Winter pruning- the devil is in the detail!

There is no debate that winter pruning is arguably one of the most important jobs on the vineyard- it’s prepares the vines for the new season and will shape the next harvest, and the devil really is in the detail!

Matt, vineyard manager, says ‘What we are trying to achieve is the ideal balance between vigour and productivity. We want each vine to produce a healthy crop of ripe grapes without expending too much energy- if we overdo it, it could be very detrimental to the following years harvest.’ He goes on the explain that if we allow too much fruit to grow on each vine they will struggle to ripen them sufficiently and draw on much needed energy reserves from the plant. However, if we under prune, and remove too many buds, we risk thick shoots on a very vigorous vine but not enough fruit and a less than optimal amount of wine at the end of the year!

This season, Vineyard Manager Matt took our first crop of grapes from the Bacchus, Pinot noir, Ortega and Pinot gris vines at Highfield estate, Woodchurch which will now need to be carefully pruned to prepare them for the next growing season. With over 15,000 vines to tend to individually, is work certainly is cut out for him, with a little help of course from the Team – Emma, Karen, Jeff and Linda.

Although the frosty winter mornings make for a dark, cold start to the work day it does make for some beautiful scenery across the vineyard, as pictured above. It’s always this time of year we look forward to the joy of spring, bringing sunny mornings and more agreeable temperatures! But once we get into a rhythm of pruning we do find we all start to enjoy the peace of being in the middle of an English vineyard surrounded by epic scenery.

Other important tasks to tackle before the ground begins to warm up and the vines wake from their winter slumber include clearing weeds from inside the rabbit guards, adding hedging and windbreaks to protect the vines, distributing carefully selected nutrients to replenish the soil, and some much needed planning for the year ahead!