Fruit Set, the third stage of an annual grape vine

By Beth Heiserman

The third stage of an annual grape vine is “fruit set”.  It follows flowering, when the fertilized flower begins to develop a seed and the grape berry to protect the seed. Every week I walk around the fields to see the progress of the grapes each season.  I was so impressed to see how the grapes are growing this year. Walking around the Cabernet Sauvignon field this past week looked so beautiful. They are coming along just perfectly.

Fruit set will take place when the flower forms a berry. The amount of fruit set is a relative to the quantity of flowers that occurred into berries.   Flowering abscission happens naturally in horticultural crops. It is when the leaves fall naturally after fruit set.  In grapevines, a large number of flowers fall for the most part in the two weeks following fruit set.  It could be considered a “self-thinning” technique that enables the vine to regulate the crop, by adjusting it to the available resources without risking survival of the plant. We also go in and thin out the vines manually by removing vines that have no fruit.

This month we are pouring our 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon in the tasting room. It has won two bronze awards from the 2017 Los Angeles International Wine Competition and the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition. This delicious estate Cabernet Sauvignon has a delightful bouquet of black cherries and mace. On the palate this wine brings forth notes of cherries, pomegranate and cocoa. It was aged in French oak for 33 months which gives it a striking butterscotch and oaky finish. It pairs well with a grilled steak topped with blue cheese and a black forest cake for dessert.