Grapevine!

Last week we found out all about grapevines from fantastic Robert Lindsay (local grape growing expert). 

Grape expert (and awesome dad) Rob Lindsay

We found out that grapes came into existence a long, long time ago. People who study the past (archaeologists) have found evidence of grapevines all over the world, especially in Europe. France is famous for growing grapes and making wine. There are different types of grapevines and they make different types of grapes – green, red, blue, purple and white – which can be eaten fresh, dried into raisins or used to make different varieties of juice and wine. Even the grape seed can be used to make oil. Grapevine is an amazing plant!

Grapevines drop all their leaves in autumn and grow new leaves again in the spring. Did you know you can eat grape leaves? We also found out that grapes are pollenated by the wind, not bees!

Tiny grape flowers

Grape flowers are plain and feathery and bees don’t even notice them. Eventually those tiny flowers swell into yummy grapes! Birds eat the grapes and take the seeds (in their stomachs) and poop them out. The bird poop makes good fertiliser for growing a new grapevine from the grape seed.

Vineyards are planted by taking cuttings from existing vines (not planting seeds). The cuttings come from budding one year-old wood (the new growth). When planted the buds below the soil turn in to roots and the ones above become the new vine. Tens of thousands of cuttings are used to make a new vineyard.

Grapevines aren’t strong enough to support themselves – they climb up trees or fences to reach the sunlight. The leaves grow out of each side of the vine, and little tendrils come out too, to hang on to the tree or fence that it is climbing.

Vineyard grapevines don’t fruit in the first year or the second year (or even the third year!) After fours years the vines are ready to fruit! Grapevines can live for hundreds of years. The French settlers who landed at Akaroa on Banks Peninsula brought cuttings from France and those vines are still growing and fruiting now!


Thank you so much Rob for teaching us all about grapevines!