California: Vineyard Buds Bloom Early
California: Vineyard Buds Bloom Early
Mar 23, 2013 6(NBCBayArea) - There is no pleasure without at least a little pain. That even goes for wine making. This year's unseasonably warm and dry weather is pushing Livermore's wine grape vineyards to begin blossoming a tad on the early side. The appearance of buds is known in wine making jargon as "bud break." It's a springtime call for winemakers to spring into action.
"When you get warm weather you produce buds or bud break," said John Concannon, a fourth generation winemaker from Livermore's Concannon winery. "So bud break is really the beginning of wine making."
The catch is; the year's record dry start is forcing winemakers to irrigate a little on the early side.
On top of that worry, buds on the vine are vulnerable to frost. "Frost is our biggest threat," said Concannon. "We're not really worried so much about rain but just thirty minutes of exposure under 30 degrees can damage the buds at this point."
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