Maintenance and Planting

Maintaining your vineyard:

A vineyard requires care and maintenance throughout the year. During the winter months the vines are pruned back, during the spring the new canes are tied, and during the growing season the leaves are managed via canopy control, and there is grape cluster management work, (known as cutting yields).

Gavilan Vineyards employs an expert team of vineyard workers and has all the required tools and machinery to maintain the vineyards on an ongoing basis. Dedicated irrigation workers water the vineyard throughout the growing season to maintain optimal growing conditions.

This maintenance program offered through Gavilan is a voluntary program. I.e., those Estate owners who prefer to hire outside management are free to do so; at the same time, those who want to experience the joy of working their own vines are also welcome to do so. The advantage of having a 2 hectare (5 acre) vineyard is that it is easily managed by a single person with only a few hours work a day.

For those owners who cannot work their own vines and/or who prefer to hire the services of Gavilan, this custom program is the headache-free approach to vineyard ownership!

Planting your vineyard:

The advantage of starting your vineyard from scratch is that you can choose your varietal as well as the spacing between plants. Both are considerations that will affect your future wine, and your income from your vineyard. Close spacing increases yield per Estate, but lowers qualities and requires more fertilizing to restore nutrients to the soil. Of course choosing the varietal of your vines will determine the most basic elements such as whether you are making red or white wine, and what type of wine you will produce in the end. We discourage more than two varietals per 2-hectare site.

To learn about planting and maintenance costs please send us an email request.