Rotating clusters on the vine?

[PeterJ]

So I’m looking at a bottle of Stolpman Roussane and the bottle note says the clusters are rotated on the vine. That’s a new thing for me and Google isn’t helping. Does it refer to turning the clusters for more sun or moving the canopy, or what?

[Casey Hartlip]

No clue.

[Casey Hartlip]

No clue. Sounds like marketing bullsh_t to me.

[PeterJ]

Found this on their website for this wine:

“A month prior to forecasted harvest, every grape cluster is rotated 180 degrees to facilitate an even sun-tan.”

It follows this statement: “Most notably, in late July we pull leaves away from the fruit to allow direct sun penetration.”

I wonder how unusual this treatment is.

[GregP]

Found this on their website firvthis wine:

“A month prior to forecasted harvest, every grape cluster is rotated 180 degrees to facilitate an even sun-tan.”

It follows this statement: “Most notably, in late July we pull leaves away from the fruit to allow direct sun penetration.”

I wonder how unusual this treatment is.

180 degree rotation. Wouldn't that do at least some damage to stems, and most likely a lot? Its not like twisting a cotton twine, stems are hard fiber.

I don't buy it.

[Gary Schulte]

Boy that's being pretty fussy about sun tanning the grapes. Not buying the importance of doing this. Are trying to drive down the overall acidity ?

[Casey Hartlip]

And therefore I claim bullshit!

[BenjaminL]

If it weren't $30/btl I might give them benefit of the doubt. I worked at one place that would look at the day's weather, and if it were going to be >95dF, they would move the catch wires out 10" on the trellis to shade the grapes; if it were going to be <95dF they would move the catch wires in to allow more direct sun to the clusters. We were making a $250/btl of cab, however.
If I had an intern with nothing to do before harvest, I might tell them to go do something like that on a row or two, but I don't know how one would secure the cluster so it didn't just flip back around...

[S c o t t S h u t e]

I work for Stolpman, and can confirm that, yes, we do hand rotate each cluster. Our vineyard crew is year round, and this practice has been going on for years. For what its worth, both the L'Avion and Estate Roussanne, are blended with a small percentage of Chardonnay to help balance out the richness

[Pietro B.]

I do this when possible in the vineyard, especially with large bunches that tend to stack on top of each other like Dolcetto or Nebbiolo. Must be careful to not hurt the rachis though. We could never do direct sun exposure (except early morning or late evening) in Lake County though - that is for coastal regions only...