Warm weather has encouraged rapid growth in our vines. Most grape varieties have already set their fruit. We are removing suckers and tying up vines, applying fungicide and even a little herbicide under vines. We also start to remove leaves so that the fruit is exposed to the sun. This year we will be more vigorous with our leaf removal efforts because fruit that is sun-exposed has lower amounts of malic acid and better phenolic profiles and makes better tasting wine. Warm weather also means that the grass between the rows is growing fast and needs constant mowing.
Finally, we will start cutting four rows (about 250 vines) of Edelweiss off at the ground. Our objective is to let new suckers grow. We will select the best and train them to become new trunks. We will lose production for this and next year but we will have essential new vines by 2022.
