Wine Flowering Season in Provence

After months of hibernation we saw a gentle awakening of the vines towards the end of April, and during May this quiet start turns into pretty manic growth, especially if you have decent temperatures. We’ve had a few very hot days already and practically no rain, so the vines are now sporting some pretty big foliage. It’s a lovely sight and the green is so vivid, signifying nature at it’s most active.

In the last few days some of the better exposed vineyards have started to flower.

The wine flowering season is a vital time in the development of the vine and is make or break for the vineyard owner. Flowering is a pretty short and visually reserved event, unlike the many loud and shouty blooms around Provence. The baby grapes will turn into lots of white little flowers and the vines will begin to self pollinate and fertilise. There is a delicate scent if you get up close.

Each flower should ultimately result in a grape, unless disease or bad weather has it’s way.  The vine is naturally very fragile during that time and a couple of years ago, heavy rains during May lead to an atypically short harvest, as a lot of the flowers had been knocked off the plant. The floraison also gives you an indication of the timing of the harvest, generally in Provence we assume that the grapes will be ripe 100 days later.

So along with the other wine producers in Provence we hope that this period stays steady in terms of weather and that the wine flower can develop into a beautiful grape and then we’ll do our best to turn it into delicious Rosé.