And we're off! The season's started and the pruning's underway. The vines are looking mighty neat and tidy, I have to say (can you tell I'm a tidy freak?!). But that's not really the reason why we prune. Pruning is in fact one of the most important stages in the growth cycle of the vine. It helps us to determine the shape the vine - the 'canopy' - and it also influences the size of the crop - the 'tonnage' - we get at harvest time. You can tweak these results a little later on in the season - by thinning out the shoots, dropping bunches, etc. - but the pruning remains the most influential action. So you've got to 'get it right'. Each year we learn from the previous years' experiences, 'listen' to the vine and watch how it reacts. And hopefully we can guide it towards producing a better grape for a better quality wine... but it doesn't always work out that way. There are many factors beyond our control (the weather, the winemaker... ha ha!) but hey - that's what makes farming such an exciting business to be in. It's quite a humbling business too.
I'm learning similar life lessons from a new addition to the family - Rosie the racehorse! Destined for the glue factory, we stepped in to rescue this ex-racer three days before D day by offering her a new home in the paddock behind our house. Needless to say, she has been quickly adopted by the family, including our two young girls (thrilled, as you can imagine), the dogs (who are slightly more reserved in their delight)...and even the neighbour's chicken! She's a very alert horse, but also very responsive and I'm slowly learning how to partner her in the paddock, building up our confidence in each other before I go introduce her to the beautiful views from up the mountain behind our house. Will keep you posted on my adventures on horseback!
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