Winter pruning is well underway! Our dedicated vineyard crew is busy pruning and tying vines, working as quickly as possible to finish before the vines come out of their winter dormancy and bud break begins.
On Monday, January 24, we wrapped up pruning at Pinot Hill, which is 30 acres. Now we’re onto the Hallberg Ranch, which has 110 acres of vines. For scale, Pinot Hill is as big as almost 23 football fields and Hallberg Ranch is the size of more than 83!
The bulk of our crew is currently pruning our Cordon trained vines (above), and, our most skilled pruners are in tending to the vines we grafted in 2020. Those vines need a little extra guidance to form the correct structure as they grow (right).
As the vines are pruned, the excess brush is left in the middle of the rows so that our tractor drivers can mow the brush to add back to the soil (below, left). Once the mowing is completed, our crew will begin tying the new canes into position for the upcoming growing season (below, right).
All in all, it’s a busy time around the ranch! We’re grateful for the beautiful weather we’re working in before the next storm rolls in.
