Le Chant’s team of pruners have donned their secateurs, making their way through the farm’s Polkadraai vines and skilfully working on this integral aspect of viticulture. It is cold, hard work but an essential part of the vineyard growth-cycle with a profound influence on grape and wine quality.
“At its core, pruning serves to balance the vine’s vegetative (leaf and shoot) growth with its reproductive output (grape bunches),” says Le Chant winemaker Petri Venter. “Left unpruned, a grapevine will grow unchecked, producing a dense, messy tangle of shoots and leaves thatreduce air circulation and sunlight penetration, fostering disease and diminishing fruit quality. More significantly, excessive grape production can dilute flavours and hinder ripening, leading to subpar wine. Pruning is therefore about controlling growth and ensuring seasonal grape quality.”
Pruning addresses several key viticultural goals.
“By limiting the number of buds left on the vine, growers control the number of grape bunches that will form,” says Venter.“Fewer, well-nourished bunches generally produce better wine grapes than a greater number of underdeveloped ones – as they say, less is more.”
Pruning helps ensure grapes ripen evenly. With optimal sun exposure and air movement, the fruit develops better flavour concentration, acidity, and sugar balance.
“And removing old or unproductive wood from the vine prevents disease build-up, as well as promoting new growth,” says Venter. “A well-pruned vine is just more resilient and productive over the long term. Plus, a balanced vine is easier to manage when the growing season kicks-off in September. Pruning shapes the vine’s framework and simplifies future tasks such as spraying, leaf removal, and harvesting.”
Venter stresses that vineyard pruning is not an isolated event. “It is part of the larger, continual vineyard cycle,” he says.“Pruning really is a crucial time, as decisions made during this time affect canopy density, disease pressure, irrigation requirements and ultimately, wine style and quality. In regenerative viticulture – of which Le Chant is a strong proponent – pruning also aligns with practices that preserve soil health and vine balance without overtly synthetic inputs.
“In essence, pruning is a conversation between grower and vine: a deliberate act of restraint and encouragement, cutting away the excess to focus the vine’s energy where it matters most. It’s an act of faith in future fruit and future wine – shaped by human hands in the quiet of winter for the promise of summer’s harvest.”