When to monitor & collect data

Recording the dates of key phenology events throughout the year, such as bud burst, flowering, veraison and harvest, allows you to better understand how your vines are likely to develop each year.

Documenting the phenological patterns of your vines over time can give you an idea of a likely harvest date, from as early as the start of flowering or bud burst, by comparing phenology dates to previous years. The Sectormentor Phenology Tool supports you to visualise your phenology dates, and to quickly and easily learn from these patterns. Are you ahead or behind last season, and by how much? Is this year similar to 3 years ago? The Phenology Tool immediately displays this and answers these questions.

Counting inflorescences as bunches start to form on the vines allows for an early yield estimation in the Sectormentor Yield Predictor. Later in the season, when berries have started to form (and potentially after a green harvest), your yield prediction can be updated and improved by counting the number of bunches per vine in each of your blocks alongside predicted harvest bunch weights.

Bunch weights collected at lag phase can also be pulled into the Yield Predictor alongside a multiplier to predict yields. Then, when harvest comes around, bunch weights at harvest taken in each block will improve the accuracy of yield predictions you are making in future years, by giving you an accurate understanding of how each of your blocks have performed in each season.

Bunch weights taken at harvest also contribute to the Sectormentor Historical Bunch Weights report, which allows you to compare bunch weights recorded season by season, and quickly visualise which bunch weights feel most relevant to use for the current season and context.

Recording grape sugar and acidity are essential metrics for any vineyard when making the important decision of when to harvest your grapes in each block.

The Sectormentor Ripeness Indicator converts these numbers into simple charts, allowing you to instantly visualise how ripeness is progressing in each block, as well as allowing you to look back on historical ripeness trends, and remind yourself of the sugar, acidity and pH levels that different varieties were harvested at in previous years.

Once you make the decision to pick your grapes, recording the yield of grapes harvested block by block in Sectormentor means you can make use of the Sectormentor Harvest Report, to reflect and compare actual harvest weights to yield predictions, as well as to explore the performance of each variety and block on site. 

Finally, in the quieter months of vine dormancy, it’s time to reflect and prepare the vines for the new season. Collecting pruning weights and the number of canes at pruning helps you to understand the vigour of your vines. The Sectormentor Vine Health Indicator allows you to visualise your pruning and cane weights over time, as well as calculating a Ravaz index or crop load, calculated using the balance between yield and pruning weights.

This report is also where you can visualise the number of dead and missing vines recorded block by block over time, which can indicate longer term vine health issues, as well as ensuring that the yield predictions made are calculated with up to date vine numbers from each block.

Alongside these seasonal vineyard metrics and reports, there are a number of other Sectormentor Reports and recording metrics that support and inform vineyard management all year round.