Wines I'm Making: Shoot Thinning and First Sulfur Spraying (April 27, 2013)

Over the weekend (April 27) I thinned the shoots on the grape vines. The longest shoots are already about 18 inches long. I left two shoots to each node except on the strongest vines, where I have always left twice that many with no apparent ill consequences. On the one or two weaker vines, I leave one in the hopes that that will encourage a strong cane as a foundation for next year's growth. The vines generally look healthy and strong, though. I did the first sulfur spraying as well. So far everything looks good. This year, 2013, will be our tenth vintage.

Wines I'm Making: Third Sulfur Spraying 2012 (June 20, 2012)

I sprayed the grapes with sulfur again today, to prevent mold--the third time I've sprayed this year. This is a little late, but I wanted to wait until after the vines had finished flowering and set fruit before wetting them. As we've had comparatively cool weather and there has been a good breeze most days, mold didn't seem to great a danger. Also, I've just trimmed back the canopy to make sure the vines aren't being shaded by excess growth at the top. Having said that, I've learned over the years that it really is necessary to spray. If you don't, the grapes mold and much fruit is lost. So far, everything looks good. The next hurdle will be getting the nets in place before the fruit begins to take on color and the animals start to take an interest. I'm determined to get the nets on early this year.

Wines I'm Making: First Sulfur Spraying (2012)

Sprayed the grape vines with sulfur yesterday to prevent mold, the first spray of the 2012 season. So far, everything looks good. The longest shoots are already about 18 inches long. No rain is in the forecast, so I probably won't have to spray again until the shoots have grown another foot or so. It's time to do some shoot thinning as well.

Wines I'm Growing: Sulfur Spraying Yet Again (2011)

After our bizarre end-of-June storm (0.8 inches of rain) it was necessary to go out this morning again to spray the grape vines with sulfur. A layer of sulfur prevents mildew from forming on the plants or the grapes. Bad mildew can make the grapes useless. The vineyard is so small (34 vines) that any loss of fruit is significant, so I do my best to prevent it. Let us hope that we have no more rain now until after harvest, probably in early October. As is evident from the photo, the grapes are well on their way to forming clusters.

Wines I'm Making: Sulfur Spraying (2011)

Today I finally judged it safe to spray the grapes with sulfur for what I hope will be the last time this season, although one more application may be prudent. I had been waiting for the vines to finish flowering and for the fruit to set before getting them wet. The Sangiovese looks excellent this year, with full clusters of tiny grapes already coming along, but the Cabernet vines don't seem to have set fruit very well despite my waiting. I had rather hoped for a good crop this year, as the weather was mostly dry and windy during flowering, but it's still early to judge things. Anyway, so far no signs of mildew on the vines. I topped the most vigorous vines as well, as they were beginning to shade the back row. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Wines I'm Making: A Dilemma

Finally, the weather has cleared. It now seems safe to say that summer is here and that the chance of further rains is negligible. Time to spray the grapes again with sulfur to prevent mold from forming on the plants. With that in mind I went out to inspect the small vineyard out back yesterday and was both happy and dismayed to see that the vines are in full bloom (grape flowers are not much to look at, but without them there would be no grapes and no wine). The problem is, spraying the vines while in bloom runs the risk of seriously reducing fruit set. That's to be avoided, but the vines do need protection. I've decided to wait, however, as the weather remains fairly cool, there is still some sulfur on the vines (not ALL of it was washed away by the rains), and there has been a decent breeze the past few days. I will wait until flowering is finished to spray. I hope that will prove to have been the right decision.

Wines I'm Making: Third Sulfur Spraying (2011)

Yesterday I sprayed the vines with sulfur again following the heavy rains we had a few days earlier, hoping to get a layer of dust on again, to prevent mildew. I brought up the drop wires to hold the canes in place. Everything looks good, so far. The weather remains cool, so I don't expect mold to be much of a problem, but better safe than sorry.

[Update: Because of more rain, I had to spray the grapes for a fourth time this season on May 28.]

Wines I'm making: First Sulfur Spraying (2011)

Yesterday I did the first sulfur spraying on the grape vines, managing to get what looks like only a very light layer of sulfur on the new leaves, but the forecast is for cool, dry weather to continue for the time being, so the risk of mildew developing seems small at the moment. I will spray the new growth again in a week or so, when the shoots are approaching about 18 inches.

Wines I'm making: Sulfur Spraying (May 28, 2010)

I got up early and sprayed the vines with sulfur again this morning. That's three times so far this season. It's finally cleared and begun to warm up after the storm of the past few days--which washed all the sulfur off the plants again. I'm hoping there will be no more rain to speak of this season, so I can relax for a while.

Wines I'm Making: Sulfur Spraying (May 11. 2010)

Following heavy rains on May 9 and 10, I had to spray the vines with sulfur again. I used a brand new sprayer with a bigger capacity (3 gallons) than my old one, which allowed me to do the whole vineyard with a single tank--much more efficient. Now, let's hope it doesn't rain again for a while....

Wines I'm Making: Sulfur Sprayed

Re-sprayed the vines today because the sulfur from the initial spraying was washed off by the recent rains. The forecast is now for clear, sunny skies for at least a week. Barring another big storm, I shouldn't have to spray again for a few weeks.

Wines I'm Making: First Sulfur Spraying

Finished shoot thinning, checked placement of the drop wires, and did an initial sulfur spray of the vines this afternoon. Next spraying will be in two to three weeks. The shoots are now from about two to 18 inches long, so this was a bit late to start, but the weather has been cool and dry. I don't anticipate any problems with mildew.