Hot Stuff

Temperatures are expected to rise over 30C in the next few days, so summer is truly upon us here. Some shoots are over head height now, and all vineyards have flowered with good fruit set (although fewer bunches than last year) and some fruit now 'petit pois' size.
We've been watering our newly-planted vines this week to ensure they have enough water to take root properly. Of course, irrigation is illegal in French vineyards producing Appellation Contrôlée quality wine, but it is allowed for young plants around here. Otherwise they would simply wither up under the summer sun. Above you can see Jean-Philippe watering the old-fashioned way....1000 plants later it starts to get a bit tiring!
We like to start them early in Catalonia, so we got 3 month old Theo out into the Consolation vineyard last week whilst I was attaching some Mourvedre. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to keen on the whole viticulture experience.....

Protecting the Vines

This month we are concentrating on keeping the young vines healthy and growing well.
It is a fragile time for the plants - the stems are young and easily broken and the bunches are in need of good weather to produce grapes.
Flowering has occurred in some vineyards already. Grape flowers are not very exciting (in fact barely noticeable), but they do let the grower know that it is a very important time. Rain, wind and disease can drastically reduce a crop at this moment.
So, we set about a few tasks to keep the vines on track for a successful harvest. Firstly we attach most of our vineyards to trellising or posts. This is time consuming (we have over 40,000 plants) but essential work. Once the vines are attached wind and heavy rain are much more unlikely to break and stems or bunches. In addition, the vine has a more evenly distributed canopy and we can then fruit- and leaf-thin more easily in a month or two. In New Zealand they called this work Vertical Shoot Positioning, and they never seemed to shut up about how important it was.
Secondly are the treatments to protect the vines. Already Oidium and, to a lesser extent, Mildew have awoken from their winter sleeping in dead wood, and have been spotted around the area. We use Sulphur and Copper to combat these diseases. They also work against other pests (even rabbits are put off by Sulphur), and in addition they are entirely organic. Below Damien is using our new atomiser, which really pushes out fine particles onto every part of the plant.

Then we keep our fingers crossed that the weather will be kind to us...a week of rain now could reduce harvest by 50% this year. So far this season we have seen good growth with moderate bunch counts. If the spring weather holds out, it could be a great year.

Bottling

The mobile bottling line that arrives once every couple of months is, quite simply, a marvel of modern science. In the hold of a medium-sized lorry is everything we need to take the wine from tank to bottle. Filtration, bottle-washing, corking, sealing capsules, screwcaps if necessary, additions of CO2 or Nitrogen, labelling, lot numbers, sealing of boxes and printing on the finished carton. Within an hour of arriving, the line is set up, sterile and ready to go. We can process around 12,000 bottles in a full day.
It is the end of a process that began up to two years ago in the winery, and of course years before in the vineyard. The less glamorous (but equally important) side is to have all the dry goods ready. The correct number of boxes, fillers, labels, capsules, corks and bottles for each wine. This is a logistic nightmare because the Roussillon is the back of beyond as far as most suppliers are concerned, and things rarely turn up on time, or as requested.
After it's all over though, it is great to see the latest vintage bottled up, and wonder how it will develop in the bottle. The wine needs a few weeks to settle down from the 'bottle shock' before it reveals its true colours. And the verdict so far? Well of course, I'm bound to say they are outstanding!