Shoot Thinning

The best time for shoot thinning is in the spring when shoots are young. Early shoot thinning's affects are dependant on the varital and its microclimate. This is one of the times Jon & I rely on the generations of experience our growers draw from to yield the best fruit for our wines.


These water shoots are developed from buds at the base of a spur or old wood. They're rarely fruitful and account for 50% of the shoots produced. You can see Manuel's hands work the vines carefully as he's done for over 30 years.

More of these young shoots are left on the ground than remain on the vines. Because of our growers' hard work and care, the vines we pull our fruit from will have fewer cluster numbers, changing the fruit composition and reducing vine vigor. Everything matters, and what our growers do each and every day is as important as any other part of the winemaking process. Today was one of those days.