Lighting up the vineyard to protect new growth

We have had some beautiful sunny weather in April and the start of May, and our vines are really starting to flourish.However, we have also had few cold nights. When the night-time temperatures dropped significantly, we lit our Bougies (or frost candles). These are large paraffin candles that are placed between the rows of vines to warm the air and protect the growth from the frost. A huge thank you must go to Diogo, who set up and lit all the candles.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we have seen a little frost damage in our Regent and Rondo vines. While this sounds alarming as our vines are all well into their growing season, it is not as devastating as it might seem. If the primary buds, which are the most fruitful, are killed by frost, the vine will push out secondary (and sometimes even tertiary) buds. These might not be as fruitful as the primary buds but they will still produce fruit. As the damage was only partial, we are confident that enough of the vines were undamaged to ensure that we have a good harvest of these grapes.

As spring moves into summer, the threat of frost will diminish and our vines should really start to thrive and grow. We have our fingers crossed for another summer like last year, which resulted in a record harvest across the vineyard.