Over the weekend in Alexander Valley we reached an important milestone in the growing season…Bud break. Now all through my drive to and from the winery you can see the beginnings of little green shoots all over the cordons that have been barren these last few months.
Bud break is one of my favorite times not just because it signals the beginning of the growing season and with it the vintage of that year but also it reminds me of just how complex grape vines are. During my time at Cornell I dissected a dormant grape bud. Now I’m sure that just about everyone who has been through a viticulture class has done this (and if they haven’t, they should). What I’m not sure about is if everyone is as awe inspired by it as I was. Within a dormant grape bud is a very tiny shoot with distinctive leaves and (if you are really careful with your dissection) flower bunches. All right there in one tiny little package just waiting to be triggered into an explosion of green and pink in the spring. It is truly fantastic to see.
So this time of year when I see the shoots emerging (still small at 1 inch) they are already almost 20 times the size they were in the bud. They are very delicate at this point in the season. Frost, wind, animals, and even the careless vineyard worker can easily knock the new growth off or kill it. I have been that careless vineyard worker before and it is the worst feeling to know you’ve already removed 2 or more bunches that may have contributed to your wine’s success. So one must tread lightly around vineyards this time of year but do take a moment to marvel at the wonderful time that is spring in the vineyard.
On another unrelated topic…
Typically the other thing going on during this time of year is winemaker meetings. I have been to a number of the in the past week or so and have another next week. It’s a slower time for us and we’re able to come up for air, so to speak, to see what has transpired in the industry while we were busily recovering from last harvest. The theme of last week’s meeting was “Innovation”. I think in times of economic troubles generally the best ideas are found and take root. People are forced to be more creative, do more with less, and winemakers are no exception to that rule. So I’m sure in the coming months as the economy begins to recover we’ll see vast leaps forward as we all rush to innovate in any industry. These are exciting times we live in…
