During the last week the vines have started to change, again. Flowering (Floraison) has begun in Puimisson. The buds (boutons) which formed in the last few weeks and divided on the grappes are starting to flower as you can see in the photo. The boutons have little hoods (capuchons) which protect the forming flower and as they fall away the flower emerges. Technically it is officially called floraison when 50% of the buds have flowered but the process is usually given the name.
Capuchons on some of the buds
The flowers are in the form of stamens or pistils. Vines self fertilise and the pollen produced in the anther part of the stamen will be carried into the ovule of the pistil. The vines have no need for bees or other insects to pollinate and fertilise them despite popular belief. The flowers will then give way to the fruit, as with other fruit and vegetables.
Pistils and stamens are evident in this vine in Rome vineyard
Floraison is also a marking point in the vineyard calendar as traditionally there are 100 days between the flowering of the bud and the harvesting of the grape. In reality it is the white grape producing vines and precocious ones at that which are flowering, though the rest will follow in the next couple of weeks. So plans can be made for the harvest, the countdown starts … but let’s enjoy summer first.
Tendrils clinging to the wires
amarchinthevines 
May 25, 2015 at 7:25 pm
Our vines are behind naturally, but for the third year running they look way behind. It feels unseasonably cold here, not helped by a week in the mid-twenties in Austria. We get uneven flowering and uneven fruit set in such years and the bunches end up looking like a bad hair cut, depressing really. How do the manage to make such decent fizz around here?!
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May 25, 2015 at 9:35 pm
Yes looking at the forecast it does seem to have been a very cold spring in the UK. It has been hot the last month or so here but a lot of wind to combat the threat of oidium and mildew which are in the region. Hope things improve though it may be too late I guess?
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