Creative juices aren’t just for artists, in wine, they start in the vineyard!
It’s that time again where my obsession with creativity related to wine has driven me back to my keyboard for another thrilling edition of KristiWineNerd blog! I’m quite certain you’ve been checking your email every hour just waiting for my newsletter to hit your inbox. Well wait no longer! I’m keeping the creative juices flowing and they are about to deliver!
What’s the subject this time, you ask? The vineyard, the root (pun obviously intended) of all creativity in wine. But this time we’re going to explore from the ground up and talk about wine trellising. Both shape and a few other creative decisions farmers make maximize the flavor, sugar and ripeness of those magnificent bunches of grapes growing on the gnarly ragged looking vines! These decisions are not simple, they’re not uniform across vineyards or varietals and they definitely aren’t the same year over year. Mother nature often forces farmers to get super creative in how they train and manage their vines throughout the growing season!
We typically think of grapevines being trained in much the same way vineyard after vineyard. Center trunk with one or two major branches growing off of it parallel to the ground and trained on post and wire systems. While this may be the most traditional way, grapevines, if left in their natural state cannot achieve this structure as they must find a ”host” for their tendrils to wrap around so their branches can grow and produce fruit. My own grapevines test my patience every spring as I have to redirect their new growth onto the wires I want them to follow. Stubborn little monsters!
How much creative juice can we make?
There are many reasons a farmer must get creative in the vineyard even if utilizing the more traditional cordon or guyot (see Wine Folly diagram). Too much sunlight can burn grape bunches or cause them to ripen too quickly. Farmers will get creative in how they protect the grape bunches. One options is by allowing the vine’s leaves to protect them or trim back the leaves if the bunches need more sunlight.
Another way to keep the creative juices flowing and protect the grape bunches is to “green harvest”. This process removes grape bunches which are exposed to the most intense sun during the daylight hours leaving those with more shade protection to provide the bulk of the harvest. Creative management of leaf canopies, grape bunch growth and location amount of grape bunches per vine can dramatically improve the quality of wine they produce!
I know you remember my W.O.W. episodes at The Holly. Liz Mears and I got giddy over Anna Espelt’s Pla de Gates wines from wild grape vines she discovered in the forest of Cap de Creus national park in Spain. No trellising, no training, just wild vines grasping for anything and everything they can wrap their little tendrils around to grow and produce fruit. After a little T.L.C. from Anna, they are producing magical wines! Super creative juice flow on her behalf wouldn’t you agree?!!!
Just today I took a little field trip to Valley Mills Vineyards and endured the heat of the Texas sun to snap a few pics of their vines and trellises so share with you. Zoom in on the image above and you’ll see lovely green bunches of grapes peeking through the lush leafy canopy. Winemaker Joey Bagnasco proves creative use of the vine’s natural protective leaves will allow these beauties to ripen at the perfect time and avoid a Texas sized sunburn! Well done!
Keep those creative juices flowing my friends and enjoy the fruits of labor from all the great farmers and winemakers out there!
Cheers! 🍷
#vineyardmanagement #annaespelt #valleymillsvineyards #trellis #vineyard #creativity #creativejuices #winemaking
