Budding

The budding is an important phase of the biological cycle of the vine and an important time for winegrowers !

Timeline

From the first half of November to February the vineyard is in dormancy (rest).

From March to the second half of November, it is the biological cycle with different phases, from the budding to the sap’s descent.

The Chain Reaction…

After the months of the rest, when the temperatures and the light reached a certain point, the roots of the plant wake-up and absorb the water and the nutrients in the soil.
The flow of sap permits the vine to start growing again. The budding begins (between the end of March and the beginning of May). The budding is influenced by the climate, the grape variety, the plot and the intrinsic characteristics of the plant.

To notice : The future grapes are ready inside the buds. The year N-1, affects the year N and so on…

A critical period

The beginning of the Spring is a magical period (colors and light) but critical at the same time because of temperature. The vine is very vulnerable facing weather conditions.
If a severe frost happened, one part of the harvest would be compromised.

Pictures…

We can see the bud swelling before the leaffall of scales that cover it…

Winegrowers used to say that if the bud is big, that’s the coming bunch of grapes inside will be large !

This year seems to be a early budding year, we hope that the coming frosts won’t be too destructives. Fingers crossed !