🌿 Vineyard

A vineyard is a plot of land planted with grapevines. It is where wine begins. How the vine grows determines what the berries are like, and so the wine. That is why every vineyard has its own character, called terroir: it is made up of soil, slope, climate and care.

Vines are planted in rows. Between the rows is a gap where machinery drives. The distance between plants is called planting density: the denser the planting, the fewer berries on each vine. Vines are tied to wires, pruned in winter, watched for leaves and flowering in spring, and protected from disease in summer and autumn. The harvest takes place in autumn. All this work is done by the grower.

New vineyards are made with young vines planted in prepared ground. A first small crop comes after two or three years, and a proper one later. Good vineyards live for decades. The vineyard is tied to wine directly: without vines and berries, there is no wine.