The Vine’s Annual Cycle: A Year of Work Leading Up to Harvest
There is one time of year when it is difficult to talk about anything else at a winery. We are now approaching harvest, and although from the outside it may seem that everything is ready, we know there is still an important part of the journey ahead.
At Bodegas Corral, we are already counting down. So far, we have only harvested our experimental vineyard, while we wait for the right moment to begin harvesting the rest of our plots. And yes, we are nervous. Because after a whole year of work, we want everything to go well.
Harvest is the defining moment in the vine’s annual cycle, but to understand what is happening now, we need to look back. A vintage does not begin when the first harvesters arrive. It begins many months earlier.
A whole year to get here
During winter, when the vineyard appears to be asleep, one of the most important tasks begins: pruning. Between December and February, we select the canes that will remain on the vine and remove those we do not need.
It may seem like a simple task, but pruning has a major influence on how the vine will develop throughout the year. We seek balance, control the number of buds and prepare the plant for a new cycle.
Then spring arrives and the vine awakens. Between March and April, the first shoots appear and the vineyard can change almost overnight.
It is also a time when we have to be especially vigilant. Spring frosts can put new shoots at risk, and the development of the plant requires constant monitoring.
In May and June comes flowering, followed by fruit set. What were once tiny flowers gradually begin to develop into bunches of grapes. The future harvest starts to take shape.
Summer: the countdown begins
During July and August, the grapes continue to grow and one of the most recognisable stages of the vine’s cycle takes place: veraison. In red varieties, the grapes begin to change colour; in white varieties, they develop increasingly golden tones.
From this point onwards, the key word is ripening.
We monitor the evolution of each plot, the health of the grapes, the balance of the vine and, of course, the weather conditions. Temperature, rainfall and water availability can all influence how the grapes develop.
And this brings us to one of the great particularities of harvest: there is no date we can set months in advance and follow to the letter.
The grapes will tell us when they are ready.
And now we are on the verge of harvest
This is exactly where we are right now.
Our experimental vineyard has already been harvested, while the rest of the vineyard is waiting for its moment. So are we. Our eyes are on the plots, monitoring how the grapes are developing and waiting for the conditions to be right before we begin.
These are busy days, but also days of a certain tension. We have been working all year to get here, and we know that the final weeks can be decisive.
We want the grapes to reach the winery in the best possible condition. And to achieve that, patience is essential. Harvesting too early is not necessarily better than waiting a few more days if the grapes still need to complete their ripening.
That is why, during these days, we are paying particular attention to every plot. Not all varieties ripen at the same pace, nor do all plots have exactly the same conditions. The optimal moment will depend on each one.
And when that moment arrives, it will be time to get to work.
From vineyard to glass
Harvest marks the end of one cycle and, at the same time, the beginning of another. The grapes leave the vineyard and arrive at the winery, where their transformation into wine begins.
Behind every bottle, therefore, there is much more than a few weeks of harvesting. There are months of pruning, budburst, flowering, fruit set, growth and ripening. There are decisions made throughout the year and constant monitoring of the vine’s development.
When you enjoy one of our wines, you are also enjoying that entire journey. The work carried out in the vineyard and a particular vintage that will never be repeated in exactly the same way.
Because that is another thing that makes wine so special: every harvest tells a different story.
Now we are writing the story of 2026.
The first page has already been written by our experimental vineyard. The rest is about to begin.
And while we wait, we watch the grapes, check the plots, carry out our assessments and keep our fingers crossed that the weather will be on our side.
We are nervous, yes.
But they are the kind of nerves that only appear when you have spent an entire year waiting for this moment.
Harvest is about to begin.