Judit Monis’ Post

The Significance of Vineyard Pruning ✂️🍇 As we welcome the new season in our vineyards, it's essential to underscore the pivotal role of pruning in elevating the quality of our raisins and ensuring vineyard vitality. Pruning goes beyond a routine task; it's both an art and a science that directly impacts the yield and flavor of our cherished raisins. Pruning serves several purposes in the raisin vineyard, including regulating vine size, optimizing fruit production, and enhancing airflow and sunlight exposure to grape clusters. By thoughtfully selecting which canes and shoots to trim, we're guiding the vine's energy towards producing fewer, yet superior quality raisins. Furthermore, proper pruning fosters vine longevity by reducing disease vulnerability and preserving structural integrity. It acts as a proactive measure against pests and fungal threats, safeguarding the overall health of our raisin vineyards. As we embark on this season's pruning journey, let's acknowledge its profound influence on the quality and success of our raisin production. 🌿🍇 #EfesTarım #Vineyard #Pruning #Harvest #Raisins

Kongsgaard The Judge has become one of the most sought-after and expensive Chardonnays in the world, which makes it an impressive anomaly, considering that Napa wine is now almost exclusively about Cabernet Sauvignon. The #Chardonnay success route at The Judge Vineyard is as much about vision sparked by an edifying formative experience as it is about the importance of #mentorship, family, hardcore #farming, and evolution. This week’s feature is a deep dive into the story of John Kongsgaard and his family’s impact on #NapaValley, past and present. https://lnkd.in/eHt79nTH #winestories #familybusiness #winestasting

High winds 💨 continue today in the vineyards! Here’s some Cabernet Sauvignon we have yet to finish mechanically pruning. Mechanized pruning really is the only feasible way to implement delay pruning for frost protection on large acreage like this. Machine 🚜 pruning: - 2.5 weeks to complete this whole ranch, 5 people Hand pruning??? ✂️ - 6 weeks and 40+ people By delaying the time of the year we prune, we allow the buds on the tips of last years canes to suppress the growth of the lower buds (which we intend to keep for fruit and cane production this year) using a principle called apical dominance. The suppressed dormant buds are MUCH more tolerant of cold/adverse weather than actively growing ones. When we finally do prune them back, it delays those lower buds become active even more (several days). This lets us dodge late spring freeze events (like we had 1.5 weeks ago!) fairly easily in most varieties without expensive frost fans or other equipment. Cabernet isn’t a problem, but with varieties like sauv blanc, Muscat, Chardonnay, etc it is absolutely critical here!!! #texasvineyards #texaswine #grapereturns Texas Vine Country FermForge

This is an all to familiar story for British orchards. Yet another massive orchard removed from the landscape. As Benedict Macdonald and I wrote about in our book 'Orchard, A Year in England's Eden', traditionally managed orchards can be one of the very best types of farmland for nature that we have. But they can only function in a landscape that has a market for their product (consumers). And can only function in a regulatory landscape that doesn't allow cheaper imports from overseas undercutting them (trade deals). And are only of high nature value in a farming environment that doesn't rely on huge inputs (particularly damaging are the insecticides and fungicides used in some orchards). It is a huge shame that the British orchard market, once the world pioneer in apple and perry pear fruit production, has been destroyed the way it has. The nature value of this wood pasture habitat, particularly when produced to organic type standards, cannot be overstated. Dozens of red listed birds, mammals, inverts and fungi thrive in old orchards. If you want to learn more, please seek out a copy of our award-winning book 'Orchard, A Year in England's Eden'. The HEINEKEN Company https://lnkd.in/e-CWcW8H

