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July in the Vineyard |
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As you can see the grapes have changed considerably from last month, they now actually look like grapes!
The viticultural technique being shown here is that of 'leaf plucking'. In essence it is a very simple (but incredibly laborious) way to make sure that the ripening bunches get just the right amount of sun. If a vine has over-produced leaves then extra foliage can slow done or even stop the ripening process, and can create an environment around the bunches which is too humid, thereby promoting fungal diseases which can ruin the crop.
It is of course a fine line between removing enough leaves to help the grapes, and removing too many, in which case the vine can't photosynthesize and can stop growing, leaving a whole load of half-ripened grapes at harvest time!
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