Hail is hell

A beautiful day in Cantaburros, sun is shining and spring is in the air. For some time now night temperatures have remained above zero, could be March.The vine has finished bleeding and small baby buds with tiny leaves are beginning to appear everywhere, a sign that the photosynthesis has set in. By early afternoon clouds have emerged, but the weather forecast only predicts drizzly rain.

Then all of the sudden the sky gets dark and the rain sets in. Had it only been so. Instead of rain, it’s hail. Tiny balls of ice bombard the vineyard constantly for about 20 min. and then the sun reappears. 20 devastating minutes, during which a lot of plants have lost their fruit, or rather their primary bud.

Like an emergency back up secondary buds take over and for the vine and winemaker there’s still hope.

damaged by hail..

A beautiful day in Cantaburros, sun is shining and it’s starting to get quite hot during daytime, could be June. The vine has finished flowering and tiny clusters of grapes begin to appear. Some may carry fruit and some may not, but since the vine used for cultivation is hermaphroditic the pollination doesn’t usually present a problem. The air is humid and on and off lightnings appear in the horizon. The weather forecast has predicted light rain in some areas. Then all of the sudden the sky gets dark, and the rain sets in. Had it only been so. Instead of rain, it’s hail. Tiny balls of ice bombard the vineyard constantly for about 20 min, and then the sun reappears. 20 devastating minutes, during which a lot of plants have lost their fruit. The leaves have been shredded to pieces or simply ripped off the plant. Branches have been broken even those close to the trunk. Clusters have been ripped off the vine and those that remain may have suffered damage from the bullets of ice, which might leave them scarred and weak. It’s too early to estimate the extent of the damage, but the risk of infection is unavoidable