The PVE team took a field trip to the nursery where we have purchased the Malbec plants. From this nursery we are going to get only Malbec vines, the rest of the varietals we are buying from a nursery in Italy , called "Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo" in the region of Lombardia (north Italy).

Bonarda vine shoot

It was a very educational experience since we where explained in detail how the grafting process takes place.

First you have the vine shoots of each varietal, these are then grafted using a special machine.

The grafting process consists of placing the rootstock in the machine which makes a concave cut, then you put the

vine shoot and the machine makes a convex cut that matches perfectly into the rootstock.

Then the grafted vine is dipped into a paraffin wax container.

The paraffin helps the plant to heal with the formation of a scar. After that plants are transported to an acclimatized chamber with a temperture of 90 F and high humidity to help them reactivate.

After 60 days (approximately September) they are taken to the field in Luján de Cuyo and planted every 4 inches, and grow under the optimal conditions of this wine region.

From September till May, plants grow naturally, then they are pull out and taken back to the nursery, into an acclimatized chamber with a temperature approx. of 38F to keep them dormant, till they are planted in September approximately.

To sum up, our vines are in an optimal state ready to be plated next September.