The 2010 Growing Seasons Starts Early in New York
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief
Photo courtesy of Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery
Is this picture bud break? I'm not sure — I always think of bud break as when full, immature leaves separate from the bud and unfurl. By that definition, this would be bud swell, but it barely matters — the 2010 growing season is underway in New York.
Yesterday, I stopped at Roanoke Vineyards on the North Fork and their vines looked much the same… the buds were extremely swollen but I didn't see any separation. I've heard that Shinn Estate Vineyards and Benmarl Winery have experienced official break, but I have yet to see any pictures.
New York growers — please send us pictures of budbreak in your vineyards. We'll post anything we get.
Obviously this is an early start to the growing season, but all the news isn't bad. If there isn't a frost event this spring, 2010 could be a long growing season, which could mean added ripeness.
But, there's a lot that can happen between now and harvest. Stay tuned.
Benmarl’s Baco noir should be breaking but haven’t heard yet.
I should have pictures from Benmarl later today, Matt emailed me over the weekend that they had break on the Baco.
This is technically bud swell as no green leafy tissue is exposed. The woolly hairs from the bud scales will offer some protection against frost and water loss. In the instance of light frost these buds should still be fine.
Richard - thanks for the clarification - I think I was misjudging this a little as well. Whether I’ve officially got break or swell, there’s no doubt we’re progressing quickly. Here’s my post and a photo where there is some “unfurling” but I guess still no official swell.
http://grandcruclasses.com/vineviews/2010/04/11/bud-break-comes-early/
Either way, I am hoping for a VERY WARM APRIL!
Cheers,
Jared
Jared - those look right on the edge but at least you don’t seem to have very many of them out that far.
For me, I’m hoping for a very cold end of April! But there’s a good possibility we’re out of the woods.
Luckily grapevines have an entire set of secondary and if all else fails, tertiary (albeit sterile) “backup” buds.
Generally, early or late bud break has little to do with the date of harvest - its really the weather that occurs after May 15th that truly dictates the timing and quality of the harvest.