Flowering

Billed as one of the most important times of year in the vineyard, flowering determines crop size for this year and next. In 2018 we saw near ideal conditions for flowering, with lots of sunlight, warm temperatures, and no rain. This year has been quite different!

Due to the milder start to summer this year, flowering began around 1st July, a little over a week later than in 2018. Wet and overcast conditions in early July meant flowering took longer than normal, but thanks to the great weather last year there are plenty of bunches on the vines. Long flowering can lead to uneven ripening between bunches and different vines, this is something we will keep a close eye on to make sure when harvest comes around we only pick the best ripe fruit there is. Depending on how the rest of the summer goes, we may go through the vineyard and cut some bunches off if they are too far behind, this can help the remaining fruit catch up and ripen quicker.

Now we’re mostly through flowering, we are starting to see the fruit set to form individual berries. As always, we are ensuring the canopy is open to keep the bunches well ventilated and to increase the amount of light reaching the fruiting areas of the vines.