lovely weather, we have seen some rapid change in the vineyard over the past 5 weeks or so. Since bud burst at the end of April the shoots on the vines are generally at least a foot long already. We can see the promise of fruit with strong inflorescences across all 4 varieties. Over the next month, these will enlarge before flowering - if you're interested in seeing the development of the grapes then have a look at our Instagram page. 

With so much growth, jobs in the vineyard have been coming thick and fast. Following bud burst we started to thin out the shoots on the vines to increase airflow and sunlight penetration in the canopy when it’s fully grown. If the canopy is left to grow too dense with lots of shoots and leaves this will lead to shading of fruiting areas of the vines, which can affect fruit ripening and future crop load. Canopy management is one of the most important jobs in a cool climate vineyard, since we are on the edge of where it is possible to ripen grapes we need to ensure that we make the most of the sun. Keeping the canopy open allows sunlight to get to every leaf, while also providing ventilation to reduce the risk of disease and dry out the leaves and fruit quicker when it rains. As part of managing the canopy we continually monitor for any signs of disease or nutrient deficiencies in the vines. There is always some weeding to do in the vineyard, and this year we have invested in a mechanical weeder as we aim to minimise our use of herbicides. While we still have to pull out a few weeds by hand, we have been pleased by how much time this is saving.

Once again we were delighted to welcome more volunteers to the vineyard on our volunteer days, it's great to see some new faces coming along to join our more regular helpers. We’ve had such a great response to these days we are considering putting them on more regularly - hopefully there will be more news on this in July. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter and keep an eye on our social media pages (links at the bottom of this page) to be the first to know. If you're interested in coming along, or would like to know more, please contact James on james@dunesforde.com.