Bloom is sweeping across vineyards in Kelowna, keeping our viticulture and winemaking teams on the edge of their seats as the delicate flowering stage coincides with a sometimes temperamental late Spring/early Summer weather.

^{Block 8: Pinot Noir at Tantalus Vineyards} 

It’s a bit of a nerve-wracking period as any major weather events, such as a bad hail storm, could disrupt the tiny flowers and their pollination cycle, leaving behind a less than desirable crop.

^{Pinot Noir Flowering at Tantalus Vineyards} 

^{Pinot Noir Flowering at Tantalus Vineyards}

According to Tantalus Vineyards winemaker, David Paterson, with our relatively cooler start to Spring, flowering kicked off slightly later than it did compared to the last few years. But, he points out, we are actually closer to the ten year average for this stage of development so right on track! Only lasting a couple of weeks, once we are through this precarious time we will all breathe a big sigh of relief and with the forecasted gorgeous weather on the horizon, we are feeling pretty confident we will get through bloom unscathed.

^{Flowering Riesling Flowering at Tantalus Vineyard}

For more info, check out the vinepair's blogpost.
 

Contributed by Stephanie Mosley | Tantalus Vineyards