From Brooklyn to the Loire(3)
By 2009-3-6 19:20:52
When I reach Laurent Saillard after the short walk from the old farm, I find him busy working on Noëlla Morantin's vineyard, or to be precise, on one of the vineyard that she rents to Clos Roche Blanche. He has only a couple of weeks to complete the pruning for his two employers, Noëlla Morantin and Didier Barouillet. The vineyard plot that he is pruning is a 5-year-old Sauvignon plot (see the three first pictures above). For that task he is using a battery-powered pruner, an electrocoup which is dubbed the Rolls Royce of pruners for its quality and price (1500 Euro). He began with ordinary, manual pruners but with the surface of vineyard that he has to work on, this was a necessary investment. Working in the vineyard was a first-time event when he began this new life last november. Some people warned him that it could be physically challenging but until now it went smoothly, no back pain or other side effect yet.
The first vineyard plots he worked on last year were CRB's, which by the way are intertwinned with the ones that Noëlla rents : he replanted (repiquage) baby vines to replace dead vines or vines that were accidently uprooted by the plowing. He also learned with Didier how to plant vine poles, and then put the wires back in place, and Didier Barouillet was the best teacher he could dream of for these vineyard-management tips.
The fireplace for the view, the stove for the heat... Then he learnt with Didier the different types of pruning, the taille à poussier (on Gamay), or the taille à baguette also called Guyot simple, like the one 
on the 5-year-old Sauvignon : you just leave one cane (baguette) with 7 or 8 eyes from which the shoots will grow. Asked again about the remaining surface to prune this season, he says that he has 1,5 hectare to do for Noëlla and a bit less than one hectare for Didier, the whole thing having to be completed in about two weeks. When it rains, he doesn't prune because the water can prevent the vine from healing from the pruning wounds and it could expose the vines to the Esca disease, so he spends the rainy days tying the remaining canes to the wires on the already-pruned plots, which is easier when it rains because the wood is easier to bend.
About the pruned canes, they either burn them or grind them, let the thing decompose somewhere before using it as compost for the vines. He says that the vine is a creeper type of a plant and thus, pruning is very important. An interesting thing with the vine and the canes, he says, is that paradoxally the furthest the buds are from their nurturing vine, the more juice they get, because the "creeper" vine wants to grow and extend as much as possible and favours its daring extremities. So, Laurent says that it is important to limit the growth of the vine itself, as it will also help it age well. It is also important to have the optimal grape weight, possibly well spread over the foliage surface.
Laurent says that the 5-year-old Sauvignon plot now rented by Noëlla Morantin was previously planted with half Chenin and half Gamay. We walk to another plot dotted with blue patches where young vines have been replanted (second pic above) : this is another CRB vineyard rented by Noëlla, 70-year-old Cot. Then we walk on plots still managed by Didier Barouillet, with some biodiversity rows here and there where long time ago a regular row stood. It makes a wider space without poles or vines where Didier has planted different plants in addition to the weeds and wild flowers that can be seen all over the place here.
The vineyard is full of good, edible plants, like wild raspberry canes, and wild lambs' lettuce. Laurent kneels several times as we walk back to the farm to pick some [picture on left]. And the spring flower explosion is still ahead. Walking in the spring time in a vineyard which has'nt seen any fertilizer or weedkiller for years is a powerful experience. We pass here and there the first flowers that announce that spring is coming : a small blue flower named Véronique for example, and elesewhere a small yellow flower named Orpin de Nice. And that's just the beginning.
The first vineyard plots he worked on last year were CRB's, which by the way are intertwinned with the ones that Noëlla rents : he replanted (repiquage) baby vines to replace dead vines or vines that were accidently uprooted by the plowing. He also learned with Didier how to plant vine poles, and then put the wires back in place, and Didier Barouillet was the best teacher he could dream of for these vineyard-management tips.
About the pruned canes, they either burn them or grind them, let the thing decompose somewhere before using it as compost for the vines. He says that the vine is a creeper type of a plant and thus, pruning is very important. An interesting thing with the vine and the canes, he says, is that paradoxally the furthest the buds are from their nurturing vine, the more juice they get, because the "creeper" vine wants to grow and extend as much as possible and favours its daring extremities. So, Laurent says that it is important to limit the growth of the vine itself, as it will also help it age well. It is also important to have the optimal grape weight, possibly well spread over the foliage surface.
Laurent says that the 5-year-old Sauvignon plot now rented by Noëlla Morantin was previously planted with half Chenin and half Gamay. We walk to another plot dotted with blue patches where young vines have been replanted (second pic above) : this is another CRB vineyard rented by Noëlla, 70-year-old Cot. Then we walk on plots still managed by Didier Barouillet, with some biodiversity rows here and there where long time ago a regular row stood. It makes a wider space without poles or vines where Didier has planted different plants in addition to the weeds and wild flowers that can be seen all over the place here.
The vineyard is full of good, edible plants, like wild raspberry canes, and wild lambs' lettuce. Laurent kneels several times as we walk back to the farm to pick some [picture on left]. And the spring flower explosion is still ahead. Walking in the spring time in a vineyard which has'nt seen any fertilizer or weedkiller for years is a powerful experience. We pass here and there the first flowers that announce that spring is coming : a small blue flower named Véronique for example, and elesewhere a small yellow flower named Orpin de Nice. And that's just the beginning.
From wineterroirs.co