Just over the hill from Caux is the AOP Languedoc Cabrières vineyard and village, protected by the stunning Pic de Vissou. This is a village which until recently was best known for its Cave Cooperative, its rosé wine and seemed to be living on past success. However, new blood has revitalised the village’s wines.
Véronique Atout (on the right) explains the wines of Mas Coris at a tasting in November.
Mas Coris, run by Véronique and Jean Attard, use organic methods and modern technology to produce a series of good wines in their small cellar in the heart of the village. A new Clairette has come on stream this year. This was a grape for which the village used to be renowned and I know that the Atouts went to great lengths to ensure that theirs has the AOP label. The story of the domaine is really interesting and it is well worth reading about it on their website, as well as buying the wine!
Mas Coris wines 2015
Another domaine making waves from Cabrières is Clos Romain, which also produces olive oil and rents out ecogites. Their vineyards are run along organic lines and Romain Cabanes is experimenting with vinification in amphorae. I will be visiting the domaine in April and will report back, but the domaine has received some very good reports including in La Revue des Vins De France.
So, if you want to discover a wine village which is on the up and off the beaten track,head to Cabrières. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
After 6 months in the Languedoc Roussillon I have been thinking through my experiences and impressions about the wines of the region. I shall be publishing them one at a time over the next seven days. I have had a few conversations about wines recently centred around some villages, areas and grape varieties and I noticed they had one thing in common, all 7 began with the letter C. I shall be posting one each day over the next week.
Caux
This village in the fairly new AOP of Coteaux du Languedoc – Pézenas seems to be the centre of some very good winemaking. I have mentioned Mas Gabriel, owned and run by Peter and Deborah Core, several times in the past as it has long been one of my favourite domaines in the region.
A recent Gold medal at Millésime Bio for Clos des Lievres 2012 was richly deserved and a sign of the improvement they are making to both their vineyards and wines.
Their property was once part of Domaine La Garance, whose wines also have an excellent reputation, though I have thus far only drunk the white vin de table which was delicious in a natural style. I know that the Cores and Leon Stolarski rate them highly, and I trust their judgements.
The wines of the Conte De Floris were amongst the highlights of Millésime Bio (see my notes) seemingly light in body but powerful and long lasting, delicious wines. I was delighted to find some of the domaine’s wines in Le Vintage, a wine bar in Pézenas to stock up.
I have also enjoyed a couple of wines from Lacroix Vanel based in the village. The estate whose wines I really want to get to know are those of Fontedicto a natural wine domaine whose owner uses horses to plough. I am told they are very good wines. So this small village is home to a number of very good domaines, Caux is a centre of excellence.
Air pressure was high, the moon waning, wind from the north – a good time to bottle wine. Yes these things do make a difference. The week of March 9th -12th saw around 10,000 bottles filled with wine and thousands labelled ready for a large wine tasting. Bottling is a tense time for the winemaker, risks abound. Contamination and exposure to oxygen are the main two risks; it is estimated that the wine interacts with more oxygen during the bottling process than in years inside the bottle whatever the closure. Most winemakers will add sulphur dioxide at this stage in order to protect the wine from bacteria and oxydation, including many who would regard themselves as makers of natural wine.
Jeff Coutelou adds no SO2 at any stage of the winemaking process and therefore takes risks. He has to be confident in the health of his wine and everything has to be as clean as possible to minimise those risks.
Cleaning the machinery before the process starts
As it happened the stress began before the bottling, the main machine had a part not working and the engineer was late in getting the part. Therefore, day 1 would need to use an older machine to bottle magnums of 5SO, the simpler of the Cinsault cuvées.
Magnums being filled
The magnum is corked
Bottling magnums is a much slower process than single bottles because of the older machine and a separate machine for corking. A few hundred can be produced in an hour rather than the 1200 single bottles. The costs are therefore greater even if the bottle retail price will not reflect that.
Magnums stored upright at first
Cleaning again, after bottling
Also produced were bag in box wines (BiBs) which are usually sold to restaurants. This was mostly Merlot wine (from the Le Colombié vineyard).
Filling the bag with Merlot
Bag is boxed
The next day the new part was fitted and the main bottling line was in action. This is an expensive machine but can bottle 1200 bottles an hour whilst controlling the risks of contamination and exposure to oxygen. Carole can be seen here placing the bottles on the machine. It then carries the bottles through the process at the required speed.
