I remember some years ago, I was walking my father’s vineyard at winter time, and I told my dad that the vines look gloomy without leaves. He answered “They don’t look gloomy… They are showing you their soul. Looking at them you can see their essence, their strength and weakness… You can see their skeleton and help them to become in what you want them to become by encouraging their natural process through the pruning”

It is winter time in Mendoza… it is time for PRUNING at PRIVATE VINEYARD ESTATES!

I spent last weekend learning how to prune with Francisco Evangelista, our Private Vineyard Estate senior agronomist. I have to confess that now I understand perfectly what my father talked about. Pruning is not just a chore; it is a task that requires consciousness and dedication. Each vine is different and needs your comprehension.  Pruning preserves the natural vine equilibrium. It helps to keep the vine in the shape you want it in.  It allows you to have a good expected crop of the best quality grapes you can have year after year after year.

Once the leaves have fallen, the vine grower makes the most of the vine’s dormancy, when the sap no longer flows, to successfully carry out the pruning of the vine. The aim is to control the natural development of the vine, to guide it in the direction wanted by the vine grower. In the Southern Hemisphere, it generally starts in June after the first frosts, and ends in August. Pruning can be done during the entire period of vegetative dormancy, from the falling of the leaves to the budding season.

At Private Vineyard Estates, once the vines went into a dormant state, we started to prune each vine to form the permanent structure, specifically the trunk and cordons. We are using a bilateral cordon system. Franciso explains to me that a bilateral cordon helps to have a higher porcentage of budbreaks, a better fertility in buds and it is easier to prune.

During the first dormant period (2008), canes were pruned back to two bud spurs, which provided the shoots that now have been selected for trunk development. During the second dormant period (2009) of these vines, Francisco and his team are selecting the best lateral canes based on position, vigor and health to form the bilateral cordons. Any remaining lower lateral canes are being pruned and the cordons cut back to the appropriate length. In cases where we replanted vines, we are pruning the vine down to two buds so as to give the plant enough energy to develop adequately for the next growing season.

Being surrounded by such stunning landscape framed by the Andes, and being part of the future of those vines is a breathtaking experience. Next time, when you visit a vineyard in winter time… don’t  ever think vines look dull… you are looking them through… you are discovering their essence.

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