At Altiero in Chianti, during the first months of the year, it’s time for a basic activity: pruning vines and olive trees. It’s a crucial time to assure a high quality production and an optimal health for our plants.
Pruning vines
Pruning vines is an art which needs competence and attention. During January and February, every single vine is carefully pruned. First the shoot binded which produced grape the previous year is cutted and than keep removing all the dry branches. This job doesn’t improve the plant’s health only but also the production of grape for next season.
The pruning vines process needs almost a month and, when it’s over, every vine is ready to give its maximum.
An essential matter, during the pruning, is the branches selection. Sure enough, every vine produces different branches, but not all of them will be productives, so we must find the branch which presents particolar signs of productivity on its wood (capo a frutto) and safeguard it. All the other branches are cutted really close the vine’s body and in this way giving it the chance to concentrate its energy to produce only high quality grape.
Pruning olive trees
Once pruning vines is over, it’s time for olive trees. Also in this case, dry branches and others which produced olives the previous year must be removed. During this activity, we must be sure to keep appropriate the plant’s height and make easier the manual harvest of our fruits.
Pruning olive trees isn’t refered only to tree’s crowns: is necessary to clean also all the trees’s bases from other branches grew during the season and able to weaken the plants. The whole phase generally needs 2-3 months, but the final result pay us back for all our efforts.
So, pruning vines and olive trees, it’s a job which needs dedication and passion, but is necessary to assure the quality of our wines and extra-virgin-olive oil. With our diligence and experience, we’re determined to go on and realize excellent products, which represent at the best our beloved territory of Chianti.