Inside the main body of the machine the bottle has its air sucked out to prevent any staleness. The bottle passes to the reservoir of wine and is filled. It moves on to a sensor to ensure that the level is correct inside the bottle, and removes or adds wine as necessary.It is important that there is a small gap between wine and cork to allow air inside so that the wine can breathe and develop before consumption. The cork is then driven into the bottle which begins a 3 minute journey around a conveyor belt allowing the cork to expand in the bottle neck so that is properly closed. They do rather resemble penguins waddling or a long queue in the Post Office.
This extra video shows the sensor and corking in closer detail.
Finally the bottles are stored in large pallets and the sunlight created some stunning colours.
As for the wines, well the PM rosé is fruity, refreshing and yet has plenty of texture and length of flavour. However, the 5SO was my star, it is a lighter Cinsault ready for drinking. Immediately after bottling it had a slightly cloudy appearance which began to settle by day two. I opened a bottle on the fifth day and it was delicious, with real depth. Much more than a simple wine. Enjoy!
The traditional image of a vineyard is that of one big parcel of vines surrounding a chateau as in Bordeaux, with its smart house and cellar buildings for making and storing wine. However, that is not the reality for most vineyard owners. Jeff Coutelou has his home and his cellars in the centre of Puimisson in the Hérault, surrounded by a childrens’ nursery, houses and work buildings. The vineyard itself surrounds the village but comes in a number of small parcels rather than one big vineyard. Each brings its own characteristics in terms of soil, surroundings and exposure to the elements, ie its own terroir. The parcels have been accumulated over the years by Jeff’s grandfather, father and himself. In the satellite photograph below you will see the parcels and how they relate to the village. Vineyards are shown in green, olive groves in red.
(Photo taken from Rapport Biodiversité d’Exploitation Mas Coutelou produced by Agrifaune)
There are about 17.5 hectares (43 acres) of land though olive trees occupy about 2.5ha (6.7 acres) and well over 1 ha (3 acres) is fallow land or has other trees, hedges and plants. The soil is virtually all clay and limestone. As you may be able to see in the satellite photograph much of the land to the south of Puimisson is vineyard, to the point of monoculture. Jeff wants to use his land to produce biodiversity so olives, figs, roses and hedges help to create little oases of wildlife. More details are outlined at the end of this post.
Segrairals and Caraillet (6.8ha, 5.7 under vines)
This is the biggest of the parcels and the only one situated to the north of the village and closest to it. Surrounded by the village and a couple of roads it is well protected by trees and hedges, including figs and olives. A variety of grapes are planted with the oldest being some Syrah planted in 1993, Cabernet Sauvignon planted 1998 and younger plantings of Mourvedre, Syrah and especially Cinsault. The Syrah goes into bottles such as Classe and 7, Rue De La Pompe. Mourvedre goes into Sauvé De La Citerne and the Cinsault into 5SO. The Cabernet grapes will be used for blending in various cuvées or sold to the UK to make the new London Cru Cabernet Sauvignon, a project run by Roberson in London.
Main body of Syrah and Cabernet grapes
Planted olive trees in the foreground with some younger Cinsault and Syrah vines in the background
La Prairie (0.5ha)
To the west of Puimisson La Prairie is an olive grove in a very pleasant area with an official ecology walk going past it. No vineyard planted.
Mountains seen from La Prairie
Prairie olive plantation
Le Colombié (0.6ha)
Just at the southern tip of the village Le Colombié is planted entirely with Merlot vines. These will produce grapes used to blend for cuvées prepared for restaurants, bag in box etc. Merlot is not a typical Languedoc variety, these were planted in 1999.
Le Colombié – Merlot vines
Rome (0.7ha)
Possibly my personal favourite vineyard of them all. It is quite isolated even though there are other vineyards around. Isolated, because there is a wood which shelters it. The gobelet Cinsault vines date back to 1966 and 1975 and go into the Copains or,in some years, Vin Des Amis or Classe. These old vines are also surrounded with young olive trees and the parcel is an attractive and quiet haven. There is also a planting of some 20 different varieties of grapes including various types of Muscat which are used in a solera system. This was started many years ago by Jeff’s grandfather and ever since wines have been used to top up the old barrels to make Vieux Grenache and Vieux Muscat. Sensational wines. The added benefit is that because there are so many different types of vine they cross pollinate and this adds an extra layer of complexity to the Cinsault in the Rome vineyard.
