If the pre-harvest period stands out for the beauty of the vines, with the almost ripe grapes on them, the truth is that the time takes place just after picking the clusters is also especially beautiful. We are talking about autumn in the vineyards of Bodegas Arzuaga.
The first thing that outlines when we think on the autumn season in our vineyards is the change in colour they experience, or more specifically their leaves. From a bright green typical of August and September we turn to more reddish, yellow and brown tones. In short, the colours that we relate to autumn if we close our eyes and think about this season.
As the vine is still a deciduous plant and, the processes it suffers will end with the fall of the leaves showing bare branches. But the first signs of this time we appreciate at a glance is, as we indicated, the change in the shades of the leaves. Why does it occur? Although there are other factors that have an influence, the main one is that the plants stop carrying the sap in a path, keeping nutrients in their roots. The element that is mainly responsible for providing the green colour to the leaves is chlorophyll, therefore “once they do not produce chlorophyll we lose the greenery and we get more reddish tones,” as Jorge Sánchez –responsible for Bodegas Arzuaga viticulture– observes.
“Autumn for the vine is a very important phase”, says Jorge. Due to the weather we have in this area of the Ribera del Duero, the first frosts can occur in early autumn. “At this moment, the plant prepares itself for low temperatures, getting down its reserves to the root for the next year sprouting”, he states.
Sánchez indicates that: “With the harvest we have cut off the draining parts to the vineyard, which have been the clusters, so at this time the draining organs will be the roots”. In other words, they will be the organs of the plant that will receive the highest concentration of nutrients.
Although all the vineyard stages have a magical and special side, we recommend you to visit our vineyards in autumn. Just before the leaves fall you will enjoy an autumnal colour palette that will undoubtedly remain in your mind.