Vineyard Journal
Vineyard Journal
July Edition
If you've visited us recently, you'll have seen the vineyard looking wonderfully green, neat and full of promise. July is one of the busiest months of the growing season, with every job focused on helping this year's grapes reach their full potential.
The exciting bit... fruit set
After flowering in June, we're now seeing fruit set - the moment those tiny flowers begin transforming into even tinier grapes. These little berries will continue growing over the coming months and, with plenty of sunshine (fingers crossed!), become the fruit that eventually makes its way into your glass.
Let there be light!
One of our biggest jobs this month is leaf stripping. We carefully remove selected leaves around the fruiting zone to expose the developing grapes to sunlight and warmth, helping them ripen evenly. It's a balancing act though -remove too many leaves and the vine loses valuable energy from photosynthesis, so every row is managed with care.
Keeping things in shape
You'll also spot us trimming the vines. As much as we'd love to let them grow wild, an unruly canopy means the vine puts too much energy into producing leaves instead of ripening fruit. Trimming keeps everything tidy, improves airflow and ensures the vines can focus on what matters most - producing beautiful grapes.
Looking after the vines
Behind the scenes we're also carrying out petiole analysis, a fascinating way of checking how well each block of vines is taking up nutrients from the soil. Leaf stalks are collected from carefully selected vines across the vineyard and sent away for analysis, giving us valuable insight into the health of the vines.
Alongside all of that, there's plenty of mowing, cultivating and carefully timed spraying to keep the vineyard healthy throughout the summer.
Beyond the vines
It's not just the vineyard that's been busy. We've loved spending time out in the Dorset sunshine at events including the Swanage Fish Festival and Bridport Food Festival, chatting to so many of you and sharing a glass or two of Bride Valley.
Back at the vineyard, our tours and tastings have been wonderfully busy, and it's been a pleasure welcoming both familiar faces and first-time visitors. With August just around the corner, we're looking forward to another month of sunshine, visitors and watching those tiny grapes grow a little bigger every day. If you haven’t already this season… book on a tour and come and see us!
With best wishes,
The Bride Valley Team
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