Bud Break in the Vineyard

While we put in our line posts, we are driving up and down the length of our vineyard and are beginning to see bud break at the north end of our field. We saw a few signs of budswell around May 12, so in about 1 week, we are now at the Eichhorn Lorenz stage 12, which is "5 leaves separated; shoots about 10 cm long".

Our precocious Chenin blanc are still ahead of the pack. When the sun was setting, it was clear that the last rays of light were hitting the south end of the field where we see much more bud break. Maybe that is the explanation. My husband is getting us a counter so that we can count how many vines have visible buds in each row.