🍇 In Australia, Vineyard Pests Can Be Downright Adorable—or Deadly Australia is renowned for its unique fauna, ranging from adorable to deadly. These creatures are a common sight across the country, including in vineyards. While Australian wine growers face familiar pests like deer, foxes, and rabbits, it's the native wildlife that presents unique challenges and fascinating solutions. 🦘 Kangaroos and wallabies, Australia's iconic marsupials, often damage vineyards by destroying sprinklers, fences, and tender vine shoots. Viticulturist Liz Riley from Hunter Valley uses old netting to block these animals. Some growers resort to culling, though others prefer non-lethal methods like wildlife corridors and alternative feeding areas. 🐾 Wombats, native to southern and eastern Australia, create significant problems with their burrowing. Viticulturist Dan Sergeant from Victoria's Yarra Valley and Kate Nickels from Fogarty Wine Group recount how wombat tunnels can damage equipment. Despite these issues, many growers, like Jenny Kelly of Kellybrook Winery, go to great lengths to protect and treat these animals. 🦜 Parrots, with over 50 species in Australia, pose a major challenge as they eat grapes and shoots. Wine growers like Kyatt Dixon from South Australia's Mount Gambier region and Colleen Miller from Mérite Wines employ various deterrents like gas guns and scarecrows. In Hunter Valley, Liz Riley uses clay sprays to delay netting. Timing of native marri tree flowering in Margaret River also affects bird activity in vineyards. 🦔 Other creatures like echidnas and snakes also inhabit vineyards. Echidnas, while mostly harmless and beneficial, can be problematic when they burrow near irrigation systems. Snakes, such as tiger and red-bellied black snakes, pose a danger to vineyard workers. However, encounters are rare and snakes generally avoid human contact. #AustralianWildlife #Viticulture #WineIndustry #SustainableFarming #WildlifeManagement

A frequent topic of discussion I encounter revolves around the concept of being a craft 🥦 grower. It's a complex topic, particularly given the very few true craft growers in Canada. I hold maximum respect for those dedicated craft warriors who truly embody the craft ethos. On the other hand, there exists another group of growers, whom I refer to as "Craft-ish" growers. These individuals partially adopt elements of the full craft experience but ultimately fall short of meeting the criteria for certified craft status. It's crucial to understand that being a craft grower encompasses more than just yielding dense buds and tight nugs. This distinction often causes confusion among 🥦 consumers. . . . . . #KR #craftgrowers #kronicrelief #legacytolegal

vineyard It was a 'soft' morning today. The vineyard doesn't look its best this time of year, but there's always work to be done. Pruning is almost finished (cuttings on the right in the photo), mowing the grass and replacing the ruptured underground water tank will have to wait on drier weather. Friends occasionally ask me how the crops (grapes and olives) are coming along. Alas, I can't give a succinct answer as it depends on all four seasons - and weather patterns have changed over the last 15 years. This winter has been mild, January was mainly dry and sunny, whilst February was wet and warm (up to 20C) with a lot of volatility. Not at all stable conditions and Nature is rather confused about what happens and when. If there is another long, wet Spring (as happened in 2023) the grape harvest or vendemmia will be in deep kimchee once more. Funghi love such conditions and peronospera (downy mildew) will ravage the vineyard again - the yield last year was only 10% of what would normally be expected. Yes, there's an antidote - 'rame' or copper sulfate (commonly used) which is sprayed on the vines - but it washes off. To counteract the 2023 blight would have meant spraying three to four more times than in the past, which didn't make sense either ecologically or financially. Only time will tell if we have a happier harvest next September.

Fantastic to see the outcomes of this trial. I am very much in favour of spur pruning and have been exploring and developing different strategies to implementing and improving yields with Pinot Noir in grown in England since 2016, and have now started a trial on Chardonnay (2021). The issue I have seen is with bud fertility due to England been a cool climate region and reduced sunlight hours. To counter this a rigorous canopy management of shoot thinning and leaf removal is need. However the ripeness levels are more homogeneous and cane size and growth rate more even across the vine. Need more research projects to show the advantages of this pruning method and which varieties can best work with this method.

One of the biggest vineyard costs is winter pruning, and for a long time cane pruning has been the favoured pruning method for Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough. Increasing labour and production costs have created a need to explore alternative production systems. Long spur pruning has the potential to deliver similar yield and quality, while reducing winter labour inputs and enabling more mechanisation than cane pruning. BRI has been running a three-year trial with growers to gather objective data on the effectiveness of long spur pruning in Marlborough vineyards. We want to provide growers with practical knowledge to inform their decision-making on the vineyard. #nzwine #pruning

Did you know pruning is the largest outgoing for time and labour costs during the growing season? 💡 So, could mechanised pruning be a better option for UK vineyards? 🤔 Our experienced viticulturist, Andrew Forgesson, shares the juicy details in Vineyard Magazine's latest article. With his long-term work in Australia and New Zealand, Andrew thought about how vineyards in these regions kept costs to a minimum and whether the UK could benefit from implementing these systems too. Could UK vineyards take on this way of pruning? 🚜 What do you think? Head to https://lnkd.in/eGKySqB4