The last 10 months may have gone by in a blur with staying-at-home becoming the norm, and days taking on a very repetitive nature. Luckily, our vineyard constantly keeps us busy and reminds us that new life lies ahead. We are busy pruning the vines this week, to encourage new growth ready for our 2021 harvest.

Although maybe not the most glamorous part of the winemakers’ calendar, pruning is critical because it involves choosing the buds that will produce the fruit for the upcoming harvest. The aim is to maximise the growth of new shoots, whilst making sure that the vine does not produce more grape clusters than it has the energy and nutrients to ripen fully. We want to make as much wine as we can each year, but the quality of the grapes is absolutely crucial to ensuring a successful vintage. With pruning complete, we are eagerly awaiting the vines’ resting season coming to an end and budburst in Spring.

If you’re taking a stroll through our vineyard, you’ll soon be able to see the transformation as budburst brings some much-needed new life and colour to the now-dormant vines…