Heres a photo of the Pinot Gris from our home vineyard here in West Melton. The canopy is developing well with the first fruiting wire now in place. Most shoots have two bunches on them and each bunch looks to be average-to-above average in size at this stage. The bunch above clearly shows each flower and is probably about 2 weeks before bud burst. There are between 150-200 potential grapes in this bunch. .
But not all flowers will set, more like around half in a normal year which, on historical average berry weights of around 1.5g will give us a bunch weighing somewhere between 100-150g max. From here we can begin to estimate the current crop in the vineyard. Weather conditions at flowering will play a major part in determining how many of these will 'set' and become grapes. And from there, the weather for the remainder of the season, disease pressure, bird damage and canopy management all play a role in determining the final amount of fruit that is actually harvested.
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