It is not a sign of sadness, the vine weeps with joy.
The plants begin to awaken from a long state of lethargy in which they have remained throughout the winter, giving them the appearance of lifelessness. That is why this phenomenon of weeping is so curious since it is the beginning of the vine’s cycle that concludes with the harvest.
But this is just one of the stages that the vine goes through. Do you want to know all the phases of the vine’s vegetative cycle?
IT CRIED:
This is a very interesting process in which you can see how the plants start to be active. It occurs when temperatures increase and last approximately 3 weeks. The droop begins to rise and, through the pruning process, drops of colourless liquid spurt out, giving the sensation that the vine is “weeping”. Sometimes this liquid acquires a reddish colour, giving the impression that blood is flowing from its cuts. Because of this phenomenon, the vine growers call it “Weeping Blood”.
SPROUTING AND FOLIATION PHASE:
During the month of April, when the earth reaches 10ºC, lumps begin to appear on the branches. This is called the swelling of the buds, which is followed by the separation of the layers that cover them, giving way to small leaves. This is called foliation.
FLOWERING PHASE:
At the end of May, the flowering takes place, which consists in the flower opening for fertilization, signifying the newly formed fruit. From that moment, small clusters of very small green fruits called “bunches” will start to emerge. These fruits will develop little by little until maturity.
TURNING PHASE:
This occurs during the month of July. The grapes begin to change their green colour for a yellowish colour in the case of the white and red varieties used for red wines. In addition, the grapes lose acidity and start to accumulate sugars. It is during this phase that the red and white varieties can be distinguished, since until this point all varieties of grape are green.
THE HARVEST:
The winemakers and oenologists are the ones who, in the months of August and September, carry out exhaustive controls on the maturity of the grape, in order to determine the right moment of harvest according to the type of wine that they want to make.
WITHERING PHASE:
After the harvest, the droop of the plant begins to drop, which causes the leafs to change their colour from green to reddish, from when they will later fall completely, exposing stems or branches.
LATENT PHASE:
During the cold months, approximately between November and March, the plant of the vine is in a state of rest. In this phase it looks like the plant has died. It is at this time, generally during the month of January, when the pruning takes place.
From here the cycle begins again and the vine will weep again.
