The art of the prune
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If you’ve spent time exploring the undeniable beauty of Australia’s wine regions, you’ve likely noticed that not all vineyards (and grapevines) are the same. There is also the possibility that you have been struck by feel-good vibes (and tastings) as you’ve meandered from winery to winery, not noticing the difference at all…
The truth is, there is an art to how the glorious wine in your glass becomes so glorious. And it begins with the tender loving care of the vines that produce it, allowing them to thrive and deliver premium fruit parcels.
A donkey and a grapevine
Legend has it that humans discovered the art of the prune from a Palestinian donkey with an appetite for grapes. Interestingly, after the donkey’s feast, villagers noticed an improvement in the quality and size of grapes the following year. Since then, our understanding of the impact of pruning on yield and our ever-evolving cultivation techniques have produced higher quality wine in the glass.
Let’s backtrack a moment … It’s good to know that grapevines, in fact, prefer to grow in trees and bushes climbing high toward the sunlight and birds that can scatter their seed. And, left to their own devices, they would fruit prolifically, resulting in lesser quality fruit. The vineyard trellis system was introduced to optimise cultivation and provide ease of harvest (and so we didn’t have to climb trees).
The art of the prune
We (wine-loving humanity) discovered how a few simple pruning techniques could influence the number of grape bunches produced in the following year. A vineyard could be calculated by the number of buds left on the vine. This, in turn, increased fruit quality and ripening ability resulting in successful crops.
Grapevine pruning occurs in winter when vines are dormant to prepare the plant for its glory in warmer months.
Whilst there are many pruning styles, most vineyards use two main techniques: cane pruning (guyot) and spur pruning (cordon).
Cane Pruning: a method that is known to provide consistent yields, where all growth is trimmed back to the trunk at the end of each season except for one (or two) canes that are responsible for the coming years’ growth and yield. This limits woody growth and is advantageous for cooler climate vineyards, mitigating frost damage.
Spur Pruning: a more traditional method often used for older vines, although it is becoming more popular due to its ability to produce higher-quality fruit. The cordon (the main horizontal stem off the trunk) remains attached to the trellis, and the canes are cut back (at hands width apart) to leave spurs, each containing two buds. This results in the classic T shape you see in a vineyard. Vines in warmer climates benefit from this style of pruning.
When in doubt, go to the experts
We looked to those ‘in the know’ for some pruning advice; trailblazer Dr Catherine Kidman, Wynns Viticulturist, had this to say:
“Winter pruning is the removal of the vegetative growth from the previous season and is an important practice we undertake that defines vine structure and development, the technique is performed to create space for the forthcoming seasons growth of shoots and bunches. Although today we focus on the start of the pruning process -winter pruning which occurs during dormancy, in many of our premium vineyards, there may also be an element of spring (aka shoot thinning) and sometimes summer pruning for vine balance that can occur.
The first stage of winter pruning occurs before a cut is performed with the snips- and involves the dissection of nodes to determine bud fruitfulness. The nodes are the swelling on the shoots of the stem and contain possible leaf, lateral shoots (aka the prompt bud) and the compound bud. In autumn, we look to dissect the compound bud. The compound bud contains three buds, one primary and two secondary, which contain the main shoots. We dissect these to assess the number of forming grape bunches within the bud to help us determine how to prune the vine (i.e. how many nodes to leave per vine).
Once we have determined our potential fruitfulness, we then calculate how many buds we should leave to give us the right ratio between fruit and shoot growth whilst maintaining the correct structure and size of the vine and the target yield we want to achieve that season.
Many of our vineyards are implementing the simonit and sirch method, or “respectful winter pruning”, to encourage longevity in our vineyards by respecting the vascular flow of the vine. The aim of winter pruning is all about vine balance and ensuring you have pruned to the appropriate node number for vine vigour and capacity. By doing so, the vine can maintain fruit quantity and achieve the desired quality at the end of the growing season.”
What is clear is that Australian Viticulture is certainly not standing still. With innovators like Catherine Kidman pushing the boundaries of discovery, the only result we can expect is an even better drop in our glass.