Dormant, germination, flowering, fertilization and fruiting, the growth cycle of grapes is not very different from that of normal plants. To make good wine, you have to start by growing grapes, and to understand grape growing, you have to understand the growth cycle of grapes. Dormancy, germination, blossoming and fruiting, the growth cycle of grapes is not very different from that of plants. Winter is the dormancy period for all plants, and the grapes live off their stored nutrients during this time. When spring comes and the weather warms up, the grapes budburst at the right temperature and shoots grow. When budding is complete, the branch begins to grow and develop leaves. A specific location on this long branch is where the grapes will grow, called the fruitzone, where flowering, fertilization, and fruiting will take place in the future. After budding, the biggest concern is the flowering and fruiting period.

Generally speaking, flowering and fruit set are controlled by temperature. Often we use 'Celsius days', which are the number of days multiplied by the Celsius of the day, to calculate when flowering will occur. For example, if the average temperature over a period of time is 14C, multiply 14C by the number of days, and you will usually get a bloom when the cumulative temperature reaches 500C days. However, if the temperature of the day is below 8X: this day is not counted. Then comes the question of fruiting, where several anomalies can occur. Firstly, the grapes grow unevenly after setting seed, with some very ripe and some still raw in the same bunch, a situation known in Australia as "hens and chicks", with the hens being the ripe, large ones and the chicks being the small, unripe ones. This has a direct impact on the quality of the wine, so it is important to consider the percentage of ripe and unripe grapes when deciding to pick.