Today is the 28th Jan and the nine rows of Montepulciano in Marananga have reached 50% colouration = veraison. At this stage cell division within each berry has stopped and from now until harvest much of the carbohydrates synthesised by the vine will be directed to the berries where cell growth takes place. Research conducted by Damien during his viticultrual science-honours year at Adelaide University showed that to obtain the maximum benefit from bunch thinning it was best to wait until veraison.
Today we bunch thinned. If a vine had 10 bunches we reduced the total number of bunches to 5. A bit of background of bunch thinning. Bunch thinning is carried out to increase the quality of grapes remaining on the vine. It is done by cutting off bunches growing on weaker canes and those growing out of the protection of shade. The green berries are left to decompose back into the soil or to be eaten by our mascot dog rusky. Note-Ver jus can be made from these under-ripe berries.In evolutionary terms, grape vines produce fruit in response to stress (e.g. drouhgt) to produce seeds so that their lineage can carry on when the next fair conditions for growth arise. Bunch thinning does not increase the concentration of sugars and other solids (like tannins) in the remaining berries in all varieties e.g. sauvignon blanc. However, wines made from Montepluciano have been shown to greatly increase in concentration and character if bunch thinning takes place.
