Lagrezette Blog

The life of a grapevine and of a grape, in 4 acts. Naissance et renouveau (4)

When March dawns, winter is not yet over, but the grapevines emerge from their slumber.

We watch over their environment by destroying the weeds around them. The grapevines enter their « vegetative cycle », as the specialists say. The sap rises in the plant. Then comes the budbreak phase, when the first buds open. They produce little leaves, tender and green. 45 days later, that is, around May, the vines will bloom.

At that time, late frosts are especially to be feared, but also withering (sometimes defined as a miscarriage of the flowers), resulting in a reduction of the number of berries and therefore of the final production.

We all know that Malbec vines are very sensitive to this danger. So we watch out for it each day, and each year the springtime proves crucial. Even before the first grapes appear on the vine, all the team is mobilised to observe each row, each vine, and to intervene whenever possible… which is unfortunately not the case with withering.

The life of a grapevine and of a grape, in 4 acts. Pruning and rest (3)

... Further to previous notes...

The winter months will, as we readily guess, be months of rest. After the harvest comes the time of hibernation.
December, January and February will be mainly devoted to caring for the grapevines. This means first of all pruning them, most of which is done by hand. It is a job involving very little mechanization, which calls for attention, precision and method. The purpose of pruning, as the gerbaud.com website tells us, is to limit growth (and therefore bulk) and reduce the aging of the stock while triggering the development of a certain number of fruit-bearing branches.
Pruning regulates the next year’s production. It fosters the quality of the grapes to come. Sugar will be concentrated in a smaller number of clusters, via the reduction of the number of buds left on each stock.
Care is taken to avoid any work on the grapevines in freezing weather.
Thus we understand that the year to come is already contained as a promise in this humble and necessary work. The very fine book by Jens Priewe, L’univers du vin, gives various examples of grapevine pruning (goblet pruning, Guyot pruning, cord pruning) which the more curious wine lowers will find fascinating.
And as early as February the first buds will appear…
To be continued …

The life of a grapevine and of a grape, in 4 acts. Maturing, decisions, the vintage (2)

(further to our previous note)

Depending on the region, the climate, the type of vine and the expected results, the vintage will take place between September and December.

The maturing of the grapes is marked by ripening, which is the color taken on by the grapes best exposed to the sun. Their hue becomes yellow in varieties yielding white wines, blue or violet in reds, as a result of the accumulation of sugar in the grapes. On one and the same soil, the calendar may differ greatly. In some years we began the harvest by hand at Lagrézette when the sound of vintaging machine was no more to be heard anywhere...

Our objective – which is also a requirement we have set ourselves – consists in harvesting when the grapes are fully mature, while avoiding over-maturity. But it may of course be dangerous to wait « too long ». If rain is a party to the vintage, or if one waits too long, a year of work can be jeopardized. At this period, which is among the moments of truth, technology yields to the law of nature. The vintage will take place on its terms, and sometimes even at night, when the days are too hot. Once the harvest is over, work continues in the cellar, and once more the earth enters its resting phase. The cycle of time, celebrated by all traditions, whether pagan or religious, imposes itself on us. The days wane. Temperatures grow cooler, the vines gradually enter their phase of slumber. Working the soil and the fruits of the earth inevitably leads us to a better grasp of the myth of Everlasting Return…

(to be continued)

The life of a grapevine and of a grape, in 4 acts. When summer is upon us (1)

It is easy to understand that the development of a grapevine and of a bunch of grapes depend, aside from their own peculiar qualities, on two major influences. That of man and of his work, which expresses his mastery of techniques and his (very relative) understanding of nature; and that of the weather, of the whims of air and sky, in step with the seasons.

Man does not yet master them. It seems that he is now dreaming of literally being able to make rain and shine. Allow us to remain skeptical in the face of the wild hopes of such sorcerer’s apprentices. Of course, each wine grower dreams of an ideal world in which each cycle of showers and sun would unfold in response to the needs of the grapes growing on his rows of vines. Since, logically speaking, an ideal remains an ideal, the work of man is there to correct any detrimental influences and to optimise those that will produce the hoped-for grapes once harvest time has come. No year is quite like another. And each climate, each soil has its specific requirements. It is still possible, however, to describe broadly the main stages that mark the maturing of grapes in step with the seasons.