All vines lead to Rome
Gobelet Cinsault vines, olive trees and the surrounding woods
Metaierie (2.3ha)
The parcel which was the basis of my post One Day Like This when we harvested the last grapes of 2014, some Grenache. There are a few older Merlot vines (to be replaced in 2015) but the parcel is mainly the home of Grenache and Syrah grapes which are used to make the ever popular Vin Des Amis.
Smaller Metaierie parcel
Main Metaierie vineyard, home of Vin Des Amis
La Garrigue (1.8ha)
Described in some detail in the post Working In The Vineyards (January). Made up of three sections: some younger Syrah facing north for freshness, a section of Grenache facing south, as it likes the heat and some 20 year old Sauvignon Blanc vines too. The Sauvignon is used to make the white blend PM or other white cuvées, the Syrah goes into my favourite La Vigne Haute and the Grenache is used to make Classe along with the Syrah from Segrairals.
Grenache
Sauvignon Blanc
La Grangette (0.5ha)
A parcel of half a hectare (just over an acre) surrounded by vines, Jeff decided that it is compromised in terms of quality grapes so he planted 112 olive trees in 2011 to provide contrast to the fairly barren land and vines surrounding Grangette.
Rec D’Oulette (1ha plus a smaller, separate parcel of 0.3ha)
Actually made up of two parcels of land. This has seen a lot of work in recent years as Jeff has tried to diversify it. The central block is half a hectare of 30 year old Carignan, used in making Flambadou, a wine which is really improving and was one of the stars of 2013. Surrounding these vines Jeff has planted half a hectare of olive trees to keep them away from the chemicals of neighbouring vineyards. The second part of Rec resembles Grangette as an isolated small parcel and again Jeff has planted olive trees to diversify as it is too small and isolated in its organic nature for grapes.
Carignan vines for Flambadou
Font D’Oulette (0.65ha)
A parcel where Jeff has worked hard in recent years. More olive trees planted in 2011 as were those in the small section of Rec. In addition he has grafted an older variety Aramon into the vineyard covering over half a hectare. These grapes will be used to create new cuvées and the first blend of grapes produced in 2014 is highly promising tasted from tank.
Olive trees to protect the new Aramon vines
Aramon vines
Les Roques (1ha, not on satellite photo)
One hectare of land to the south east of the village heading into Lieuran-les-Béziers, this was the vineyard I showed after the storms of November 28th 2014 when it was flooded. In fact the vines have been grubbed up and there is a programme in place to plant trees and to provide a barrier to the Libron river in case it should flood gain.
Les Roques shortly after the November storms
Peilhan (2.2ha)
An attractive vineyard nicely protected. About a hectare is planted with white grape varieties, including a section of Carignan Blanc which has been used to make a cuvée all on its own. Maccabeu, Grenache Gris and different types of Muscat make up the other white varieties and these are usually picked, assembled and vinified together as part of the PM white blend. This also the home of the Castets vines I have written about a lot, one of only two Castets vineyards in France. More Carignan vines are joined by another interesting grape variety, Clairette Musquée which was blended with the Aramon from Font D’Oulette last year. This is the vineyard where a recent plantation took place to bring back older varieties to the area. Terret Blanc, Riveyrenc Gris and Piquepoul Gris were planted along with Terret Noir, Morastel and Riveyrenc Noir. picked, assembled and vinified together as part of the PM white blend. This also the home of the Castets vines I have written about a lot, one of only two Castets vineyards in France. More Carignan vines are joined by another interesting grape variety, Clairette Musquée which was blended with the Aramon from Font D’Oulette last year. This is the vineyard where a recent plantation took place to bring back older varieties to the area. Terret Blanc, Riveyrenc Gris and Piquepoul Gris were planted along with Terret Noir, Morastel and Riveyrenc Noir.
Main parcel with white vines, Castets, Carignan and Clairette Musquée
Planting the new parcel of Peilhan
The domaine
Overall Syrah is the predominant grape variety making up around one third of production, although 2014 saw a big reduction in the harvest due to the dry spring and early summer. Red grapes dominate with well over 90% of production.
