Our aim is to product as much as we need and with the most wholesome product to obtain the quality we wish.

The work cycle in the vineyard can be compared to the vegetative cycle of a plant.

Vegetative cycle : The main stages

Beginning of the viticultural year: :the 11th of November, the Saint Martin’s winter. This date of agreement was stated in the Middle ages.
Bleeding of the vine: :the rise of sap at the beginning of Spring. Drops can be seen at the end of each shoot.
Budburst: it all depends on the grape variety, the weather and the soil. The blooming of buds usually happens 20 or 35 days after the bleeding. This is the budburst. We classify the grape variety according to the budburst earliness.
Inflorescence :tiny grapes appear concomitantly with the leaves
Blooming :the coming out of flowers. The vineyard is then very weak to the late frost.
The berry set: flowers are fecundated and become a grape-berry.
The change of colour of the grape-berry : this is the ripening of the fruit. The grape-berries become bigger and change their colour. They turn golden or yellow (for the white grape), from garnet-red to dark-blue (for the red grape). In the berry, tranformation occurs and brings about a variation of the acidity rate (and incidentally a transformation of tartaric acid into malic acid) and an increase of sugar as well as the density of mineral salt. This stage lasts about 50 days.
The grape gathering : the gathering of grapes can be hand-made or machine-made. It can also be postponed in order to wait for the raisining of the grape or the arrival of botrytis that is going to concentrate the grape sugar (for the sweet wines).
The permit harvesting : notice appointing the date of the vintage, calculated according to the date of the berry-set, 100 days after.

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Work cycles in the vineyard:

The work of the vinegrower starts with the planting of vine stock, but its main job relies on the training of the vine which combines the density of plantation with the type of pruning and with the grape variety.

Activities :
Ploughing, earthing-up and extraction of the excesses of pebbles and stones (building of low wall possibly).
Enrichment, providing with organic material and mineral salt.
Planting of base of the wine. They will only be fruit-bearing after 4 completed cycles and to the fourth leave.
Pruning of the wine: first method used to be able to check the yield and to improve the quality of the grape produced by the selection of the number of buds that are going to bear some grape. Indeed a too harsh pruning is detrimental to the base of the vine and a too weak pruning favours the surplus production.
Trellising (in chestnut tree, locust tree or in galvanized metal).The low vine plants are not trellised
Ploughing occurs in Spring to move and aerate the land and weeding
Debudding: reduction in the number of buds
Disease protection: mildiou, oidium, phylloxera.
Spreading (choice of fruiting cane according to their position on the vine and to their sun exposure).
Topping: pruning of the leaves vegetation and of the extremity of the fruiting canes.
Green harvest: reduction of the number of grapes by base of the vine achieved at summertime before the ripeness.
The grappe gathering takes place after the analysis of the acidity/sugar ratio and of potential alcohol within the grape.