Sources: wikipedia, Dictionnaire Larousse du vin, L’univers du vin. Gardeners wishing to grow a few grapevines can also consult the Gerbaud.com website, which provides a wealth of useful indications.

Around the month of June, the first berries born of fertilized flowers appear on the grapevine. The others wither and die. In a few words, « L’univers du Vin » describes the appearance of the grapes, « initially tiny, green and hard, (which) grow very quickly ».

This is the time when maximum and constant care is needed, for several diseases, such as fungi or parasites, threaten production. Too much humidity favors them. Human intervention can check them, but any responsible winegrower will naturally limit the use of chemicals to what is strictly necessary. As soon as the first grapes have appeared, the attention lavished on them irremediably signs the know-how and method proper to each winegrower.

We have already spoken here of leaf stripping, which consists in giving the grapes better exposure by removing the leaves that hide them from the sun. When the clusters are too dense, each grape does not fully benefit from the gifts of soil and weather. This calls for « vintaging green », also known as « thinning », that is, removing supernumerary grapes. This will of course reduce the final yield, but all quality has a price, and this is one of the elements that explain it.

(to be continued)

Promenade...

                                 

In this summer periode, blogging life is going slow.. Let's appreciate this period of time for a small and nice promenade in our vineyards around the Castle...

                               

At one hundred meters from the castle, stands "Le Pigeonnier" which gives its name to our most prestigious vintage..."Le Pigeonnier" was elected by Wine Spectator in the Best 100 wines in the world....

Lagrezette supports the Saint-Céré Festival

As we already said, each summer, the Saint-Céré Voice Music Festival is announced among the highlights of the cultural and tourist season, between the Lot and the valley of the Dordogne. Let’s listen to its creator, Olivier Desbordes. The Saint-Céré Festival is a universe apart in the world of opera. Born of the choir music gatherings created in the 1960’s by Pierre Host, the Saint-Céré Festival was founded in 1980, (…) in order to bring cultural creation and events to a rural area. Our first dream was to stage operas in the courtyard of the Château de Castelnau-Bretenoux. In choosing historic and theatrical places, the purpose was not to breathe life into ancient stones, but rather to dare to confront a content with a new audience and to move opera out of its usual sanctuaries. A few years were enough to give birth to a new dream: to create a place where young artists could work. A place in which to experiment, to take risks that the great French opera houses could not and cannot take. Since then, generations of singers, musicians, conductors and directors, have “grown up” at Saint Céré... from the most modest to the most famous! It will not therefore come as a surprise to learn that the Domaine de Lagrézette, where art is present everywhere, supports the Saint Céré Festival (insert internet link here) through a grant in bottled form, thus providing a worthy accompaniment to the festival-goers’ dinners on the ramparts, in our region known for its superior gastronomy. This superb Festival will end August 16. You still have opportunities to go there...

The Cello Encounters in Belaye

Belaye is a small village perched on a height 30 kilometers from Cahors, looking out over the vineyards and over a bend in the Lot.

It now numbers no more than 200 people. And yet, every year for the past twenty years, it becomes a meeting place for the music lovers in the area. For twenty years now, Belaye has opened its doors to chamber music and first lends homage to cellists.

This year, from July 31 to August 8, there will be over twenty of them . They will perform works by the greatest composers, among them Beethoven, Haydn, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Honegger, Brahms, Janacek… We at Lagrézette are proud to take part in such a fine event by supplying wine to the diners taking part in the feasting surrounding the concerts. And of course we encourage all strollers to discover both a superb place and an event of international quality.

It’s a spot where you can experience one of those magic moments in which all the senses find themselves challenged.

http://violoncelle-belaye.site.voila.fr/

Roland Pidoux (picture) is the Artistic Manager of the Festival.

He teaches cello at The National Conservatoire de Paris.