The month of February begins with some reflections on climate change: a process whose effects are visible and tangible, especially for those like us who are directly involved in agriculture. How do the effects of global warming impact and affect our vineyards? Step into the rows with Agricola Marrone and discover the vineyard tasks for February.
For those like us who directly manage vineyards, the challenges related to climate change—and more specifically, to global warming—are clear and evident year after year. This requires great attention on our part and continuous agronomic evaluations to ensure proper and balanced vineyard management. This is why we continually rely on and collaborate with our research laboratory and agronomist: targeted, minimally invasive, and conscious interventions enable us to achieve “happy,” healthy, and strong plants. This preliminary care inevitably translates into higher-quality grapes and, consequently, excellent wine.
When discussing major climate disruptions, we cannot ignore the hailstorm of July 6, 2023, a truly tragic event that continues to influence our agronomic decisions today. The affected plants are still fragile and weakened, impacted by the significant stress they endured. This awareness leads us to prefer humid and foggy days for cane bending operations, to avoid unpleasant breakages, and drier days for pruning.
The still uncertain recovery conditions of individual vines prompt us to proceed cautiously with every decision. We have decided to maintain the same number of buds as in previous years, but we are ready to make changes should the budding phase require it. At the same time, we have altered the rootstocks and clones for physiological replacements. With the help of our agronomist, we have selected rarely available rootstocks: resistant even in cases of water scarcity and with lower production levels. This choice, while counter to what has been sought and planted until now, could prove strategic and—hopefully—successful in the years to come.