It's so green when Chianti's vines sprout...

Chianti's vine

In one of my last blog posts, I talked briefly about the different types of pruning - the so-called training methods. In mid-February, this work in the vineyard was already in full swing. And now, at the beginning to middle of April, when the first guests tentatively return to Tuscany and the still gentle rays of sunshine warm the slopes of the Conca d'Oro, the sap shoots into the vines and they begin to sprout. Then a fresh, lush green veil covers the hills and slopes. The 2018 wine year has begun!Depending on the weather, of course, the foundations for budding are laid a little earlier. Namely when the sap shoots into the pruned vines in March. For winegrowers, this is the most exciting part of the wine year - apart from the harvest, of course. Because when the eyes - those are the places where a plant has the ability to form side shoots - start to sprout and when the first small and tender leaves appear, it is also a very delicate time for the vines.

In spring, even in Tuscany, it can happen that temperatures drop below zero degrees at night and frost endangers the first tender shoots. To be precise, it is not actually the frost alone that damages the leaves. Strictly speaking, it is the clash of ice and sun: when the sun shines on the still-frozen leaves in the morning, the ice crystals break open and the delicate, tender leaves break with them. For this reason, so-called fog fires can often be observed in the vineyards in the morning hours in such weather conditions. The smoke from the fires simply prevents the sun from warming the frozen leaves too quickly, as the sun's rays can only penetrate the vines to a limited extent and not at full strength through the fog. The fires that can be seen here and there therefore have nothing to do with the plants being warmed by the fire.

The 2018 wine year - everything in the green!

In 2017 in particular, frost damage occurred in large parts of Chianti, causing some producers to lose up to 30% of their harvest at the beginning of the year. Basically, it can be said that the first few weeks after bud break determine the entire vegetation year and thus the success or failure of a wine year. Because if there is no budding, there is nothing to harvest. However, the higher a site is, the later the budding naturally begins and the lower the probability of frost damage. This in turn favors the vineyards in Panzano and Monti in Chianti. The vineyards in these two locations tend to be a little higher. So we can look forward to seeing how the "hot" phase of the cold season will go this wine year. So far, everything seems to be going well - everything is in the green! We are keeping our fingers crossed.