Budburst - Spring has Sprung

Muscat Budburst September 2022

Spring is in full swing here in Rutherglen. Look at these thriving 100 plus year old Muscat Vines!! Beautiful budburst…
A huge shout out has to go to our amazing vineyard & farm staff. Acka (Wayne), Tets, Teigan & Claire for the super job they are constantly doing. Without them we wouldn’t see the results in the above pic.

Vines set themselves up with the biological equivalent of ‘anti-freeze’ to ensure live tissue remains for the renewal of growth in the following spring.

Dormant vines have to exist on their stored reserves from leaf fall. The new shoot growth in spring is completely dependent on these reserves for approximately the first month.

Growth of dormant buds is the result of the commencement of expansion of internodes, leaves etc.
pre-formed in the previous season.

Once buds are in a state of enforced dormancy, they only need sufficiently high temperatures in order to burst.

Temperature. The effect of temperature is paramount and there is probably a constant temperature summation from mid-winter for each variety. Higher temperatures in the latter part of winter advance the time of budburst. The number of buds bursting per day is strongly correlated with mean air temperature on the day that the buds burst.
Variety. Irrespective of climate and seasonal conditions, the order of budburst of different varieties tends to be maintained. For example, Chardonnay always bursts relatively early, whereas Cabernet Sauvignon always burst relatively late.

More info AWRI

Muscadelle Budburst September 2022