Published January 9, 2025
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In the Vineyard: Winter Pruning
As Cellar Season continues, the 2025 vintage is our focus as we begin pruning our vineyard. With 25 acres and approximately 30,000 vines to prune, it’s a big job!
There are three steps:
- Selecting the canes that will produce this year’s fruit and cutting off the rest.
- Pulling the unwanted canes out of the wires and stacking them in the aisles.
- Tying down the remaining canes onto the wires.
The first step is the most important, so we like to start with a small, experienced crew who understand the entire year’s growing cycle.
The entire job needs to be finished before the buds start to swell and grow in the Spring. Usually, that is in mid-March, but it can change several weeks from year to year. After the growth has begun, it is impossible to tie down the canes without damaging the buds, so we need to be sure we are finished while the vines are still dormant. By starting the first week of January, we give ourselves plenty of time.
I’m often asked “Will cold winter weather or snow damage the vines?” Thankfully, the answer is “Usually not.” When the vines are dormant, they can withstand temperatures down to -10F, and temperatures below that are very unusual (again, thankfully!) in the Willamette Valley.
