tri | amarchinthevines

November 22, 2016
by amarch34 6 Comments

Nature can be harsh: Part 2 – Disease

The mild weather over winter was followed in the Languedoc by a slow start to summer heat. The resulting warm, humid weather brought disease as it did in many regions of France. Mildew, oidium and couloure are all vine diseases which occur regularly and 2016 was no different but with a bigger hit than usual.

Mildew (downy mildew)

Sadly, humid days in the mid 20s and cool nights are exactly the conditions favoured by downy mildew, and it prospered. The humidity in the soils created ever more favourable conditions for mildew. Downy mildew lives as spores in the soils and any rain splashes them onto the vines. Mildiou is not a fungus as commonly believed, it is a one celled spore which germinates in warm, humid conditions especially between 16 and 24 Centigrade – exactly the conditions we saw in April and May of this year.

Jeff Coutelou spent many nights out on his tractor spraying the vines to try to protect them. As an organic producer (and much more) he cannot (and does not want to) use manufactured, chemical sprays. Instead he used sprays based on rainwater with seaweed, nettles, horsetail and essential oils of sweet orange and rosemary. These are better absorbed by the vines in the cool of the night.

Mildew on top of leaf

Mildew on the under side

Mildew appears as small yellow / green spots on the upper surface of the leaf which gradually turn brown and spread to leave an unsightly vine. Underneath downy white /grey spots appear, the mildew is well established by this point. It affects the grape bunches and leaves them dried out and shrivelled.

Mildew on a Carignan bunch, organic spray residue on the leaves

By the time harvest arrives the bunches contain a mix of healthy and diseased grapes. Severe triage is required. Bunches such as the one in the photo above will be discarded immediately. Where there are health sections though the bunches will arrive at the triage table and be sorted rigorously. Jeff reckoned that in some vineyards, especially the white vines of Peilhan, losses were up to 60% from mildew. Seriously damaging.

Here is a clear demonstration of the advantage of hand harvest (vendange manuelle), machines would simply swallow the lot and in less thorough domaines or caves the bunches will all go into the wine.

Oidium (powdery mildew)

Oidium on buds and leaf

Oidium is a related problem to mildew but slightly different. It too thrives in warm days and cold nights (so springtime is its peak period) , it too loves humidity. So, spring 2016 was ideal though oidium was less rampant than mildew. Unlike mildew it is a fungal based spore.

Conventional treatments would be chemical and even organic producers will use sulphur, a naturally occurring element. Organic producers are limited to the amounts they can use as sulphur does damage the fauna of the soils. Jeff Coutelou uses less than a quarter of the permitted amounts because he sees it as a last resort. Instead he prefers treatments based on horsetail weed, nettles and other beneficial plants made into a tisane which can be sprayed. It may not be as all-destroying as synthetic chemicals but Jeff prefers the soils to be healthy in the long term by using these natural plant based treatments.

These photos show grape bunches hit by oidium in 2016, the powdery residue is clear though the bunches are less damaged than mildew affected ones. Nevertheless oidium is destructive and spoils wine so, again, careful work in the vineyard and cellar is needed to keep oidium out of the grape juice.

Coulure

Like most fruit plants vines grow flowers which then develop into the fruit. Vine flowers are very beautiful but also very delicate and don’t live long on the plants, a matter of a few days.

If heavy rain and wind hits the vines at this stage of their development then the flowers can be easily damaged or broken off the plant.

Peilhan 2016

La Garrigue 2016

The result is that fruit cannot develop where there is no flower, coulure. Where flowers are damaged then berries might grow very small and seedless, this is called millerandage. Similarly berries might ripen unevenly within a bunch, green berries alongside healthy, ripe grapes.

There is nothing that the vigneron can do of course, the damage is done by the weather and no producer can successfully combat weather. Nature wins in the end. So, once again, the vendangeur and those sorting in the cellar are crucial in ensuring that only healthy fruit goes into the wine.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of all stages of wine growing and production. From their budding through to vendanges the vines must be tended, and in the cellar observation, determination and care are needed too. To make good wine requires hard work, healthy grapes and love as Jeff has said many times.

And have a look at one of those last photos again.

snail-and-uneven

In the top right corner you will see another of 2016’s natural problems, one subject of the final part of this series.

September 19, 2016
by amarch34 4 Comments

Vendanges 2016 #6 – Sort It Out

En français

What do you look for when hundreds of bunches of Grenache grapes come towards you? What is your job on the sorting table?

Every winemaker wants the healthiest grapes to go into their vats to make the best possible wine. In some of the smartest chateaux and domains in Bordeaux and Burgundy each grape is sorted, even scanned. However, those are wineries which charge hundreds of pounds for a bottle of wine. For a natural Languedoc wine producer such expense is not feasible, so no scanners at Mas Coutelou. However, the need for only healthy fruit to go into tank is even more important for those who will not use additives such as SO2.

p1010664

The sorting table is new this year, previously we sorted direct from the case. The table means that you can see more of the grapes, move them around and search for any problems with greater ease. Undoubtedly it has led to better triage of the grapes which should help the wines. In a very difficult vintage such as 2016 the table has easily repaid its cost.

So, what are you looking for?

Michel brings in the cases and information about the grapes

Well, first of all you get information from Michel as he brings the cases direct from the vines. He talks to the pickers and they will tell him if they have been in a good part of the vineyard with few problems or, conversely, if they have had to do a lot of sorting and cutting themselves. Michel relays this information to us on the sorting table with warnings to look out for snails or rot for example. Forewarned is forearmed.

In the video you see Vincent empty the case onto the table. He immediately looks for leaves, snails, spiders etc and removes them. Priscilla starts to sort. I or someone else would be on the other side so that we can see the bunches from different angles and turn them over to inspect.

