New Plantings

This monthy we have planted 2000 new vines in our vineyards around Collioure.
As you can just about see here, they are starting to show small buds - a sign that all is going well. The buds burst through the protective wax that covers the graft, and the young vine starts its fragile first year.
It seems crazy that just about every single vine planted in France today has been grafted onto new rootstock. Millions upon millions of vines that are cut below the head and re-attached to American rootstock like two jigsaw pieces fitting together.
The reason for this is the root-eating bug Phylloxera Vastatrix, which decimated the indigenous rootstock of Europe in the late 19th Century. The only cure that proved successful was to graft European vinifera vines into American labrusca vines (a different species within the grape genus Vitis).
It is almost certain that without this intervention, there would be no vinifera plantings left in Europe, and most other parts of the world. But of course, the wine industry is not without its own scandals, and there has been a cover-up for the last 20 years or so regarding a rootstock known as AXR1. This was recommended by UCD and was a great commercial success. However, there is a serious worry that through mutation it has lost its Phylloxera resistance, and much of the Napa valley had to be replanted as a result.

Our young Grenache Gris vines are on healthy 110-Richter rootstock, and should pose us no problems. The vine nursery guarantees them disease and virus free. A little water, a post to tie each vine to, and three years of patience will bring us our first crop. We have added some organic fertilizer and also some lime to the vineyards to help the new plantings. The lime corrects acid soils - a correct acidity range greatly increases assimilation of minerals and nutrients into the grapevine.
The rest of the vineyard is progressing at a healthy rate...with 4-6 leaves showing and signs of healthy bunches starting to appear. There has been a good amount of water this spring, so things are looking good. We will soon be tying down the shoots onto trellising where we have it, and starting a disease programme to keep the vines healthy for the 2009 cycle.

Hello Everyone - Welcome to the first posting from the South of France.
For those of you who have merely stumbled upon this blog by chance, let me introduce you to our set-up in the Roussillon. We are a small winery owned by the Gard family, with around 12 hectares of vineyard (that's roughly 40,000 vines). We make around 30,000 bottles of wine a year. These are dry reds, whites and rosés under the Appellation Collioure, and fortified sweet wines under the Appellation Banyuls.
Our vines are one steep, terrassed slopes of schist rock, with very little top soil. The vines must dig deep to find water and nutrients. The weather is very hot and sunny in summer with strong mountain winds to cool the vineyards a little.

In this blog we will let you know about our work in the vines and winery. If you've get any questions or comments then please send them to me! AJC