Pruning
Critical to a good harvest is pruning which allows energy to flow through the vines resulting in a balanced ripening of fruit. Basically, it's out with the old and in with the new...canes that is. Pruning most of the canes except for a few, produces shoots which grows into canes which produces grapes which turns into a delicious glass of Mitchella wine for you to enjoy. Hello!
Bud
It's the primary bud that is the prize. This little guy evolves into something pretty special... the beginning of a year's worth of growth. Shoots, leaves, flowers and grapes all start from here. That's a major role to play!
Budbreak
Those knuckles or nondescript bumps on the canes will begin to swell and buds will emerge. Soon, they'll break open and shoots will begin to shoot upward. From a bunch of spindly sticks to shoots, it all happens pretty fast.
Flowering
This isn't the type of flowering that most people are used to and it doesn't necessarily work as a bouquet. Grape flowers are small, spindly, and antenna looking tendrils surrounding a core which eventually becomes the grapes. This process isn't as "flowery" as it sounds. Immediately after blooming, the pollen sacs open and release pollen and pollination occurs. Fertilization occurs two to three days after pollination. The fruit set stage follows flowering almost immediately.
Fruit Set
"Fruit set" is a term used by growers to refer to how successfully the flowers in the vineyard were pollinated and the quality of the set will determine how good the crop will be months later. You might hear a winemaker say, "it was a good set this year" and knowing what that means puts you in the in-crowd.
To be continued.
