Study and careerWinemaking & vineyard
A vine's year: from budburst to harvest
Dormancy, budburst, flowering, fruit set, véraison and harvest: the grapevine's annual cycle, when each stage happens in both hemispheres, and what can go wrong at each one.
Updated October 2026
Rewritten by Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier
5 min read
Every bottle is one year of a vine's life. Understanding that year explains almost everything a sommelier talks about: why vintages differ, why a frost in April makes headlines, why one region picks in August and another in October.
The short answer: a vine's year runs through dormancy (winter rest and pruning), budburst, shoot and leaf growth, flowering and fruit set, véraison (the grapes change colour), ripening and harvest, then leaf fall, and back to sleep.
The year at a glance
| Stage | Northern Hemisphere | Southern Hemisphere | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dormancy and pruning | November to March | May to September | The vine rests on stored reserves; growers prune |
| Budburst | March to April | September to October | Buds open and the first green shoots appear |
| Shoot and leaf growth | March to July | September to January | The canopy grows; flower clusters form |
| Flowering and fruit set | May to June | November to December | Flowers are pollinated and become tiny berries |
| Véraison and ripening | July to October | January to April | Grapes soften, change colour and gain sugar |
| Harvest | August to October | February to April | Picking, by hand or machine |
| Leaf fall | October to November | April to May | Leaves colour and drop; reserves go to the roots |
- Dormancy and pruning
- Northern HemisphereNovember to March
- Southern HemisphereMay to September
- What happensThe vine rests on stored reserves; growers prune
- Budburst
- Northern HemisphereMarch to April
- Southern HemisphereSeptember to October
- What happensBuds open and the first green shoots appear
- Shoot and leaf growth
- Northern HemisphereMarch to July
- Southern HemisphereSeptember to January
- What happensThe canopy grows; flower clusters form
- Flowering and fruit set
- Northern HemisphereMay to June
- Southern HemisphereNovember to December
- What happensFlowers are pollinated and become tiny berries
- Véraison and ripening
- Northern HemisphereJuly to October
- Southern HemisphereJanuary to April
- What happensGrapes soften, change colour and gain sugar
- Harvest
- Northern HemisphereAugust to October
- Southern HemisphereFebruary to April
- What happensPicking, by hand or machine
- Leaf fall
- Northern HemisphereOctober to November
- Southern HemisphereApril to May
- What happensLeaves colour and drop; reserves go to the roots
The months are approximate: they shift with the grape variety, the region and the weather of each year.
Winter: dormancy and pruning
With no leaves, the vine lives on the carbohydrates stored in its roots and trunk. This is when growers prune, the most important decision of the year: the number of buds left on the vine sets the size of the next crop.
Deep winter freezes can kill buds and even whole vines. Where winters are extreme, growers take drastic steps: in Ningxia, in northern China, the vines are buried in soil every winter and dug out again in spring.
Spring: budburst and the frost danger
When average temperatures climb past about 10°C, the buds swell and burst. These buds formed the summer before; now they open in a matter of days. Early-budding varieties such as Chardonnay are more at risk from what comes next than late ones such as Cabernet Sauvignon.
What comes next is spring frost. One cold, clear night can kill the new shoots. In Chablis, where spring frosts are a fact of life, growers fight back with candles and heaters between the rows, heated cables, anti-frost fabrics, and sprinklers: the water freezes around the buds in a protective shell that holds them at 0°C.
Late spring: shoots, leaves and flower clusters
Now the shoots grow fast. The leaves start making sugar, and tiny flower clusters (inflorescences) appear on the shoots. Growers tie up and position the shoots and watch the vigour: too much growth means shade and disease, too little means weak, under-ripe fruit. See why grapevine leaves matter.
Early summer: flowering and fruit set
Vine flowers are tiny and mostly self-pollinating. They need warm, dry, calm weather. Cold, rain or wind at flowering cause two problems every student should know:
- Coulure: many flowers fail to become berries, leaving straggly bunches and a smaller crop. Merlot and Grenache are known for it.
- Millerandage: bunches with a mix of normal berries and tiny, seedless ones, often nicknamed “hens and chicks”.
Flowering also starts a countdown. An old rule of thumb among French growers says harvest comes about 100 days after flowering. And this summer's weather is already shaping next year: the buds for next season are forming now.
Summer: véraison and ripening
Véraison is the moment the hard green berries soften and change colour: black grapes turn red then purple, white grapes go yellow-green and translucent. From then on, the grapes ripen:
- Sugar rises, which will decide the wine's alcohol.
- Malic acid falls, faster in warm weather.
- Colour deepens in black grapes.
- Tannins ripen, becoming less bitter.
- Aromas develop, different in cool and warm years.
Sunlight matters here, and so does heat, which is not the same thing: see how sunlight shapes wine.
Autumn: harvest and leaf fall
Growers taste grapes, chew skins and seeds, and measure sugar and acid to choose the day. The style decides too: sparkling-wine grapes are picked early for acidity; sweet-wine grapes are left late. Champagne must be picked by hand; in hot regions, many vineyards pick at night to keep the grapes cool. After harvest the leaves turn and fall, and the vine sends its reserves down to the roots for winter.
What it means in your glass
- Frost in spring: less wine that year, sometimes much less.
- Rain at flowering: coulure, a small crop.
- A hot summer: riper, fuller wines with softer acidity.
- Rain at harvest: the risk of rot and diluted flavours.
That is what a vintage is: one year of weather, held in a bottle. For the winery side of the story, read viticulture and vinification for Level 1.
Quick quiz: the vine's year
Question 1
What is véraison?
- a)The moment grapes soften and change colour
- b)The opening of the buds in spring
- c)Winter pruning
- d)The failure of flowers to set
Show answerAnswer
a) The moment grapes soften and change colour. Véraison marks the start of ripening. Budburst is spring; coulure is poor fruit set.
Question 2
In the Northern Hemisphere, when does budburst usually happen?
- a)January to February
- b)March to April
- c)June to July
- d)September to October
Show answerAnswer
b) March to April. March to April. In the Southern Hemisphere it is September to October.
Question 3
What is coulure?
- a)Many flowers failing to become berries
- b)Grapes burned by the sun
- c)A fungal disease of the leaves
- d)Burying vines for winter
Show answerAnswer
a) Many flowers failing to become berries. Coulure follows cold, wet or windy weather at flowering and means a smaller crop.
Question 4
Why do some Chablis growers spray water on their vines on frosty spring nights?
- a)The ice forms a shell that holds the buds at 0°C
- b)To wash off disease
- c)To speed up budburst
- d)To cool the soil
Show answerAnswer
a) The ice forms a shell that holds the buds at 0°C. Freezing water releases heat and the ice shell keeps the buds at 0°C, warmer than the killing frost around them.
Question 5
Which job, done in winter, sets the size of next year's crop?
- a)Pruning
- b)Leaf removal
- c)Harvest
- d)Spraying
Show answerAnswer
a) Pruning. The number of buds the grower leaves at pruning decides how many shoots, and bunches, the vine can carry.
Questions people ask
What are the stages of the grapevine growth cycle?
Dormancy, budburst, shoot and leaf growth, flowering, fruit set, véraison, ripening, harvest and leaf fall.
When is grape harvest?
Roughly August to October in the Northern Hemisphere and February to April in the Southern Hemisphere, depending on grape, region and year.
Why is spring frost so dangerous for vines?
It kills the young shoots that carry the year's flowers. The vine may push new shoots, but they carry far less fruit.
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