(PD) - Driving past a huge vineyard the other day during recent rains, I noted that almost all of the leaves had fallen and the vines were bare, their canes devoid of fruit, the plants heading for winter dormancy.

It is part of the cycle of the vine during which it stores carbohydrates and re-charges itself, waiting for spring’s reawakening.

During this period, the viticulturist will choose when to prune the canes in a precise way to leave places for next spring’s flowers to burst in a way that will create a balanced vine.

The greatest wines, say those who grow grapes, come from balanced vines. And if you have ever heard the phrase that says the smaller the tonnage, the better the wine, forget it. It’s not true.

If it were true, the best wines would come from grapevines that gave little fruit. If it were true, farmers in the premium areas would make certain that their vines gave them only infinitesimal crops every year, which they can do by vineyard manipulation.

If they did so, it would be totally counter-productive. Not only would they be cutting their own economic throats, but it wouldn’t work.

Grapevines are some of the most self-protective of plants, able to detect even minor changes in the way Mother Nature or humans treat it. In a drought, for instance, vines have been known to shut down to protect themselves.

Vines can protect themselves from various forms of stress, and can adapt to many forms of pressure. Sure, you can get tiny tonnage from a plant that desires to produce more, but the result can be dangerous to the resulting wine quality. Not to mention economically risky.