Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Grapes at Beginning of Bunch Closure

We have been busy working on the top of the canopy, hedging the vines and paying attention to the grapes that we have been hedging. Our grape varieties have been growing but they are still at the Eicchorn-Lorenz berry formation stage 33, berries still hard and green. Eicchorn-Lorenz stage 32 is the beginning of bunch closure if the berries are tight.
The following photos show the comparison of the varieties between July 1 and July 27. It also shows that the Chenin Blanc clone 982 is a tight cluster. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are loose cluster forming varieties.
Variety July 1 July 27
Auxerrois
Chenin Blanc
Chardonnay
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Franc
Barbera
We still have a myriad of vineyard work to do before the beginning of veraison including lowering our netting before the vineyard birds even suspect that there is food growing there.
References:
1. Fritz Westover, Grapevine Phenology Revisited, Wines&Vines, March 2018.

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