Some squishy grapes

When I first joined the Coutelou team in millésime 2014 it was Carole who taught me what to look for. There are the obvious things, more snails and leaves but then look at the bunches. Or rather, not so much look, but touch and smell. Feel the bunch, are the grapes firm and springy or squishy? In the latter case warning bells ring. Is the squishiness due to juice or to rot? Smell the bunch. Does it have aromas of clean fruit or vinegary, rotten odours? Obviously if that is the case you cut into the bunch and seek out the rot and remove any affected grapes. Usually cut some of the ones around too as they might have been tainted by the rot.

Mildewed grapes

Look out too for mildewed grapes which have dried and become unpleasant. There are grapes which have naturally dried out and their raisiny sweetness is actually good in the wine, so you have to learn what you are looking for. Are there hail damages grapes? Grapes with holes from vers de la grappe (grape worms)? Black rot? Oidium? In a future article I shall be looking at how these problems show themselves on the final grapes.

Lovely Grenache bunch but check the interior

Of course, the vast majority of bunches are great, no problems at all, just lovely fruit. But, beware, those big closed up bunches are the very ones where problems might lurk inside. Don’t be deceived by something which looks good, you must still check it over.

Nice, loose bunches – air can circulate to keep the grapes healthy

And meanwhile, whilst you look at that bunch another one is passing you on the table. Work fast, eyes, fingers, nose on the alert. Secateurs cutting whilst your fingers are already touching the next bunch. Be careful, no blood on those grapes please.

Sorted!!

For Martin, hope you enjoyed it!

September 30, 2015
by amarch34 4 Comments

Vendanges, values and valued

Photo courtesy of #QCQBM (see below)

Version française

There will be one more vendanges diary entry as the parcel of Muscat awaits, ready to make some sweet, delicious wine. However, after a month of work, the grapes are nearly all gone. Their juice lies quietly fermenting or sulkily just waiting in the tanks. So what have I learned from this month of effort? Well, reflecting on it I remembered last year’s vendanges and a video. Both are linked below. The title I used then seems, a year later, the right one so no apologies for using it again, though in French this time.

Now That’s What I Call Grapes 2015

The main feature has been the grapes themselves. It was not the easiest year for growing in terms of weather. Strong winds at flowering damaged some vines, a real heatwave for a month in June/July with months of dry weather too, then rain just as harvest began. There have been moments of doubt, it has been a slippery road as this Pézenas road sign suggests.

The berries were small and perhaps lacking in some acidity as harvest approached and then the rains threatened rot and damage. At times the tri had to be severe both in the vineyard and in the cellar. And yet. I remember beautiful bunches of Syrah, of Cinsault (almost 1kg in weight some of them), Cabernet Sauvignon and Muscat. In particular I remember some champion Carignan and magnificent Mourvèdre. Much needs to be done with vinification but, happily, the wines they produced are already showing the same quality, promising some great 2015s.

Syrah

Even when the juice was in the cuves it misbehaved at times, like naughty students in a classroom. There were moments when volatile acidity threatened and then when acidity was low. Through it all Jeff kept his head. And I recall his words at the time, “Il faut avoir la confiance en les raisins” / “You have to trust in your grapes”. No clever tricks, no resorting to sulphur dioxide to act as a safety net – just have faith that the work that has been done in the vineyard over the last years and recent months will bring healthy grapes which will make healthy wine. The pruning (taille), ploughing (labour), careful spraying at 3 in the morning – all of this effort leads to the grapes being able to produce high quality wines. Like a winner of the Tour De France you don’t just turn up on the day, it takes months of planning, training and hard work, so too the vigneron who produces top quality wine. And that faith has been rewarded, any problems have sorted themselves out, with a guiding hand from time to time.

Taille (February)

Labour (March)

Filled cuves containing the 2015 wines (September)

That means hard work and this is the second lesson I have learned. The vendanges are hard work. There is a glamour to them. As an enthusiastic wine amateur I often used to think how nice it must be to take part in the harvest. Sunshine, grapes, drinking wine – idyllic. The reality is all of those things but it is not all idyllic; it is back breaking, physically gruelling, hard work. Picking means bending over vines, insect bites, whilst trying to not cut your fingers instead of the grapes. In the cellar, long hours of standing to sort grapes, lifting and carrying heavy cases and twisting around with them, sometimes in confined spaces. The heat above a tank is tiring and sweaty. The drenching as you clean everything again and again. And I worked less than most. Add in all those hours of vineyard work, the background work in sorting the equipment, labour, paperwork and then the pressure of making the right decisions – you have to love this job to make a success of it.

Bent backs (Martin and Céline)

Standing for long hours while sorting (Karim and Cameron)

Twisting to lift a cagette (Michel)

Confined space, hot, back breaking – Thomas, Cameron

Soaked, Cameron, Michel and Thomas cleaning

And love is the third and final part of my lesson. The love which Jeff has for his vines and his commitment to making them the best they can be in order to produce the wines which people around the world will love. It is no coincidence that during the harvest we welcomed many friends who arrived to spend a few days with us, to play their part in the vendanges. They do so because they love the wines and they are friends of Jeff. He makes his wines to share, the best wines are those which you share with other people. Le Vin des Amis! Copains! the names of the cuvées tell a story.

Remember the story of the Chaud Doudou from last harvest? Well, I have been lucky to share the experience of the vendanges with a fantastic group of people over the last month. The camaraderie and friendship are part of the process of making the wine. And that spirit vanquishes any aches and pains.

My boots join the team (a proud moment)

Happy times

So, grapes, work and love. And if you don’t believe me, have a look at the video on this link to the excellent #QCQBM website. It is in French but the message is clear. Grapes. work and love.

Des raisins, du travail et de l’amour – Jeff Coutleou