Pruning season is almost over in the biodynamic farm

Kristinus keeps posting photos of scissors. Okay, they are tired of cutting, I get it, but pruning is just one of the jobs in the vineyard, not brain surgery. Or is it? According to the dictionary pruning is simply “cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to encourage growth.” Yet, it is not as simple as that. László Dóber, the vineyard and farm manager explained their method in a recent interview.

Winter pruning can help survive drought

László Dóber explained their pruning method in an article of Vinoport Hungarian online wine magazine. “It is almost 5 years since we started working with the Italian pruning consultants Simonit & Sirch. Every cut is made with the smallest possible wound, giving pathogens the least chance to attack the vines on the cutting surface. The basis of Simonit pruning is to maintain continuous pruning points while keeping the path of moisture circulation. This allows for continuous moisture circulation during the summer drought, making the plant less susceptible to the 8-week summer drought that is slowly becoming the norm.” I would lie if I said I understood it totally, but my respect grew to a large extent.
László also spoke about Vince Day, which is a tradition well kept by Hungarian vineyard workers. Saint Vincent is the patron of the vineyards, and on his name day (22 January) and if a vine cut on his name day sprouts, it anticipates a good vintage. László Dóber is optimistic about the vintage, since there is a saying in Hungarian, something like “If Vince gets wet, the cellar stock won’t end”. It means that if on Vince Day there is some humidity, the vintage will be great, and there was: “The day started with freezing minus 3 Celsius, but by the afternoon the temperature increased to plus 3 Celsius, mild and foggy.”

The family is growing: two calves are to be born

László Dóber does not only manage the vineyards, but the animal farm as well. Since Kristinus is a biodynamic winery, it is not only a wine estate, but more a farm, where different species–whether they are plants or animals–live together in harmony. Hungarian winter can be rather cold, the pastures are frozen, cows cannot feed out there, thus they are fed with biodynamic hay. And they need nutrition, especially because two of them are expecting babies these days.
We wish good health to both the mothers and the calves!

Would you like to know how a biodynamic farm works? Visit Kristinus Wine Estate and see the paradise with your own eyes. Find more information here.

Kristinus wines are available in several countries, for example in Germany by Grape Times, in Canada by LA QV, in the USA by Zev Rovine Selections, see all Kristinus partners here.

Did you know? Vincent = Vin Cent = Hundred Wine

On Vince day – 22nd January – Saint Vincent is remembered, a martyr from the Iberic peninsula, who was executed under Emberor Diocletianus in the 3rd century. According to legend, after being martyred ravens protected St. Vincent’s body from being devoured by vultures, until his followers could recover the body. After his death his coat was kept in France, thus his cult started here, and the etimology of his name is part of his popularity: vin-cent is „hundred wine” in French.