Jeff and his Castets
(L-R) Vin Des Amis, 7 Rue De La Pompe, Paf
Organic since 1987, no synthetic chemical products have been used on the soils for over 25 years now. No artificial yeasts are added in the winemaking process, the grapes produce healthy yeasts themselves to stimulate fermentation. Grapes also naturally produce tiny quantities of sulphites but Jeff has been experimenting with using no added sulphur since 2003 and has successfully completed the last three harvests without adding any sulphur to the wines. This dedication to producing wines which are as natural as possible, made with as little intervention as possible means that Jeff is restless in seeking to improve the quality of his soils and in protecting them from the non-organic practices of neighbouring vineyards. He has also brought in Agrifaune to put together a project to plant over I kilometre of hedges. These will help to prevent soil erosion, protect Coutelou vines from surrounding vineyards and also provide shelter to wildlife which in turn will help to protect the vines, for example by eating damaging insects. Trees such as oak, laurel and elder are being planted along with plants such as agrypis and wild rose. Around the vineyards wider borders of grasses and wild plants are being allowed to grow even if that means that vines have to be scrubbed up. Similarly ditches and fallow land will be used to encourage biodiversity. So in an area of monoculture these oases of biodiversity and wildlife will help to enrich nature, the vineyards and, ultimately, the wines.
In my last blog entry I wrote about the planting of a new vineyard with a range of old varieties of vine. The parcel of land is part of the Peilhan vineyard and sad to say it is under threat together with the vineyard (Rec D’Oulette) which provides the Carignan grapes for the Flambadou cuvée, one of the most highly rated bottles of Mas Coutelou.
The threat comes from a plan by the company Quadran to plant 6 or 7 wind turbines on the plain behind the commune of Corneilhan. Ironically the village of Corneilhan will profit from the plan but is on the other side of a small hill from where the turbines will be situated, therefore the impact upon Corneilhan will be minimal unlike that upon neighbouring villages such as Pailhes and Puimisson whose residents will have to look at the turbines every day. Planning restrictions means that the turbines would have to be built on a stretch of land running across the area where Peilhan and RecD’Oulette are to be found.
Some neighbouring viticulteurs might be tempted to have a turbine on their land as they will receive a payment of 3000€ per megawatt per year created as compensation for not being able to produce wine from their vineyard. Jeff, and others, will not do so but the turbines will have a significant effect on the climate and terroir of his vineyards, if the project comes to fruition. Air turbulence, noise and the movement of the turbines will clearly alter growing conditions such as temperature and humidity but there are other consequences. Jeff has been working to provide biodiversity in the form of hedges, trees and plant life which shelter birds, bats and insects that provide a means of controlling vine pests such as ver de grappe and wasps. This helps to prevent the use of chemical pesticides and thus helps the environment. The presence of these ‘environmentally friendly’ turbines will undoubtedly upset the healthy ecosystem provided by these birds, bats and insects.
Puimisson from Peilhan, how much would wind turbines dominate this landscape!!
Trees and plants border the vineyard
Olive trees in Rec D’Oulette
However, Jeff’s main concern is simply for the visual and auditory impact upon the area as a whole rather than just his personal loss. The area will be completely changed by the project and it does seem strange that they would build wind farms on agriculturally useful land rather than unproductive land elsewhere. It is ironic that so called green energy threatens the local environment. Without mentioning the threat to tourism which is economically important in the area.
In any case the best renewable energy is the one you don’t consume!
To show support for the people of the area as well as the vineyards you can sign this epetition now. I shall, of course, update with further news.
Friday March 6th brought a hot sunny afternoon and the birth of a new vineyard at Mas Coutelou. Well, a new section of vineyard at least. Peilhan is the most southerly of Jeff’s parcels and already contains a variety of grape varieties ranging from Carignan planted in 1992 to fairly new white grapevines such as Maccabeu, Grenache Gris, and Carignan Blanc. However, also planted are some rarer old varities such as Clairette Muquée and the Castets which I have so praised before.
Peilhan
If you look in the photo towards the top you will see a sloping area of land just beyond the planted vines and it was this section which, after lying fallow for many years, was to be planted. I have highlighted it below.
Being Jeff Coutelou though this would not be a simple planting of Grenache, Syrah or Mourvedre but instead he wants to increase the diversity of vines in the vineyard and contribute to the movement of restoring old Languedoc vines to a prominent role in the region. So 24 rows of vines would be planted, almost 2,500 plants of 6 cépages ;
Terret Blanc 1 row
Piquepoul Gris 6 rows
Riveyrenc Gris 2 rows
Riveyrenc Noir 6 rows
Terret Noir 3 rows
Morastel 6 rows
They would be planted as a mix to help resist disease as well as diversity.
Piquepoul Gris vine
The plants are laid out ready, roots in water. Renaud, Michel, Carole and Jeff lead the way. Jeff, as usual, is on the phone as someone wants some wine!
