Veraison in the vineyard

We’re seeing some early signs of ripening on the fruit, which is known as veraison. An extremely exciting prospect; this is an important stage in the grape’s lifecycle when the energy stores from the roots are moved into the grapes and the fruit naturally begins to sweeten. The red varietals such as the Pinot Noir, turn from green to this beautiful deep purple colour and the green grapes turn a golden yellow. The darkening of the grape skin protects it from sun damage (let’s hope it returns!) and other stresses as the grapes move into the final, and most critical, stage of development.

The veraison period also tells us when to trim the vines, to prepare for pests, and keep an eye on the clusters, as some can change colour unevenly or faster/slower than others. Plus, it also means only 45-50 days until harvest when we look forward to a hub of activity among the vines!

The veraison is only on a few bunches of grapes at the moment, but we’ll be posting lots of beautiful photos of this fantastic chemical process on social media in the coming weeks.