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Spring is now flooding into the vineyards at Bodegas Arzuaga. The sun is beating down on the vines and warming the last winds that still reach the Ribera del Duero. It’s an amazing time to enjoy alone or in company. But this extraordinary sight hides a secret that’s still not very well known. For a few days, the vines at Bodegas Arzuaga ‘bleed’. This is a phenomenon that’s so beautiful it’s worth seeing up close.
What does the bleeding of the vine mean, though? To explain it, we have to go back in time a few months. Let’s go back to those cold days in Valladolid, when the sun rises over the frozen feels and the ground in the vineyards gets harder with each step. On those cold days, the vine goes dormant and only keeps its roots active. It’s the time when the plant gets ready for the spring. And those are the days when we do pruning, the first step to obtaining high-quality wines. They’re important days in the winery since this step is largely responsible for the success in the springtime.
Our vines are already pruned and, little by little, the days grow longer and the ground temperature begins to rise. It’s the sun that wakes the plant up, which comes out of its slumber to begin a new cycle. The sap, which has been dormant up to this time, awakens and starts to circulate until reaching the shoots, which still have cuts from the pruning. That sap is going to drip out through those ‘wounds’, which is the ‘bleeding’ that we’ll then see on the canes.
This bleeding is going to last a little more than a week, until the cuts get covered with a sticky substance that will close up the wounds until the bleeding stops. Then we’ll know that the vineyard is ready for the budbreak phase. The earth tones at Bodegas Arzuaga will soon be replaced by shades of green.
And there’s no better place to enjoy this process than our winery. Now that the wind is warm, it’s wonderful to walk around our estate. You can get close and see the bleeding of the vines for yourself. Afterwards, you’ll be able to discover the traditional or avant-garde cuisine in one of our two restaurants and finish off the day watching the sun set in Ribera del Duero’s Golden Mile. See you soon!