pruning | Wine Terms - WineTasteTV

WINE TERMS

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

pruning

A critical viticultural practice involving the cutting back of grapevines, usually during the dormant season. Pruning helps properly maintain the vines to produce a good crop of high-quality grapes. It’s done for any of several objectives including controlling the YIELD, strengthening the vines, improving grape quality, and making the grapes easier to harvest. The generally agreed upon wisdom is that superior wines come from vines that don’t overproduce—when a vine’s productivity exceeds its optimum level the fruit’s flavor is diluted. In the past, most pruning has been done by hand by skilled pruners. Today, some areas are utilizing mechanical pruning, done by a group of small circular power saws that encircle the upper part of the vine and cut all wood extending beyond the perimeter of the saws. Although this mechanical method isn’t particularly aesthetic and may require some secondary hand pruning, it costs a fraction of hand pruning. Summer pruning, also called green pruning, is usually performed in May and June (in the northern hemisphere) to remove excess growth and foliage. It consists of removing suckers, excess shoots, and the foliage around the grapes so that they receive more nutrients and sunshine (the latter technique is sometimes referred to simply as leaf removal).