Vines are planted in spring, once the land has been sub soiled and ploughed to a depth of 1 metre. It should be remembered that this land will not be worked again for several decades. We use the American rootstock system, as can be seen by the green wax used to protect the graft. The vine is left to grow at its own will for the first year, with the main objective being for it to take root.

During its second year, the vine is pruned to a single shoot, which is tied to a cane, or training post, and allowed to grow until it reaches the height of the training wire.

When it reaches the height of the training wire, the vine is pruned back to stimulate the growth of new lateral shoots which will form the cordons, or arms, of the vine.

New shoots are cut as they appear in order to further stimulate the growth of the two upper shoots, which are tied to the training wire (using red tape, as can be seen in the photo).

During its third year, the plant will sprout new shoots all over its base and arms. The lower shoots must be removed and three to four shoots left on each arm. These shoots should be spaced in such a way that the grape bunches which will eventually grow will have optimal room for development and good air drainage. The vine produces grapes during its third year, but this is a delicate matter as a vine normally yields more grapes than can mature to a favourable quality. A large proportion of the grape yield should be discarded to ensure an optimum balance between the vine’s yield and its still scarce resources (short root, and few square metres of leaf). It is still possible to obtain good quality grapes in these circumstances.

Old vines tend to find their own balance; their reserves are good, their roots well penetrated and they produce a lower yield, which means that they have more square metres of leaf at the service of each kilo of grape produced...and this is synonymous with greater quality.

As soon as the first heat arrives, the soil is ploughed to eliminate any vegetation which would compete with the vines for water. This also prevents evaporation of water through the capillary action of a compact soil.

With the arrival of spring, it is necessary to remove all the new shoots from the base of the vines, and to carefully train the foliage along the trellis wire.This optimises the exposure of the leaves and grape bunches to the sun, thus maximising their health, and reducing the need for aggressive treatments, etc

...and this also means greater respect for the environment and its fauna, which is nearly always beneficial for our cultivation (a ladybird can be seen in the photo).

Our vineyards are located on small plots of land, the majority of which are in the midst of woodland.

Because of the uneven lie of the land in our area, it is often necessary to cultivate our vines on terraces.

Our vines are grown on clay soil with a high proportion of limestone, which serves to improve drainage.