| MAJOR STAGES |
E-L number ALL STAGES |
| 4 – Budburst |
 |
Shoot and inflorescence development
| 1 |
Winter bud
|
| 2 |
Bud scales opening
|
| 3 |
Wooly bud ± green showing |
| 4 |
Budburst; leaf tips visible |
|
|
12 – Shoots 10 cm
Inflorescence clear,
5 leaves separated |
 |
| 7 |
First leaf separated from shoot tip
|
| 9 |
2 to 3 leaves separated; shoots 2-4 cm long
|
| 11 |
4 leaves separated
|
| 12 |
5 leaves separated; shoots about 10 cm long; inflorescence clear
|
|
|
 |
| 13 |
6 leaves separated
|
| 14 |
7 leaves separated
|
| 15 |
8 leaves separated, shoot elongating rapidly; single flowers in compact groups
|
| 16 |
10 leaves separated
|
| 17 |
12 leaves separated; inflorescence well developed, single flowers separated
|
| 18 |
14 leaves separated; flower caps still in place, but cap colour fading from green |
|
| 19 – Flowering begins |
 |
Flowering
| 19 |
About 16 leaves separated; beginning of flowering (first flower caps loosening)
|
| 20 |
10% caps off
|
| 21 |
30% caps off
|
|
|
23 – Flowering
50% caps off |
 |
| 23 |
17-20 leaves separated; 50% caps off (= flowering)
|
| 25 |
80% caps off
|
| 26 |
Cap-fall complete |
|
27 – Setting
Young berries growingBunch at right angles to stem |
 |
Berry formation
| 27 |
Setting; young berries enlarging (>2 mm diam.), bunch at right angles to stem
|
| 29 |
Berries pepper-corn size (4 mm diam.); bunches tending downwards
|
|
|
31 – Berries pea-size
Bunches hanging down
|
 |
| 31 |
Berries pea-size (7 mm diam.)
|
| 32 |
Beginning of bunch closure, berries touching (if bunches are tight)
|
| 33 |
Berries still hard and green
|
|
35 – Veraison
Berry softening continues
Berry colouring begins
38 – Harvest
Berries ripe |
 |
Berry ripening
| 34 |
Berries begin to soften; Sugar starts increasing
|
| 35 |
Berries begin to colour and enlarge
|
| 36 |
Berries with intermediate sugar values
|
| 37 |
Berries not quite ripe
|
| 38 |
Berries harvest-ripe
|
| 39 |
Berries over-ripe
|
|
|
| |
 |
Senescence
| 41 |
After harvest; cane maturation complete
|
| 43 |
Beginning of leaf fall
|
| 47 |
End of leaf fall |
|
|
| Modified E-L system for identifying major and intermediate grapevine growth stages (revised from Coombe 1995). Note that not all varieties show a woolly bud or a green tip stage (May 2000) hence the five budburst stages in the modified original 1995 system have been changed slightly by removing stage 4 and allocating the definition of budburst to what was formerly stage 5. Revised version of “Grapevine growth stages – The modified E-L system” Viticulture 1 – Resources. 2nd edition 2004. Eds. Dry, P. and Coombe, B. (Winetitles) |
