WORK IN THE VINES THROUGH THE SEASONS
PRUNING
The precise gestures of pruning are not left to individual initiative, but have been regulated since 1938. It is the only AOC which regulates this area in such a rigorous, detailed and complete manner. We usually start pruning well after the leaves have fallen. Size is very important. It is on it that the quality and yield of the harvest will largely depend.
TYING-UP
The tying-up of the vine is like pruning, done by hand.
We start tying the plots as soon as the pruning is finished. This consists of tying the vine shoots on either side of the support wire with a special string to be tied using manual pliers. The tying allows us to control the growth of the vine which without this operation, would grow at all costs and would become unmanageable.
DESUCKERING
Desuckering generally takes place in mid-May. The operation consists in eliminating all the buds (known as “greedy”) that do not bear fruit and that grow on the old structures and risk diverting the sap from the main buds.
It is always a manual operation and calls on the experience of the winemaker.
LIFTING & PALISSAGE
Lifting and trellising usually take place in June.
This consists of raising and separating the strands to keep them vertical using wires called lifters and staples. This prevents the sheets from being packed on top of each other. This facilitates their exposure to the sun and allows the vines to be better ventilated to avoid the risk of rot. It is a long, totally manual and fundamental operation for our vineyard.
PINCHING BACK
From June until the harvest, we proceed to pinching. That is to say, we prune the vine again, removing branches without grapes and superfluous foliage. This allows the foliage to be aerated to facilitate better exposure to the sun and a concentration of vigor to facilitate the ripening of the grapes.
Trimming is done partly with a straddle. We also have to go through each plot of vines to top off certain rows manually with shears.
THE HARVEST
The harvest is the culmination of a whole year of hard work.
Each harvest is unique
and the harvest is picked only by hand!
The great particularity of Champagne wines is that we produce mostly white champagnes with black grapes. This is why to avoid the extraction of the black color present in the skin of the grapes, the bunches must be picked whole and remain intact until their arrival at the press-house. The harvest is highly regulated. Each year, the authorized return is determined by the INAO
