All the wineos I spoke with would not believe me that Damien's montepulciano vines were still photosynthesising happily away so late in the year. We have had 16 straight days in Adelaide of 35 degrees C +. This heat wave was a nightmare for many wine-makers in warmer regions like the Barossa because over night all the blocks of shiraz and cabernet were ready to harvest. Damien normally brings in most of his blocks over a two week period, in 2008 it was more like 4 days. You can imagine the logistics of trying to find vats to ferment grapes in, tanks to store finished wines in before they go to barrel etc. And then there's montepulciano. As stated earlier, she's a bit like grenache, happy to stay hanging up to a month longer than most shiraz in the barossa.
Looking at the berries above you can see that there has been no sun-burn (causes bitter tannins in finished wines), there is a nice shading of the bunches and there has been no berry shrivel. No shrivel means that xylem and phloem (plant water and nutrient transporting vessels) are still functioning. The green, open leaves also show that the leaves are still alive and not "shutting down" and therefore photosynthesis is still taking place. Other surrounding vineyards planted with other varietals were already looking very weary, with yellow and drooping leaves.
Photosynthesis (PS) is the synthesis of sugars and amino acids in plants. PS takes place mainly in plant leaves but can also take place in berries. PS involves the intra-cellular splitting of water molecules to extract energy molecules (called electrons) which are then powered by light from the sun to stimulate a reaction pathway that generates energy molecules (ATP) and sugars.
Looking at the berries above you can see that there has been no sun-burn (causes bitter tannins in finished wines), there is a nice shading of the bunches and there has been no berry shrivel. No shrivel means that xylem and phloem (plant water and nutrient transporting vessels) are still functioning. The green, open leaves also show that the leaves are still alive and not "shutting down" and therefore photosynthesis is still taking place. Other surrounding vineyards planted with other varietals were already looking very weary, with yellow and drooping leaves.
Photosynthesis (PS) is the synthesis of sugars and amino acids in plants. PS takes place mainly in plant leaves but can also take place in berries. PS involves the intra-cellular splitting of water molecules to extract energy molecules (called electrons) which are then powered by light from the sun to stimulate a reaction pathway that generates energy molecules (ATP) and sugars.
