This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
If you’re a regular reader of this blog or if you’ve visited our winery in the heart of Ribera del Duero, then you’ll have surely heard us say that every season has something that makes it special in our vineyard. The green of summer, the starkness of winter, the anticipation that comes with spring… Today, though, we want to tell you about a time when the vineyard becomes multi-coloured, offering a unique palette of shades. We’re talking about autumn at Bodegas Arzuaga.
Because when autumn arrives, the leaves on the vines leave behind their intense summer green and start to turn those shades that are so characteristic of the months of September, October and November. Red, garnet, yellow, orange, brown… Arzuaga’s vineyards transform, giving way to a special colour palette.
But do you know why this change happens in the vines? If you come to visit us in winter, you’ll see that the only thing left on the vines are the branches, without any leaves or fruit. This is because vines are deciduous plants. Their change in colour is closely linked to the processes that happen in the plants up until they lose their leaves. Although there are other factors that play a part in the change in hue, the main one is the fact that the plants concentrate all the nutrients in their roots to protect themselves from the cold winter temperatures, so these nutrients are no longer transported through the branches. This process is especially important considering the climate we have in Ribera del Duero, where our vineyards are located, since the first frosts can occur in early autumn. Chlorophyll is the element mainly responsible for giving the leaves their green colour, and therefore once the plant stops distributing this chlorophyll, the green shades start to disappear and the leaves begin taking on more reddish tones.
As we were telling you at the beginning of this post, although all the phases of the vineyard have their own magical and special characteristics, we highly recommend that you come and visit our vines in autumn. Just before the leaves fall, you’ll enjoy an autumnal colour palette that will definitely remain impressed on your memory. We look forward to seeing the photos of you enjoying this season in the Bodegas Arzuaga vineyards!