We were going to start pruning on March 1, but the cold weather has delayed that until late this week, assuming it warms up to about 30°F. Weather permitting, we’ll be going flat-out pruning for the next two months. For a quick view of what is involved with mechanical pruning, check out this video taken in one of our vineyards.
Because of the low temperatures we’ve experienced over the past six weeks, we are concerned that buds that began forming right after harvest in September have been damaged. To help us determine the presence and extent of damage, we cut some canes last week and brought them indoors to warm up. The buds start to swell and by cutting them in pieces we can tell if there is any bud damage. The good news is that we didn’t find any dead tissue. So far, so good!