The vines came from a trusted supplier in Carcassonne and resembled large matchsticks. The vine foot is an American rootstock, the only ones capable of resisting the phylloxera beetle which almost wiped out French vineyards in the 19thC. The plant is grafted onto this root stock and then covered with the red wax to protect the grafting stopping air getting between the plant and the root stock. The wax will fall away naturally in the next few days. As you can see they arrived with long roots and we had to cut these down to make them easier to plant.
Jeff had hired two expert plantsmen to lead the way, the two to the right in the photo above. They demonstrated how short the roots should be and left Renaud, Michel and myself to carry on whilst Jeff and Carole (in the photo) went to help the planting.
The field was marked out to show where the vines would be planted. Each variety was to be planted at different intervals according to its specific needs, some need wider planting such as the Piquepoul Gris, others should be planted more densely such as the Terret Noir. The spaced to the right of the rope will be planted with hedges, including rose trees. These will provide shelter for birds and bats, natural predators of damaging insects and vers de grappe (worms) as well as providing a natural boundary to the parcel.
Wire cables ran along where each row was to be planted, in the photo you will see a blue mark where the vine was to be planted. The two experts did the planting with Jeff and Carole (later Michel) dropping the vine for them to plant.
This video shows just how fast they work, on a hot day it very impressive. There was a welcome beer break (with English beers from County Durham no less!) but the work continued solidly for 4 hours.
New vineyard takes shape
Icare supervised, of course
The new plants need water of course so Jeff and Carole set to work. 1500 litres were used for 2 rows of vines!
Jeff asked me at the end of the day what my thoughts were about the planting, how I felt about it. I had to think about it for a while. It had seemed like hard work but it was with a real sense of being present at a new beginning. The vines have a 99%+ survival rate and they will in a few years be producing white and red wine of great quality. And I was there for the birth of this project, a privilege. It was impossible not to feel excitement about what was to come and to wonder at how these small sticks would become beautiful vines. And to feel proud that Jeff is willing to plant something which reaches back into the past as well as providing for the future. Let’s hope we are here to enjoy the wine in a few years.
As if to crown my day of feeling close to nature I was able to take these photos of bees on the rocket flowers in the main parcel at Peilhan. This is one corner of the Languedoc where nature still rules, with a little help.
In my last post I published this photograph showing a vineyard in Margon. I thought it was a lovely picture of a healthy vineyard with biodiversity in the spring warmth. Celandines (yellow), wild rocket (white) and marigold (orange) all growing nicely in the sunshine.
Well, it turns out I was wrong! A certain M. J-FC from Puimisson tells me that the marigolds are actually a possible problem. (Incidentally the word for marigold in French is souci, which also meanscare or worry so these are living up to their name). Marigolds grow in soil with a lot of nitrogen, perhaps the result of nitrogen based fertilisers. Nitrogen is vital for plant growth, helping to boost photosynthesis for example, but too much is not good for vines. Why? Time to do some homework.
As the vine grows it must develop greenery in the form of shoots (to support the vine which is a climbing plant) and leaves (for photosynthesis) as well as its fruit, the grapes. Too much nitrogen produces a surplus of sugars which may cause the vine to favour its greenery over the fruit. Too much greenery can cause too much shade, therefore grapes don’t ripen properly. Too much greenery also increases the risk of fungal disease as air cannot circulate so easily.
Getting the balance right is one of the many tightropes the viticulteur must walk. Getting nitrogen into the soil is important and crop covers can help which is why ploughing plant life into the soil is useful (see post Teamwork) but too much nitrogen and you can cause problems for later in the season. The winegrower’s life is, indeed, plein de soucis!
Meanwhile can anyone tell me why this guyot trained vine has its cane replanted back into the earth at its tip? It was one of a whole vineyard trained like this near Faugeres. Is it to support the vine which is untrellised? To keep the fruit close to the ground?
As the support title for the blog says I am “Learning about wine, vines and vignerons whilst living in the Languedoc”. I have a lot more learning to do, so thank you for this lesson Jeff!
I am trying to regularly update the Out and About page with photos and thoughts about my travels and experiences (often not wine related believe it or not). So please click on there from time to time and have a look. As ever any comments and thoughts will be gratefully received. There are two photos which need explaining on today’s update, and I admit one of them is wine related! The photo above contains one of the questions on the Out and About page.
The other big change is the addition of a tastings page. Rather than post lots of notes about wines I drink on the main page I will post on that page if you are interested in my amateur opinions. Starting with a very enjoyable tasting at Le Wine Shop in Pézenas.
