At the end of June flowering finished, the flowers self-pollinated, and the grape bunches formed. This stage in the vineyard we call “fruit set” and from here we can start to estimate the volume of fruit we can expect at harvest.
This year the dry conditions through June allowed almost all the flowering bunches to reach their full potential fruit set. With 6-8 bunches per vine and around 20,000 vines in Foxhole vineyard harvest, its looking like a very fruitful vintage.
This is our Pinot Noir which will continue to grow over the coming months. In around 1 month version (colour change of berries) will start and the grape berries will begin to change colour, soften, and load up with sugars.
Balance in the vineyard is critical, we need to ensure the correct amount of grape bunches per vine with enough leaves to charge them up with sunshine. If there are too many bunches of fruit the grapes will never ripen, on the other hand with a huge canopy the airflow through the vineyard is reduced and mildew is likely.
Cross your fingers that the summer weather returns as we need plenty of sunshine to power through to harvest.
