Flowering

LEGO® Grower’s holding his breath.  The vines are flowering and he’s at the mercy of mother nature.  Nothing he can do, just wait and see.  

Conditions were good for Chardonnay and Pinot flowering last week, but Sauvignon is flowering this week and it’s predicted to be drizzly, cool and a bit windy.  Cool, wet and windy means poor flowering, poor fruit set, which means less berries, lower bunch weights, potentially less income for growers and less fruit for the winery.  

LEGO® Grower’s been counting inflorescences over the past few days - one of his ways to predict vineyard yield.  And predicting yield means the winery can plan ahead: do we need extra fruit and where might we source this from?  During flowering LEGO® Grower’s also been petiole sampling, or, taking random samples of the stalks that attach the leaves to the stem.  Petioles are a good indicator of vine health and nutrition, and LEGO® Grower uses this data to design his targeted nutrition programme for next year.

So we’re into crunch time.  What happens in these next couple of weeks will influence what LEGO® Grower does for the rest of the season.  No wonder he’s holding his breath.