Putting the vines to bed

As we head into November and what looks like below freezing nights (and heavier frost) for the foreseeable future, harvest has been completed in the County (outside of the few wineries that do late harvest of hybrids like Vidal for sweet wines). From all accounts that I’ve heard, the tonnage was decent (as a result of late August and September dry sunny weather and warmth), and producers are very optimistic about the quality of the 2023 vintage. That is a far cry from where we were in early August after the continuous rains and humidity through July and into August.

With fermentation complete (or nearing completion), and migrant vineyard workers itching to escape the cold and return home, the work has turned to getting the vitis vinifera vines put to bed for winter. This involves tying down close to the ground (on a very low trellis wire) of the selected canes for 2024, followed by burying with the soil from between the vineyard rows, or covering with geotextiles. The two techniques seem to be about equally split across the County vineyards now (with some growers still splitting the two techniques in their vineyards). There remains debate amongst growers over which method is optimal, and both have their benefits and disadvantages.

Once the vines are buried the final trimming of this year’s vines will take place, and those dead canes will be stored at the end of the vineyard rows in case they are needed for fires to warm the vineyards for 2024 Spring frost events.

Over the weekend we visited the Churchside vineyard @ Closson Chase to observe the tie down and soil loosening in preparation for vine burying. Closson Chase still relies on the tried and true method of County vine preservation. We’ll circle back to a couple of vineyards over the next week or so to give you the view of fully buried or geotextile covered vines.