Bud break

You know that time of the year when the landscape changes from grey and dark to bright blue and vibrant green ? Yes, it is spring but in the wine world that time is called bud break.

The anticipation of this new cycle could appear as a bad omen:  the so called vine bleeding. It actually is the healthy sign that is time for the sleeping beauties to gently get back to work. With the rise in soil temperature the liquids and the nutrients stored in the trunk climb up to swell the dormant buds. This process reactivates the system and prepares for bud break. What bleeds from the wood is sap and that is the vital clue that soil moisture is adequate.

The buds literally burst with energy, the green leaves appear and photosynthesis starts, and from there the growth is exponential. It is the beginning of a journey that will transform these tiny, shy blossoms in beautiful, successful grapes.