Life Cycle of the Vine
Most winemakers will tell you, “Wine is made in the vines.” Understanding the journey of the grapes that ultimately become wine, is the first step to truly appreciating wine.
Each step in the life cycle of the vine is a beautiful and miraculous part of the delicious wine that ends up in your glass. There is also an extraordinary amount of hard work and woman hours required to help the vines along the way. Each acre of vines in the vineyard produces anywhere from 8 tons of grapes (Niagara) an acre to as little as 3 tons of grapes (Norton) per acre. On average, one ton of grapes produces only 720 bottles of wine; meaning each bottle of wine is made with 600-800 individual grapes. We have just under 1,200 individual vines in our 3 acre vineyard. Every vine is tended to by hand from pruning in the early spring to harvesting in the fall, with constant management of the vigorous canopies in between.
bloom [blo͞om] verb: After the swelling and bursting of the buds in spring, small flower clusters form. This stage of the life cycle is when the grapevine pollinates itself to create grape berries.
shatter [`SHadэr] verb: Occurs during the period of metamorphosis when the flower becomes a grape. As happens in nature, not all blooms are destined to become fruit and the unfertilized flowers fall to the ground.
veraison [ve-rai-son] noun: The most important moment in a grape’s life cycle; a beautiful and dramatic transformation during the ripening process when the grape begins to take on color.
harvest [`härvэst] verb: Amidst the intoxicating aroma of fruit and vegetation, the perfectly ripe grapes are handpicked from the vines. This is the culmination of a year’s worth of work and tender care.
crush [kruhsh] verb: Beautiful bunches of grapes are destemmed and gently crushed, releasing the juice to prepare for pressing and fermentation; yet another essential step in the grape’s journey to become wine.