Good wine is not made in the winery. 
Good wine is made in the vineyard.

Reproduction
Grapevines can reproduce two different ways.  One way is to grow really long shoots that fall to the ground, re-root, and form a new plant.  The other way is to produce a sweet tasting berry that an animal will eat and deposit the seeds elsewhere with fertilizer, from which a plant will grow.  Our job is to manipulate our grapevines to have a propensity towards the latter.

Quality vs Quantity

It takes a lot of energy and expense to produce the sweetest, most concentrated berries.   Many wineries purchase grapes at the lowest possible price and not for the best quality.  Wine can be made much cheaper if the vineyard doesn't take the time and energy to care for their grapes and uses cost-saving shortcuts like using machines to combine them, which compromises quality.

 

We, at Berryville, only use high quality, hand-picked grapes we grow on site.

 

Pruning

While the grapes are still dormant, Eric goes over our 10 acres of vineyards and hand prunes all the vines. Eric considers this step to be the most important time he spends making his wine all year.   Pruning the vines regulates production and positions where the growth will occur throughout the season. 

 

Bud Thinning

After the buds start sprouting, we thin out the buds to a certain spacing while removing the ones not growing in the right direction (up or in towards the trellis).  We also remove all the buds on the trunks of the grapevines.  The goal is to position the fruit to be in the sunlight.

 

Shoot Positioning

Grapes grow on the nodes of shoots that are closest to the cordon (the part of the vine that is horizontal and tied to the wire).  Grapes need lots of sunlight to produce all the chemical compounds that are ideal in grapes.  Throughout the late spring and early summer months, we train the vines to grow down toward the ground.  This will help the grapes to not be shaded by the vines and help them get plenty of sunlight. 

 

Leaf Pulling

Not all leaves are good. The ones shading the berries get removed to help expose them to the sun.  We are cautious not to remove too many leaves as this can cause the grapes to sunburn.

Harvesting

All of our grapes are hand harvested.  Harvest can be quick and easy or it can sometimes be long and difficult, depending on what mother nature gives you.  If the growing season and especially the few weeks before harvest are dry, then the grapes are easy to pick.  If too much rain comes shortly before harvest, the grapes will suck up all that moisture.  Some may pop and begin rotting.  If this happens, we clean out the undesirable grapes  as we harvest them.  Harvest is a busy season, but there is great satisfaction in bringing in the fruits of one's labor.