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Winter in the vineyards

Words by: Anne Berry | WINE DOWN

It’s blowing a hoolie outside, the rain is pattering on the window and, if you’re settling down with a glass of wine in front of the fire, spare a thought for the winemaker who’ll be out tending the vines throughout the coming months.

When we think of winemaking, our minds take us to a summer scene with blue skies, green and black grapes hanging on vines in beautiful holiday locations. Maybe visiting a vineyard and tasting the wine produced from the previous harvest. We think about the exciting buzz of the harvest when gangs of workers go out from dawn to dusk, singing a cheerful song while picking the grapes that make the wonderful wines we enjoy every week.

But after the harvest, what happens to the vines? They don’t simply hibernate. It’s a crucial time for them to ensure they survive the potentially tough conditions ready for the following spring, when they need to produce those wonderful healthy grapes again. When you see a photograph of the vines covered in a dusting of snow, they look dormant but underneath the surface, there is a lot going on.

After harvest, the visible signs of change are the leaves falling from the vines. What we don’t see are the important self-preservation jobs of hoarding nutrients and cutting off the water supply. If there is too much water inside the vine’s cell tissue, it can freeze, which could damage the vine. To prevent this from occurring they transfer water out of their cells and at the same time, their root hairs start extending deep into the earth to find nutrients

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in the soil. These nutrients are the beginning of the next growing season and they provide sugar and starch in the plant cells, which in turn help to drop the vine’s freezing temperature down to -11 degrees Celsius.

This period is known as endodormancy, and vines need around 200 hours of cool conditions for this to be triggered. It is essential for the survival of the vine and to ensure bud break will occur the following year.

Some winemakers help their vines survive the long cold winters by laying straw down or planting cover crops which keep the roots warm and add nutrients to the soil. These measures also help prevent erosion, especially important in regions with high rainfall and steep slopes.

Then in early Spring, the important task of pruning commences, cutting away the old sections of vine. This is vital to ensure a successful harvest and getting it right is essential. Under prune and the vines will yield too many grapes, resulting in lower quality wine. Over prune and the vine will have to commit too much energy to growing new branches and leaves and the grapes won’t ripen properly.

Here are just a few wines produced in regions with difficult growing conditions:

Piattelli Premium Malbec

A best-selling Malbec from high altitude vineyards in the premium wine growing region of Cafayete Valley at 1400m, where winters are harsh.

Petritis

A fine white wine from the highest winery and highest vineyards in Europe at 1400m in the Troodos mountains in Cyprus.

Oumsiyat Grande Reserve

A fabulous Lebanese red from high altitude vineyards in the Bekaa Valley. It is an unoaked blend of Cabernet, Syrah and Merlot with rich robust fruit flavours and a savoury earthy finish.