Winemaker Zach Watkins highlights what makes this season unique:
It’s officially spring, and as expected, the landscape is shrugging off the dreary brown and donning a lush assortment of greens. We’ve had a fantastic amount of rain during the winter months, with cool temperatures in March, setting the growing season up for success. Given the few recent days of heat, we are finally seeing some buds push up at our vineyards, including the Old Vine Semillon at Monte Rosso, which suggests that Zinfandel is close behind. Although daily temperatures are one major signal to the vines that it’s time to wake up, one overlooked contributor is actually something called photoperiod. As it sounds, this is just the amount of time the vines are exposed to light, and as we all know, the daylight hours are increasing! This light signals the plant to start making preparations for growth. It’s much like how we are regulated by our circadian rhythm.
And now that this next year’s cycle is on its merry way, the work of the season is truly beginning. At the start of budbreak, the vines are restricted to only using their stored energy to grow new shoots and leaves. This process is quite slow but incredibly powerful. The cell division occurring at the shoot tips is the same kind that will crack concrete over a long period of time. It’s amazing! Once the vine is able to produce leaves, things will pick up speed since the vine can now act as its own solar power plant. Stay tuned for more updates as the season continues. Spring is my all-time favorite season, and I look forward to the longer days filled with a world of natural activity.
As we usher in a new era of Louis M. Martini — a return to our roots, a recommitment to our community, and a fresh approach to our design — budbreak is a symbolic reminder of the start of this new chapter of our history. It’s an exciting time of renewal, and a new vintage marks our path ahead.
