Damage caused by the Hail on 16th June

 
In my hand is a stem with what would of been a brunch of grapes if it hadn't been broken off by the hail and heavy rain. Many wine makers were hit much harder than us and only time will tell what this means for the harvest at the end of September beginning of October?

After wires lifted and epamprage

 

Vines before wires lifted and Epamprage

 

When the vines have grown sufficiently enough they are trapped between two wires to stop them breaking in the wind and rain, to aid air circulation and to to make the passage of the tractor easier . At the same time the process of Epamprage takes place, this is the removal of any growth on the main vertical stem and also around the stem head thus preventing energy going to something non productive and making the passage of air around the plant easier aiding the prevention of disease.

 

Got me thinking! CHANGE.

Second post of the day mainly because I fell off a ladder in the chai the other evening and twisted my ankle so hard to walk at the moment.After first blog this morning was chauffeur driven to the wine lab to drop off some samples for analysis so had plenty of time to enjoy the route since my father took the scenic way, thanks Dad. When we first arrived and saw the amount of erosion caused in the vineyards after heavy rain which I had previously encountered while working in America I decided to plant grass on every other row to stop this occurring. It also meant that the tractor could pass through the vines in wet conditions not picking up soil which would pack between the back wheels and the wheel arches. This is because it is a vineyard tractor and has very little clearance between wheel and arch but if allowed to occur without cleaning out the tyre would eventually burst!!

The main reason for all this, is to say while in the car I realised that when we first arrived in France 16 years ago I think we were one of the first to plant grass between the vines, at the time we were told that we were mad because it would reduce our yield!! yes quality not quantity, how many times have I had to explain that?

My second observation is the disappearance of the village bakery because the lab is over an hours drive away , each way from home, I used to go early in the morning thus before breakfast so on route I used to stop at one of the many bakeries depending on which day it was to get my breakfast along with a loaf for the day. Since for the last year this task has been taken over by Sarah, I was very surprised to see two of these family run business's closed with the shops up for sale! I think this is very sad and even in this rural area the supermarket is taking over, progress I hear some of you saying, not on your nelly!!! France is changing and in my opinion not for the better.

Grass or No grass

From the pictures below ,sorry about quality but it really was that dark! You can see the difference between planting grass every other row and not planting any grass at all.where you can see the grass I have passed with the tractor after the rain and have hardly left a mark ,as a posed to the dark picture with no grass which several days after the rain was impossible to pass.

 

 

Merchiens' sheep flock arrives!!!!

Merchien now have a flock of sheep, all two of them named Baa Baa, Molly and their mate Sean the goat. Don't blame me it wasn't my idea, that is to name them! It is my idea to get the sheep to provide us with meat so we know where it comes from ,to add to our turkeys that arrive on Monday. The second reason is to make my life easier, they will be used to weed in the vines at times of the year when it is permissable, part of our never ending drive to be green and sustainable. Pictures will follow shortly I promise!!!

Its always a Saturday!!!!

Throughout the growing season for those of you that don't know the vines generally need to be sprayed ever 10 to 14 days depending on the weather and growing conditions. Last year and again this year it seems that due to bad weather and unfavourable conditions it always falls on a Saturday to do the spraying some pictures will hopefully follow shortly along with some of the damage that occurred over the last few days , that is if we can get the camera to work? Watch this space!!!

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!!!

I can't remember a start of June like this? Last night we had continuous heavy rain with periods of hail thrown in just for good measure ! Needed to spray vines this morning after the hail but very wet under foot,more than 80mm and it looked like it was going to rain at any time which it did late afternoon. The vines don't look like they have been affected to much but they need to be sprayed as soon as a dry spell gives us enough time to get on the land and the tractor can move? Will be ready to see what tomorrow brings? Would love to have put the photos on that I promised but the camera seems to have been affected by the rain!

And somebody said it was going to be a hot SUMMER

Its all in the title,Sarah for some time has been coming back from market whether it be Lalbenque or St Antonin and saying that the word is that it is going to be a hot summer? Well we are into June now and I'm still waiting! we have had some hot days but no prolonged periods. Last night and up to midday today we have had heavy rain with some periods of extremely heavy rain which has meant soil has been washed off fields onto nearby roadways, we haven't had this because we have planted grass between the vines for this reason amongst others.
Haven't managed to walk in the vines yet but a bit worried about the wires being down and the excessive wind and rain could of caused some breakages? Will check later and report back with pictures , if it ever stops raining.

Weeding again

No chemical weedkillers are used in the vines and haven't for 15 years ,this means weeding takes by hand and with the machine that is shown in the video. The job is more time consuming and consequently more costly, furthermore, some people would say the vines don't look as neat and tidy as of those that are treated with chemicals,however, to coin a phrase used by Jancis Robinson in her book Wine Course,Sediment in a bottle is not a bad sign but a sign of a producer who worships quality above cosmetics. I would use the explanation for the odd weed ,but walking amongst the vines you find all the good bugs, ladybirds etc that help keep the pests down, this doesn't happen in vines when lots of chemicals are used rather the reverse a very sterile environment and therefore,the need to use more chemicals to keep the pests at bay,the viscous circle then continues!It must be said that this policy runs in-conjunction with us not pushing the plants hard to achieve high quantities but that of quality not quantity,thus not stressing out the plants, its simple really, common sense!!!!