| PRUNING...GAINING CONTROL We humans have come a long way from our hunter-gather beginnings. And as we've moved towards more carefully organized patterns of life and agriculture. we've rarely stopped to think about the civilizing or domesticating processes we've brought to bear in our world We've come to take for granted the processes of domestication that have brought in from the wild our dogs and our cats, and a myriad other forms of animal life It's taken a long time. but the same processes that have worked to bring our pets indoors have also allowed us to domesticate certain plants. including the noble vine. How many of us feel civilized if we could not see ourselves with a glass of wine occasioning our lives? Very few of us ever get to see a grapevine in its wild state these days. If we'd lived 5000 years ago. we'd have seen it growing haphazardly through Europe's countryside - sprawling across the ground, climbing rocks and trees, and choking off the lives of competing vegetation. As we've learnt to domesticate the animals in our environment . so we've learnt to domesticate the vine. We've gained control. by pruning it and shaping it into practical forms that enable us to nurture it and prolong its life, to make it produce reliable fruit yields, and to improve the quality of the bunches it bears.  Domaine A / Stoney Vineyard H. Peter and Ruth ALTHAUS CAMPANIA TAS 7026 Telephone Number +61 03 6260 4174 email althaus@domaine-a.com.au |
 This was known as long ago as Ancient Egyptian times. Throughout Roman civilisation. pruning was a well-established practice. At Stoney Vineyard, we adhere to the traditions of European viticulture as well. Our 60,000 vines are cane-pruned, after the manner promoted by the 1860 studies of Frenchman, Dr Guyot. A grapevine has two parts - one above the ground. and one below the ground. The root system of a vine is usually very extensive, reaching deep into the earth, providing support and nutrients for the vine and its fruit. A fully-bearing vine puts a lot of weight onto its trunk as well as its trellis. A vine’s basic structure must be strong. The canes. the shoots, and the leaves are the vine's powerplant. As leaves are responsible for photosynthesis5 transpiration. and respiration, they particularly are critical parts of the engine which drives the vine machine. A vine with few leaves will not ripen its fruit The art of pruning is to control the growth of the vine, to bring into balance the development of its roots and leaf canopy, its vigor, and its crop. I requires the skills of a tight-rope walker to equip the vine with the ability to produce premium quality fruit at an acceptable price. Pruning is no-one's favourite job, but only now that it's done can we look forward to enjoying a glass from our next vintage.
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