Vineyard planting 2025
- xmantic8
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
On April 26, 2025, our winery grew by one more vineyard. In the Čierna hora vineyard site in Čerhov, where all our vineyards are located, we planted 0.5 hectares of Lipovina, using the K9 clone.
Planting a new vineyard is often a very special event for wineries. Great emphasis is placed on soil preparation, precise land surveying, and, of course, the care of the newly planted vineyard. After all, 90% of a great wine comes from the vineyard itself. The way we plant and manage the vineyard today will significantly influence the quality of our wines for decades to come. And especially for family wineries, planting a vineyard plays a crucial role. Today, we are planting a vineyard for our children, who will one day take over the legacy.
In this article, we’ll share with you how the preparation and planting of our new vineyard unfolded.
The Beginning – From the Old Vineyard to the Resting of the Soil
This part is probably the most demanding stage in preparing land for a new vineyard. We had to clear an old, overgrown vineyard, which was full of thorn bushes and other wild plants. The worst part was that such a vineyard couldn't be cleared easily with machines, because it was filled with iron wires and concrete posts that could damage the equipment. Of course, some machinery helped us, but there was still a lot of manual work involved.
After clearing, the soil needed to rest — for three years. During this time, nothing that would take too many nutrients from the ground could be planted. No thorn bushes or woody plants — only grass and herbs at most. The soil needs to regain its strength and rest before planting a new vineyard. At the same time, this process improves the soil’s ability to retain nutrients and enhances its structure.
Soil Preparation: Fertilization and Plowing
Soil preparation is crucial for a young vineyard, as it helps the vines develop roots more easily through fine rootlets. The softer the soil, the easier it will be for the vines to root properly.Nutrition of the soil is equally important, which is why we chose high-quality cow manure from a nearby farm. This provides enough organic matter and nitrogen for the vineyard’s early development.
After fertilization, we carried out several rounds of plowing. The first was deep ripping (subsoiling), which deeply tilled and aerated the soil, swapping the lower soil layers with the topsoil.This was followed by several passes with a disc harrow to further soften the soil, preparing it for the young vines.
Preparing the Land for Planting: Measuring and Precision
Now that the soil was ready, it was time to measure the entire plot and mark out the vineyard spacing.The width of the vineyard rows and the distances between the vines play a huge role not only in the quality of the grapes, but also in the overall look of the vineyard.At our winery, we also focus on landscape design when planting.Straight vineyard rows, combined with orchards and grassy areas, make the vineyard more visually appealing, while at the same time supporting biodiversity.
We measure our vineyards using only mathematics and a measuring tape.Modern times may suggest using GPS, but we remain faithful to the traditional way of marking out the land.
The Planting Itself: Family Collaboration
Planting is always a beautiful moment. In our family (mostly), we all plant the vineyard together, have a shared lunch, and help each other out. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone lends a hand. Sometimes, when we’re planting a larger area, our friends come to help us too.
We use a hydraulic auger to make small holes for the vines, and connected to a sprayer tank behind the tractor, it ensures the holes get water, so we don’t need to water the seedlings right after planting. For each hole, we place a prepared seedling and cover it with soil. It’s a very quick process, and still done manually.
Goal: Strengthening the properties of the K9 clone
The K9 clone is known for its higher sugar content in the grapes, which is an essential characteristic for producing rich, complex wines. Since we are located in Tokaj, where we also produce naturally sweet wines such as late harvest, botrytized, and straw wines, this feature is especially important to us. We aim to further enhance this quality by growing this Lipovina on a single cordon training system.
From the basal buds, shoots grow that often produce smaller, more concentrated clusters. Since Lipovina already has large, airy bunches, this growing method will not harm the vine's resistance to fungal diseases. In fact, it will help concentrate the sugars and acids in the berries, boosting the overall quality of the grapes. The single cordon system also promotes faster ripening, which will be beneficial in the production of our full-bodied, complex orange wines.
We are already looking forward to how the addition of the refreshing qualities of the orange Furmint will complement the final creation of our Amber wine. With this approach, we’re confident that the concentrated sugars and aromas in the grapes will contribute to a unique and memorable wine.
Challenges and Joys
Now, after planting, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. We need to attach iron stakes to each sapling and place protective tubes, build a support structure with wire, and, most importantly, weed the vineyard to prevent it from becoming overgrown. Later, we will bring in machinery, but at first, it can only be worked manually. It will be hard work, but every bit of effort in the vineyard will result in quality wines. We are already looking forward to full, extractive wines with a rich aromatic profile. This vineyard will bear fruit for at least the next 30 years.
Bc. Juraj Mantič, 27.4.2025