So February is turning out to be a very busy month in the vines. On Wednesday Jeff invited me over to see the first ploughing (labour)of the year. The plant cover of winter is ploughed into the soil to add organic matter. This has been a long established practice and as scientific research continues it is proving to be another example of traditional practice being based unwittingly in sound theory. According to research** by leading soil expert Claire Chenu in 2011 the organic matter which is ploughed into the soil helps to boost microbial and animal life in the soil. In turn this adds air to the soil which the vine roots can use to help them take up water and nutrients. Healthy vines make good wine and will hopefully be able to resist diseases. Certainly as the plough turned over the soil some big worms were speedily digging back into the earth, a clear sign of healthy soils.
The plough was set to a very shallow depth,no more than 20cm as this is a first plough of the year. Jeff worked the soil in every two rows allowing the tractor to turn easily, the other row will be ploughed in two or three days. The tractor is not a full size that you might see farmers using but more lightweight to try to minimise compaction of the soil.
Blades set to be shallow
Meanwhile at the Peilhan vineyard Michel and Renaud were busy working on the trees and plants which guard part of the parcel.They were cutting down cannes de provence, pruning the blossoming almond trees and strimming the plants between them. All part of the effort Jeff makes to improve the ecology of his vineyards.
Renaud and Michel at work
Elderflower just starting to bud at Peilhan
Carole was busy over in La Garrigue vineyard pruning the grenache section. She talked me through the decisions she was making at each cut to explain how the vines would benefit. What struck me was how she was thinking ahead to how the vine would grow not just this year but in the next 2 – 3 years. A skilled worker is always great to watch in action and I was honoured to listen to Carole explain it to me. You can see her at work in the video here.
So,the patron, Carole, Michel and Renaud were hard at work. What about me? Well, Jeff offered to let me drive the tractor but I doubt I could afford to pay him the compensation for all the vines I would have ripped up! Meanwhile there was one very critical observer, a crucial part of the team.
I wasn’t expecting to add anything to the previous post but on our walks around the area this week I have been struck by the amount of viticulteurs busy with a task that I had not included. So, as I hoped this blog would reflect what I saw rather than just theory I felt that I ought to add this post.
Soil in Jeff’s vineyard Peilhan with over 30 types of plant per square metre
So what has been the extra February task, getting rid of grass and weeds (désherbement). A normal task for gardeners but a controversial one for viticulteurs. I have posted many photos over the last few months showing grass growing between vines, not least those of Mas Coutelou. Twenty years ago this was relatively rare but modern viticultural practice reflects concern for the environment and less use of weedkillers etc. It has also been shown that grass (plus other herbs and wild flowers) has benefits for the vineyard; controlling weeds, conserving water and conserving the soil itself by binding it to prevent erosion. The grass can also help to provide competition to the vines forcing them to push their roots deeper into the soil to search for water and nutrients.
As spring seems to be with us already the grass will start to grow soon and viticulteurs want to control it so that it does not compete too much as the vines emerge from their dormancy. The amount of plant material a viticulteur would want will depend upon a number of factors such as the age of the vines as s/he would not want to hinder their growth and development. The nature of the vineyard too will affect the amount of grass you would allow. The viticulteur knows the vineyard and will make the decision as they see fit. Those who follow more reasoned approaches (my choice of words and my bias) do so carefully using strimmers to cut it down or pickaxes and hoes. Some will plough the soil so that the organic matter will provide a form of compost in the soil. I have asked a few winemakers I know and these are their methods. Manu Pageot, for example, will not start to weed until the soil has warmed up a little. Even then he will work by hand or using very light machinery so as not to compact the soil.
Jeff and Manu studying the grass Manu sowed between his vines
However, others take a more radical approach using chemicals. I took these photos on a recent walk around Alignan du Vent and Margon. Chemicals have been used to kill the growth and also a method of piling up soil to stop growth. I am not criticising these viticulteurs, they have to work as they see fit though clearly I am not personally sympathetic to their methods.
Chemical spraying to kill off any plant life in a new vineyard
Soil piled up to smother any growth. Note the compaction of the soil by the tractor
The photos below show a vineyard in November (top picture) and then below it you will see the row with the plants having been treated to kill them, changing colour as they die in the middle photo. If you look between the vines in the bottom photo you will see the grass turning to a straw colour.
So to finish,a lovely memory of a more gentle approach to grass management!
amarchinthevines 