Eudémis | amarchinthevines

En francais

Vendanges is finished at Jeff Coutelou’s for 2020. That is the good news, with some lovely grapes and good quantities all seemed well. Then on Saturday Jeff messaged me to say that there had been a final twist, a proverbial sting in the tail. The problem was an insect though, admittedly, not one with an actual sting. I mentioned in the last post that there had been a little ver de la grappe (grape worm moth) problem. Well, that problem suddenly worsened in the last few days of harvesting.

**Eudémis larvae, cocoon and adult moth**

Some Grenache, Cinsault but especially Mourvedre were affected. The latter is a later ripening grape and no less than 60% of the grapes had to be rejected and were lost. That is a huge loss. The culprit was not the usual grape moth Eudémis which lays its eggs on the grapes, the larvae and caterpillars then attacking the grapes and spoiling them. Jeff is used to those and recognises the problem coming.

This was a new moth to the area, Pyrale du Daphné (Cryptoblabes gnidiella) or honeydew moth. This menace has been damaging grape crops (and other fruits) in Tuscany and more recently in Provence. Clearly it has spread to the Languedoc.

(photos from Alchetron and DocPlayer.net)

Three or four generations of adults appear in any year with the biggest populations coming at the end of August and into September. They feed on ripe fruit juice and honeydew from aphids, things you would find in vineyards at harvest time. The eggs are laid in the bunch and the larvae eat not just grape juice but also attack the stems. The grapes empty completely and the spoilage damages other bunches with botrytis and rot. They are much more damaging to the grapes than the usual ver de la grappe, as Jeff sadly found with his Mourvedre.

Chemical treatments are available for spraying but Jeff and organic producers generally cannot use them. There are naturally occurring bacterial treatments such as Spinosad (made from crushed sugar cane) which organic producers are permitted to use. Otherwise vignerons can try to use pheromones which confuse the male moths so that they don’t breed, confusion sexuelle. Insect traps are another option. Italian scientists are also experimenting with the use of trichogramma. These are wasps which lay their eggs inside the moth eggs meaning that the moths do not develop. These have been used successfully in other fruit production and vineyard trials seem to be promising. Whether upsetting the balance of natural order is a good thing is open to debate.

**Sexual confusion trap (from evineyard** **website) and a trichogramme**

Therefore, though the 2020 harvest will generally be a good one, there was a final problem. Mourvedre is used by Jeff, occasionally for a single variety cuvée but more often to blend in various cuvées such as Le Vin des Amis and Sauvé de la Citerne. Now that this new menace is identified Jeff will look out for it next year, a hard frost in winter would help to kill off the hibernating adults. Let us hope that this is a problem which we can look back upon as a curiosity, that may be looking at it with glass half full.

More about the problem here (article in French)

In Parts 1 & 2 I have tried to explain some of the difficulties encountered at Mas Coutelou during 2016 due to natural influences such as climate and disease. In this final part of the series I look at pests which have added to those woes.

Vers de la grappe

These are literally grape worms, more specifically caterpillars, which form and grow on bunches of grapes. The caterpillars are the larvae of Eudémis moths which prefer to lay their eggs on shiny surfaces, so grapes are the target more than the rest of the vine. The larvae obviously damage the grapes themselves but that damage is worsened because of juice running on the bunches attracting infection and disease.

https://www.syngenta.fr/cultures/vigne/dossier-affirm-proclaim/article/affirm-proclaim-spectre-vers-de-grappe

The warm weather and humidity of 2016 definitely encouraged vers de la grappe though it is an ongoing problem. It can be treated chemically of course though that is not an option for organic producers. Substances such as clay can be sprayed in spring to add a chalkier, duller surface to new grapes so that moths are not attracted to them. However, the solution favoured by Jeff Coutelou is to plant hedges and trees. These not only act as barriers to less environmentally aware neighbours, add polyculture to a region which can appear solely planted by vines but also they can shelter bats.

Bat shelter in Sainte Suzanne

Bats feed on Eudémis larvae and moths and can eat thousands every day. Bat shelters are to be found around Mas Coutelou, eg in Sainte Suzanne and Rome vineyards.

The photographs above show a vers de la grappe cocoon and, on the right distinctive holes showing where the moth laid its eggs. When the vendanges begin the pickers and sorters must look out for signs such as these but also damaged, shrivelled grapes in bunches where the larvae have been.

Snails

If I could have named 2016 in the Chinese form I would have called it the year of the snail. They were everywhere. The two photos below show an olive tree in Segrairals. This was one of many which were completely covered by snails, blanched by the sun and feeding on the greenery and moisture in the tree.

However, vines were equally attractive to them. I spent whole mornings picking snails from vines during the Spring only to find them covered again a day or two later. Flower Power (Font D’Oulette) was particularly badly affected with the snails heading straight for the new growth and buds in April and May.

The virtual drought in the first six months of 2016 meant that the snails were desperate for moisture and food and so the healthy, young vines were too good to miss. The consequence was obvious, production of this much lauded new wine was reduced drastically, partly by the weather but equally the work of the snails. Birds and other predators would help solve the problem but the monoculture of the area (outside of Mas Coutelou) means there are, sadly, no great numbers of them.

Vendangeurs and sorters must try to pick off snails as they hide in the bunches. Dozens get through to the cellar especially in the early morning when there is moisture around. The photo on the right shows a lot of rejected material, leaves, poor grapes but lots of snails as you will see if you enlarge it. Just imagine how many get through into the wine with machine picking and limited triage.

Neighbours

Yes they can be included under the title of pests. Well, one of them can be. As regular readers will know 2016 has been punctuated by two occasions of vandalism by one particular neighbour, both upon the Carignan Noir vineyard of Rec D’Oulette. First he mowed a patch of wildflowers which Jeff had sown to encourage insects and birds (for reasons identified above). Then he took a machine to some of the young trees Jeff planted around the vines, destroying four year old trees such as hazelnut.

Vandalised trees with tyre tracks revealing the culprit

Jeff was justifiably upset by these attacks. He was simply trying to enrich the area, bring diversity to it but that was clearly too much for a traditionalist, more used to destroying wildlife for his own short term gain and dreadful wine. However, he was encouraged and revitalised by the massive support of friends and colleagues around the world. The flowers grew back and more densely, the trees replanted in greater numbers and Jeff Coutelou stands tall as the man trying hard to improve the reputation of Puimisson and its wines.

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