After pruning comes tying

__________

The purpose of pruning 
 

Winter marks the beginning of the vine’s work cycle. Proper growth of the plant and its grapes will depend on pruning. As the primary action in looking after the vine, pruning controls elongation, the ageing of the strain, it helps manage the number of bunches and distributes the bunches in a harmonious way to facilitate harvesting. 

Tying
 

After pruning, the stems, the branches carrying the buds for that year, are tied by hand by the winemakers of Vinovalie. This work takes about 3 weeks. It consists of attaching the stems to the support wire, so as to support the growth of the vine, either in the plane of the trellising or vertically along the row.

In the past, tying was also called “attachment” and was also done using strands of wet reeds which the winemaker knotted around the wood. Rushes have now been replaced by string tied around the wood using a pair of pliers, or an electric tying machine. The purpose of tying is to shape the vine by guiding the stems and to ensure maintenance, to facilitate growth, to promote the distribution of grapes and to make subsequent work easier.