Wine Diary
Bustling activity!
Bud break is proceeding rather slowly, especially in the cooler areas. On the one hand, we would like to see a bit more rain and faster growth, not least because the tender shoot tips would then literally “outgrow” their natural predators - and on the other hand, any frosty nights would have less of a chance to cause damage. As is so often the case, events in nature are ambiguous.
For our diverse tasks in the vineyard, the weather is currently most pleasant! The young vines too have now been all pruned. Only in some key vineyards that are at risk of frost may remain so-called “frost heads” or “frost canes”: several shoots are being left on the vine for the time being. By simply increasing the number of buds remaining and raising their position above the frost zone, we increase the likelihood of retaining fertile shoots even after a frost and even delay budbreak a bit (because still the plant must distribute its energy on all remaining shoots).
Maintenance of the wire trellises and dry-stone walls is complete for this year. To protect against the grape berry moth, we have already hung pheromone dispensers across the entire vineyard in collaboration with many colleagues in the Kamptal region; their attractants confuse the male insects, thereby minimizing the offspring in a very gentle manner.
In part of our vineyards, we now may open the soil between the vine-rows with the intention of facilitating the growth of the vines, reducing competing vegetation, making nutrients available, and ensuring future ground cover by bringing in the spring seed.
