PRUNING AND TYING

JANUARY - MARCH

One of the most labor-intensive activities of the vineyard is the pruning and tying down of the canes that are selected. This is a critical time in the vineyard as a good cane selection is important for the crop yield. The majority of the vines at the estate are trained using the Scott Henry method (two fruiting canes on separate fruiting wires) which is significantly more labor-intensive than most other commonly used methods in the region.

BUD-BREAK | APRIL

Bud-break occurs shortly after the arrival of spring weather in the Willamette Valley, which is in mid-April on average. We will hand-rub off excess buds, selecting 8 to 10 or so preferred shoots per fruiting cane.

TRELLISING

MAY - JUNE

Following this is the time of the principal period of growth as the vine establishes its canopy. We take this opportunity to remove suckers, and position the shoots so as to direct their growth upward within our vertical trellising system.

In the later part of this period, when the shoots are about 18 inches, we turn the bottom canes so they grow towards the ground to maximize the canopy area (each vine has a top and bottom canopy).

CANOPY MANAGEMENT

JUNE - AUGUST

This period is one that involves the most effort. During this time we are hedging the canopy and pulling leaves. The majority of this work is completed by hand and is vine-by-vine. We continue to train the canopy upwards to ensure it gets the best air flow and sun. We pull leaves on the morning-sun side of the canopy to allow for optimum exposure of the emerging bunches of fruit to the sun’s rays and to help with air flow around the fruit which assists with disease management. The canopy is also hedged back to avoid excessive vegetative growth and encourage the vine to focus its energy on its fruit.

VERAISON & HARVEST | JULY - OCTOBER

Veraison, or color-change, will typically occur beginning in late July to mid-August, when the grapes are transformed from small and green to full dark clusters (for Pinot Noir). During this time, we may further thin the crop as necessary to manage the yield. Our fruit is harvested by hand in the cool of early fall mornings (usually beginning just before sunrise and ending well before lunchtime) and placed into quarter-ton picking bins.