What do we do in the winter, when the wine produced from the past harvest are all in their barrels, fermentations are all finished, and all the equipment is cleaned up and put away? Do we sit around and drink coffee? Unfortunately, no.

One of the main ways we pass the time is by heading out into the vineyards and start pruning. Pruning needs to be done every winter and it does take a good amount of time. Fun – well, no, but necessary!

Pruning vines is very important for making great wine. It helps keep our wines consistent year to year, and it plays an essential role in the long-term health of the vines. Pruning requires a huge number of human hours, and Cassie (our Assistant Winemaker) and I can only work so fast. That’s why we rely on our vineyard manager to bring in a crew large enough to prune our fields in just a few days. If I had to do it alone, it would take me about six months!

We usually begin pruning after the first cold spell in November or even December (we pick grapes in August/September/October). Cold temperatures cause the leaves to fall and kill off any green stems, pushing the vines into what we call dormancy. Vines typically remain dormant until early March, giving us a few months to get the pruning done. If we wait too long, the new shoots can break off with the slightest touch, which can result in the loss of grapes. Shoots form from buds on the vines and those buds stay closed until early spring, when temperatures begin to rise.

So why prune? The biggest reason is to regulate the number of grape clusters produced on each vine, preventing overcrowding. With a finite number of clusters, we can depend on regular ripening and ensure clusters are regularly sized sized—with a healthy number of berries. Without pruning, the vine produces too many shoots, which leads to lots of tiny clusters with very few berries. Pruning also spreads the shoots out, which is good for air flow and sunlight into the vines, both of which help prevent diseases. Another benefit of pruning is that clusters of grapes tend to form in a certain area of each vine, making it easier to manage sunlight exposure and leaf removal. Also it is easier to pick when you know where the correct clusters are located. There’s no searching!

As you travel around Sonoma, you’ll hear about several pruning methods. One is “cordon/spur” pruning, which is very easy to learn. Long shoots are cut back to “spurs”, which look like 1-2” nubs that will have two buds on them. The old cordons stay on the vines forever so you will see very fat arms for this method of pruning. The other pruning method is “cane” pruning, which is more complex. One or two canes are selected from the previous year’s growth. These canes originates from the middle-center of the vine and are laid down on the wires horizontally. The rest of the old shoots get cut off, maybe leaving a spur or two for planning on the next year. This is much easier to understand when you see it in person.

The best thing you can do is come to the winery and look at the vines next to our outside tasting area. We’ve pruned some of our Chardonnay in both methods. Impress your friends by telling them that the first two rows nearest the pavilion are cordon pruned and the next four rows are cane pruned!

If that sounds a bit too technical, then simply get a glass of wine or beer from the tasting room and gaze across the vines, and don’t worry about the pruning at all!