Sex in the vineyard

Love is in the air in the vineyard! The vines are busy getting it on…in other words – flowering has started! Like humans, vines find it easier to get in the mood for love, if the temperature is warm and the breezes are gentle and caressing. Rain and windy cold weather during flowering turns them off to their lovemaking task, and poor pollination, and a reduced crop can result.

Following budbreak in late February, the vines work hard for 2 long months of photosynthesis and rapid shoot growth, to gather the vigor needed for this sex marathon.  March and April in the Alentejo this year, have been warm and dry with average temperatures of 14ºC/57ºF and accumulated rainfall of 86mm. While the first half of May so far, has been excellent flowering weather, with average temperatures of 18ºC/64ºF and only 10mm rainfall.  Temperatures of 16ºC/59ºF are the starting gun for flowering to begin –  ’Hey you vines out there! – ‘Let’s get it on!’

Vitis Vinifera have a very ‘KINKY’ side to their sex life.  They are hermaphroditic, or self-pollinators, possessing in the same plant the male stamens (which contain the pollen) and the female ovaries.  That surely explains why their flowers are not more exuberant – you have to examine a vine plant closely to even see them! No need for them to attract strange lovers! They would much prefer to be left alone, to get about their own pollinating business!

Once fertilized, the lucky 30-60% of flowers who got themselves pollinated, begin the long process of transformation into a grape berry (fruit set) to protect the seed within.  Stay tuned for the next chapter in the long growing season in the vineyard!