Missouri vineyards and their caretakers have been hard at work for months now. Bud Break brought the excitement of spring and new life to the vineyards, while Flowering reminded us how beautiful and “perfect” nature can be, but now it’s time to really get moving. It’s Fruit Set!

Fruit Set is the stage in the grape growing cycle where the pollinated flowers have dropped their delicate petals and small, green berries begin to form at the end of the stems. What was hundreds of petite flowers will now develop into spheres with all the potential of delicious, quality grapes. As the berries grow, they’ll start to take on the familiar cluster shape.

Watching the different stages of the growing cycle on the vines is a wonderful reminder that wine is agriculture and agriculture isn’t easy or fast. Lucky for us, Missouri winemakers know that some things are worth the work!