To the Altiero winery during the end of the spring and the beginning of summer, it’s time to trimming vines, a basic agronomic technique for the plant’s health and its productivity potential. This operation needs to guide the plant’s energy to the right direction, permitting to obtain more concentrated and superior quality grapes.
But what really means this job and why is it so important?
Vine’s trimming
The vine’s trimming is part of the great family’s jobs called “green pruning”, with them the plant’s crown is modified and its growth took under our control, to garantee an optimal equilibrium between production and vegetation.
So, the vine’s trimming consist in cutting the higher part of the vine’s crown to limit the excessive vegetative growth. This intervention has a clear focus: to avoid the dispersion of energy in the higher plant’s part and concentrate it, insted, in the grape’s bunches growth. The final result will be an excellent wine.
The correct grape bunch’s position
The grape bunch position along each vines lines in the field is another thing carefully monitoreted during the vine trimming at Altiero winery.
Usually, the grape bunches are located between the first and second steel wires used like plant’s supporters. This distance from the ground is ideal to favorite a good grape development, seeing as how it brings a good supply of light and nutrients to the fruit. Over the second steel wire there’s the leaves surface, which must be carefully managed, without passing over the third wire: this vegetation level gives to plant a leaves structure ables to produce almost one kilogram of grape.
So, to garantee an equilibrated plant growth, the vine trimming is made to maintain in clear limits the vine’s crown, every time under the third steel wire, avoiding a too much high development. A vine’s crown well maintained, permits to focus its energies in an efficient way, getting better the quality fruit.
In conclusion the vine trimming is a simple technique but really important for the plant’s health and the wine’s quality. And, for us at Altiero winery every single detail is crucial to obtain the best from our vine fields.
