Viano In The Valley

Always a pleasure to see Ermanno in his vineyard.  He worked all the way through the Christmas holidays to prune it up.  It is a constant labour of love with more than 5000 vines.  He's taken a keen interest over the past few years to do most of the pruning on his own to try and get the best quality out of the grapes.  Tonight he was cutting off dead weight from the vine that could otherwise rot and introduce infections to a healthy plant.  He said he is now anxious for spring to see if the hard work paid off and if will be a good year.  From every old cane or one-year-old wood that he has pruned, two new shoots will form.  Interesting to listen how the life of the vineyard proceeds and managing the old wood to keep the newer canes producing good wine - sacrificing maybe an old cane to promote a new growth nearer to the roots.  Some of the cabernet vines he was trimming tonight are more than 40 years old.  Beautiful!