Summer Leaf Pulling.

After shoot and cluster thinning  the other main summer manipulation is leaf pulling. This is removing leaves around the grape cluster opening up the canopy, exposing the forming grape clusters to the light.

Doing this helps with even ripening as well as increasing the sugar content of the grapes once they colour up. It can also help increase grape size in some varieties (Dornfelder is one that responds well to leaf pulling by increased berry size) as well helping against botrytis near to harvest.

Here is the Brant vine before leaf pulling.

And this after leaf pulling. Leaves shading the clusters have been removed opening us the dense canopy exposing the developing grape clusters.

Here is a closer view of part of the canopy before.......

And the same part after.

As with cluster thinning leaf pulling for size needs to be completed before the grapes begin to colour up.