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Today on our blog, we’d like to tell you about one of the most important vine-growing practices, which we’ve been doing during this period at Bodegas Arzuaga. There’s no question that every operation we carry out in the vineyard must be performed carefully and precisely since they will all have an influence on the proper development of the plant. However, pruning is one of the most fundamental, as it’s largely responsible both for the quantity of grapes that will be harvested as well as their quality.
The ideal moment for pruning is precisely when the plant is dormant, with the reserves in the root – even though there isn’t long to go until the sap will start running through it again – as this is the point where it won’t suffer with the trimming. To choose the exact moment at which to start pruning each vineyard, it’s very important to take into account the risk of frosts that may occur, since it’s best to keep the vine bud break from coinciding with very low temperatures.
But what does pruning consist of? Pruning is a practice where we cut the plant’s shoots, leaving only the buds needed to ensure distribution of the vines, taking into account both their airing once they grow as well as the load we’ll leave on the plant. At Arzuaga, we prioritise quality and do short pruning, aiming to keep the bunches from touching one another. To do this, it’s essential to calculate the number of buds left on each arm of the plant. This will have an impact on whether the bunches grow well aired, without hitting one another, and whether they fully ripen correctly.
At Bodegas Arzuaga, it’s clear to us that it’s always better to go for the quality of the grapes to ensure the quality of the wines. Therefore, we believe it’s much better to have a lower quantity of grapes that will allow good ripening and the right characteristics for making our Ribera del Duero wines.
As you can see, it takes the right pruning to get the highest quality grapes. And it takes this fruit to be able to offer you the best wines that come from our winery, vintage after vintage. Cheers!