BBCH.

In biology, the Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt und Chemische Industrie-scale (BBCH-scale) is a system used to identify the phenological growth stages of plants, (and it's quite a mouthful).  A series of BBCH-scales have been developed for a range of crops, including grapevines.  According to the BBCH-scale for grapes, Vinoland's grapes are now at growth stage 6; flowering; code 68; 80% of flowerhoods fallen. Put simply, the Cabernet sauvignon is nearly finished flowering.

The flowering grapevine.

A. J. Winkler says, "To the casual observer the opening of a grape flower may seem to be very different from that of most other flowers, but the difference is not great."
I say, the Syrah vines are having a fine old time; flowers, corolla, pedicel, anther, pistil, filament, nectary and calyptra - the whole bloomin' lot.

Working Hard?

Or hardly working?  The Pinot grigio vines are hard at work blooming right now.  The weather this week has been perfect for bloom, warm, dry and not very windy - should be a good fruit-set. I was working moderately hard at stuffing shoots and suckering the grapevines when I noticed bloom had begun.  Meanwhile, Vinodog 2 was working hard at finding any shady spot in the vineyard where she could comfortably nap, (whilst still keeping an eye on me, of course). Workers, and nappers, of the world unite.  Happy May Day.