Every Season Starts With Optimism – 2026

      As new, unfurling shoots emerge from opened buds, the vine is preparing to do two things. Most obvious is the growth of the new shoot, its leaves and tendrils, it’s hanging flowers as the growth reaches for the top of the catch wire and beyond. Second, and equally important, is an invisible growth: inflorescence primordia initiation, the formation of latent buds at the junction points where leaves or tendrils branch off. These “resting buds” contain precursers for the following season, the creation of the original flower. Within small cone-shaped bulbs, either a future cluster or future tendril is born. The vine decides.

      If a latent bud forms in ample sunlight and with the proper nutrients, the vine triggers the formation of a cluster. If the bud is shaded or something is deficient, it becomes a tendril meant to help the vine grow toward sunlight the following year. The vine is thinking three seasons ahead.

      This is happening now, as our late-April shoots grow from two inches to four to six. This dual-purpose – the simultaneous growth for this year and next – is an evolutionary wonder, a form of planning shared by many perennial fruit crops. It has inspired the way we prune. A thoughtful pruner should be thinking of the overall structure of the vine. They should be thinking of this year, next year, and the year after that, all at once.

2026 Follows Three Stressful Growing Seasons

• March – October Rainfall in Loudoun County:
  • Past 20 year average – 31.95”
  • 2023 March – October – 23.4”
  • 2024 March – October – 21.6”
  • 2025 March – October – 25.0”

      Drought is a good thing when it comes in the fall, as it can moderate berry size and quicken ripening. Three consecutive summer droughts on dry farmed vineyards, however, has lead to stunted vines. Last year, we saw thin shoots with small clusters, canopies with empty space, and a halting of ripening. This year the vines need recuperation.

      We’re also contending with stress created by Spotted Lanternflies (SLF), particularly the impact from last fall, when they were present at all our sites. They feed on the phloem, pulling sap from the vascular system, leading to devigoration, a reduction in cold hardiness, and other potential negative concerns. We don’t know how many SLF it takes to stress a vine, as their impact is connected to other factors – vine age, plant available nutrients, average croploads, and, important to this season, drought stress.

Pruning Back, Feeding, and Forecasting

      This year, we drastically cut back vines with weak shoots or bud counts. We applied nutrient blends during Spring root growth and are preparing our compost for spreading. We’ll sacrifice some of this year’s crop to better position the vines and soil for the following. It is the same decision the vines will be making in the coming weeks, as the “resting buds” are form and await instruction.

      I think of the intelligence of the grapevine, and compare it to that of monocarpic plants, which bloom just once in a lifetime. Bamboo, for instance, remains in a vegetative growth cycle for around 100 years before suddenly flowering, and, not long after, dying. Identical species of bamboo from across the globe tend to flower simultaneously in “gregarious flowering,” which is likely driven by some kind of biological clock we don’t yet understand. When the patience required for winegrowing wears on me, I think of that bamboo, awaiting its hundredth year.