For a viticulturalist, August is really the month that defines and hopefully rewards all the hard work put into the vineyard from those first cold January weeks of pruning.
At this stage, the grape bunches enter what is known as the Lag Phase – having grown quickly from fruit set, they enter a period of minimal growth as the seeds within start to ripen and, crucially, the aroma characteristics of the berries begin to develop.
But that pause (which may last a couple of weeks) belies the intense activity that goes on around the vines!
We are on the cusp of Veraison where the Pinot Noir and Meunier will slowly start to turn colour, and the Chardonnay will steadily become more translucent as they start the process of ripening. To give these bunches the best possible environment to achieve the quality we want, we have been busy leaf stripping to open up the canopy to air flow and sunlight, removing excess shoots that might take energy away from the bunches and (heartbreaking though it might be having nurtured each vine!) taking off selected bunches themselves to allow the others to ripen as fully as possible.
Not being a great fan of alarming funfair rides, I do however appreciate the sentiments of another vineyard manager who told me that growing vines is very much like a rollercoaster, especially given the unpredictability of our seasons. I think we are now near the top of the last climb and (hopefully) not a loop the loop in sight but a smooth run home!
