A month after budbreak started and a month after the covercrop was first cut, I went out the vineyard to start prepping the site for T-posts.
The covercrop had grown back to two to three feet. On a cool Saturday morning, I cut the vineyard with a string trimmer. Then, I cleared the cuttings from around the Montepulciano vines and cut all flowers from those vines. Even though it comes in about a month after the Aglianico, the Montepulciano is pretty vigorous and flowers as soon as there are a few inches of shoots on the head.
This year, the Aglianico will give its first fruit. The Montepulciano, on the other hand, needs to focus its energy on developing a trunk and a head. For that reason all of its flowers will be cut.
Even with cool temperatures and overcast skies, I worked up a sweat. I like the good workout I get in the vineyard.
