Working the vines/Working the soil

The winter pruning of the vines is a fine art. The future harvest depends on the cut of the secateurs. We prune the vines ourselves, as we do all the other tasks. It is at this time, while the plants are dormant, that we can look at each plant, and form its future growth.

At the end of Autumn the earth from the centre of the row is heaped around the feet of the plants, the plants are “chaussées” - “shod” in English. In Spring the process is reversed. Grass that has grown in Winter is weeded out. For the rest, its the hoe and elbow grease.