The “femminelle,” or secondary shoots that develop at the point at which the leaf sprouts from the branch, are a sort of emergency shoot in case the main branch is broken by hail or wind. The “femminelle” can grow quite large, so you have to control their growth and carry out a secondary cleaning around the grape, which must be freed from these shoots and from the small leaves that develop on them, leaving it free and aerated.

This process requires great care. In fact, Dolcetto, being extremely delicate, must be protected from the direct noon sun, leaving the external leaves that can protect it, and cutting the ones inside the line that can contribute to stagnant humidity and block contact with copper and sulfer. You must imagine that you’re constructing a house for the grapes, with walls to protect them, windows to let air in, and spacious rooms for the air to circulate.

This is also the time to free the grapes from leaves trapped between them, and help the branches drop, jobs that must always be done extremely carefully. The simple touch of a hand, a leaf torn violently, or an unexpected ray of sun can bruise a green grape still in formation, that will become more elastic only during the veraison, the moment in which the grape changes color.

At a certain point in the season, the vegetation begins to develop into wood, the plant grows and the tissues are strengthened, and even the stem of the leaves begin to harden, making it more difficult to break them by hand. If this work isn’t done well, you risk injuring the branch and the bud for the following year. To guarantee a more precise cut, you can use the pruning sissors with the finest point, which allow you to get into the dense foliage without causing damage.