Section 3 · June–July
Green Work
Everything done to the canopy before the fruit matters.
Everything done between flowering and colour is done to the canopy: which shoots stay, how much leaf sits over the fruit, how tall the row is allowed to run. None of it touches the fruit directly and all of it decides what the fruit becomes.
What these months decide
June–July| Month | In the vineyard | What it costs to get wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June | Shoot thinning and tucking; the block flowers | Rain through flowering sets a short bunch | |
| July | Leaf pulling on the morning side; tops hedged | Strip too much and the fruit burns |
Entries in Green Work
5 entries- The canopy is the engineLeaf area decides how much sugar the fruit can get. Everything in summer is about arranging leaves.
- Shoot thinningRemoving growth by hand in early summer to concentrate what is left.
- Leaf pluckingOpening the fruit zone to air and light, and the sunburn risk that follows.
- HedgingCutting the top off the row, and why it is done more than once.
- Green harvestDropping unripe bunches on the ground on purpose.