As we go into August all we can hope for is as much sun as possible to get the crop to ripen. August, so far, has proven to be partially sunny with days of overcast showers, not an ideal ripening weather, but better than last year (so far...). To help with the development of the crop, with canopy management, we lightly exposed the bunches to the sun on the eastern side of the vineyard, to give morning and midday sun without reducing the leaf count vastly. A further leaf strip will be done in the middle of this month which should help to increase sugar content in the bunches and, allow for improved disease and pest management, by better airflow and sun exposure. We have kept the upper canopy quite airy and free from overlapping vines. The lower canopy has been cut a little above ground to reduce mildew risks and keep the vines from attaching to the grass and tearing themselves from the cane.
The larger canopy of the Scott Henry system allows for a well-spaced canopy affording more room to manage the canes in the wirework.
The Second Vineyard:
The Second vineyard has just had the shoots tied onto the training rods, this was carried out using the tie guns that are used after pruning to attach the canes to the fruiting wires. The bit of rain we have had has likely been a benefit to these vines as they are establishing, a bit of rain means we don't have to go through and water the vines ourselves and saves us the time (and water).
They are developing more slowly than the vines in the first vineyard did, this is likely due to the difference in growing year compared to 2018 when the first vineyard was established. The Bacchus, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir Precoce are the furthest ahead in terms of height, however they are all roughly the same. We will have to keep an eye on their development and likely do another pass or two of tying in order to make sure they are all trained straight upwards instead of going off in their own direction, at pruning we will be making decisions about how we are going to prune them taking into account their height and the thickness of the stems.
Newsletter
Get exclusive updates and promotions by subscribing to our newsletter.
As we go into August all we can hope for is as much sun as possible to get
