Known as one of the most important cultural operations in viticulture, pruning is the task that regulates vegetative growth and grape production. This process is fundamental to guaranteeing a good harvest every year.

At Quinta da Raza, pruning is a moment of pleasure for the whole team, as this is the only way to increase the chance of getting the best out of our vines, year after year. Our viticulture team works hard to ensure that the vines produce a balanced amount of fruit with every chance to thrive, while respecting the demands of Mother Nature.

The work starts right at the beginning of the year, between January and March, in winter. This is the perfect time to prune the vines because they are dormant. To ensure a good pruning of the vine, there must be prior knowledge of its physiology - the process stimulates the start of a new cycle. The secret lies in finding the right balance that promotes the vine's growth while maintaining its size and shape. But it is then that the nature of each region takes on a leading role in this task: different regions, soils, environments, grape varieties and the resulting style of wine will condition and influence the type of pruning to be carried out.

How do we prune our vines?

Here, at Quinta da Raza, we prune on a cordon (main stem) that remains attached to the wire. The vine is pruned into stems about a foot apart, each with 2 to 3 buds.

In this way we aim to achieve our goals of balanced yield with extreme quality. If more buds are left on the vine, it would produce too many grapes and foliage, resulting in less sunlight reaching the bunches and lower quality.

We therefore try to repeat the same number of buds on the vine year after year to achieve consistency and balance on the vine, guaranteeing the best grapes for Quinta da Raza wines. the climate, soil, age and vigor of the vines

So why do we prune vines?

Because of its highly productive qualities in the right season, the vine must be oriented towards what we want from it - pruning allows us to direct how many bunches of grapes we want it to produce next season.

This is a decision that brings together and concerns our experts. At Quinta da Raza we always take into account the climate, soil, age and vigor of the vines when deciding how many buds to leave on the vine, while pruning manually. As well as affecting the quantity of grapes produced, this decision also affects the balance, consistency, sustainability and viability of the resulting harvest.