From the time the first glimpses of green appeared in the vineyards during March’s bud break, the vineyards have exploded in growth, bringing them to the second of the seasonal markers — bloom.

It was time to pay another visit to the vineyards on Big Ranch Road, which the Register has decided to follow through a growing season. The 14 acres of vineyards we’re getting to know, owned by grower Jim Verhey, produce sauvignon blanc grapes destined for Honig and Duckhorn wineries.

Beneath the lush and verdant spread of grape leaves, fledgling grapes, tiny as pinheads, have emerged in miniature clusters. During bloom, under way around the valley now, in roughly seven to 10 days the would-be grapes blow off their tiny caps and the stamen appear; with luck they’ll continue on to “set” and “size,” becoming full-grown grapes. Make that luck and careful tending during this fragile stage by a crew of people watching them as vigilantly as new parents, who just have several gazillion offspring to worry about.

 Juvenal Magdalena and his crews, who tend 22 vineyards around the valley for Buckland Vineyard Management, have been busy as the proverbial bees lately, although the results of their work won’t be realized until harvest later this summer. Prior to bloom, Magdalena explained, their work has been to thin the shoots, strategic work that sets up the crop.

Bloom for the vines is a sensitive time, noted Garrett Buckland, a viticulturalist, who along Robert Jordan, also from Buckland, joined the vineyard tour, with Verhey and Magdalena. Strong winds, a cold spell or heavy rains could spell disaster.

“We really want nothing unusual in the weather,” Verhey said. “We just want to flow through bloom with as little stress as possible.” This is for the grapes as well as the growers.

A main concern is mildew. Once it sets in, Buckland said, they’ve no choice but to remove the affected grapes; the resulting botrytis is only desirable in grapes that become dessert wines. “Temperatures of 65 to 85 degrees are optimal for producing mildew. The best defense here is a good offense, in the form of treatments. Vines have received a treatment of fungicide, Buckland said, explaining that the materials applied to vines are in three classes, and they attempt to use the mildest treatments. “We start with the most safe …What we do has to be sustainable in the long run,” he said.

The decision to use fungicides, Verhey said, is “the balance between protecting the vine, the crop and the environment. We try to err on the side of the environment.”

Following bloom, Buckland said, “we hold our breath till set,” when they can see what’s taking shape and will be able to estimate the size of their crop.

During this time Magdalena and his crews will go to work “leafing,” thinning out more growth to open up the vines, and expose the growing grapes to sunlight. They’ll be thinning out about one third of the growth, Magdalena said.

Magdalena’s work during this time is to oversee all his vineyards, traveling from one to another, making sure the workers are carrying out the plans that have been established and when he’s sure they’re on track, going on to the next. One huge advantage he has, he said, is that many of his men have been working with him for 10 years or more, making their experience and knowledge of the blocks invaluable.

The thinning is following plans developed with the Honig and Duckhorn winemakers, Verhey said, noting that winemakers have already been out to view the vines.

When Magdalena’s men finish their work on the two blocks, there will be visible differences, based on the winemaker’s preferences, which affect the ripening fruit and ultimately will produce two sauvignon blanc wines with distinctly different characteristics.

It’s time consuming work, Magdalena said, estimating that they spend “three minutes per vine on the 907 vines growing on each acre.” As always, Magdalena and Buckland agreed, it’s a challenge to balance time versus cost. The goal, Verhey added, is that in each block, “you want to see every vine look like every other … We believe you improve quality by improving uniformity.”

“The last thing we want is ‘do-overs,’” Verhey declared, noting that he is “the one who signs the checks.”

Bloom also sets the timetable for the rest of the season. “Once bloom is done, it’s 110 days to harvest,” Verhey said. Growers around the valley are anticipating an earlier-than-usual harvest, “but right now it’s looking good.”

A major concern, all the men agreed, for this year’s crop is water. As a result of this winter’s low rainfall, “the water in the soil is about where we were mid-July last year,” Verhey said. Whereas the heavy rains last year resulted in abundant groundwater that helped minimize the effects of a major heat wave in July, this summer vines will be more susceptible, and irrigation will play a bigger role.

Verhey’s vineyards, which depend on well water for irrigation, are in good shape, he said. However growers who depend on water collected in ponds and reservoirs from run-off of winter rains may have more to worry about. “Some now are at the same level or lower than they were at the end of last year’s growing season,” Verhey said.

Another year of low rainfall could present major problems, Buckland predicted.

“Right now, we’re pretty happy,” Verhey said. It’s early but, they already have some of the characteristics of 1997, a year that produced stellar wines.

But in conclusion, Verhey quoted grower Davie Piña: “(Each year) is always the same — different.”