Autumn in the Vineyard: What Comes After Harvest

Harvest is always a milestone in the vineyard calendar — the culmination of a year’s work — and this year we finished earlier than usual, wrapping up by the middle of September. That’s quite early compared to most vineyards, but the timing worked out beautifully. We managed to get all the grapes off in great condition, with a total of 44 tons harvested, well above our budget. A fantastic result!

Now that the excitement of harvest is behind us, the focus shifts to looking after the vines as they begin their natural wind-down for winter. We’ve given the vineyard a foliar feed to keep the vines as healthy as possible as they move into senescence — the stage where they drop their leaves and prepare to rest. The aim is to make sure each vine goes into dormancy with a strong, healthy trunk, ready to be pruned and set up for another growing season next spring.

While we wait for the leaves to fall completely, there’s plenty to keep us busy. We’ll be tidying up under the vines and in the inter-row spaces — controlling weed growth, subsoiling, and rotavating between the rows. This helps prepare the soil for natural regeneration early next spring, promoting good soil structure and biodiversity.

Another big job on the list is removing all the protective tubes that were placed around the vines when they were first planted. These guards have done their job protecting young vines from rabbits and the elements, but now the plants are strong enough to stand on their own. With 31,500 tubes to remove and recycle, it’s going to be a major, labour-intensive task — but it’ll be satisfying to see the vineyard looking open and mature without them.

Once that’s done, we’ll wait for the first frosts of winter before the next big phase begins: pruning. During pruning, we’ll carefully cut back each vine and lay down four or five buds on every one, setting the stage for next year’s growth and, hopefully, another great harvest.