After a cold, soaking-wet winter that will go down in the record books, the vineyard soils began to dry and warm in February, signaling to the grapevines that it was time to wake from their winter slumber. Bud break, also known as bud burst, began in our Sonoma County vineyards in mid-March to start the 2017 growing season–a welcome return to normalcy after a string of early bud breaks. This photo gallery of grape buds pictures shows the beginning of the annual lifecycle of the grapevine.
Chardonnay grapevines in the cooler Russian River Valley pushed buds first around March 13, almost simultaneously with our estate Malbec and Petit Verdot in Alexander Valley. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards awoke from dormancy before the end of the month, around March 27.
What is significant this spring is the increased growth of cover crop between the vines. That crop is growing exceptionally well due in part to the swell of water. Because the grapevines have plenty of underground water supply, their baby shoots are growing quickly too. But if the weather cools, the growth of the shoots will slow as well. Learn more about bud burst with our blog post, What is Bud Break?
Grape Bud Pictures: 2017 Bud Burst in the Vineyards
2 Comments
We are implementing a computer model for grape growth stages and are looking for pictures to illustrate these stages. I came across your web page with some really great photographs.
May we use these pictures? They may be copyrighted – we want to follow proper procedures and give you full credit.
Please let me know.
Sincerely,
Simon van Donk, PhD
Senior Agronomist
4324 University Ave
Grand Forks, ND 58203
Please use Jordan Vineyard & Winery in the photo credit.
Thank you!