Guest PostTasteWines and Spirits of Provence

Pruning Grapevines in Provence is Hard Work

For grapevines to continue producing high-quality grapes, they need annual pruning. This activity is time-consuming, physical and necessary for the long term health of the vines. Göran Boman, the author of The Wines of Provence – Tricolour, wrote the article below. Based in Sweden, far from Provence’s vineyards, he has visited many times, and his knowledge of the vineyards and wines of the region is impressive.


Pruning Methods

There are only two pruning methods in Provence, Gobelet, a free-growing bush-form that comes from the French word for goblet (Gobelet) and Cordon de Royat, where the double version with “arms in both directions” is the most common.

Pruning Grapevines in Provence

Gobelet

The Gobelet pruning gives a more three-dimensional shape that can protect the bunches of grapes from the scorching sun, which can otherwise provide tons on boiled or dried fruit. On the other hand, the Cordon de Royat pruning is more labour-intensive as the shoots later must be tied up on steel wires, allowing mechanical harvesting of the grapes.

Pruning Grapevines in Provence

Cordon Royat

When you see the manual grape harvest, it looks quite inconsolable with row after row of grapes to be harvested in a short time, so a large and happy crew is required during the harvest if it is not done mechanically. In the same way, it looks inconsolable during the pruning work, but even here, there is a whole crew out doing the pruning.

During the growing season, the vine looks strong with all its shoots with bunches of grapes, but when the leaves have fallen off, it is reminiscent of a furry dog that comes up from the bath, i.e. a rather slender creature. Also, it is fascinating that the vine can withstand such hard pruning where virtually 100% of last year’s branches are cut off. Keep reading here to find out when to prune the vines.


Tending the Vines

The reality is winemakers encounter challenges every month of the year. Mother Nature continually delivers unpredictable weather that might result in drought conditions, late spring frosts and 2021 high winds and fire.

Grape Harvest Tour du Bon The Wines of Provence – Tricolour

Winter pruning looks severe, but we know that grapes grow on old rootstock. Buds on older branches yield leaves or shoots. So, we get rid of the old branches to get fruit on every branch in the next growing season.

May is a critical month in the lifecycle of the vines in Provence. In April, the buds break and swell to show the first leaves and future branches. Then follows the critical process of ebourgeonnage’ or de-budding; the viticulturalist and their team select the branches that will help produce the best quality grapes.

Another pruning occurs during veraison (fruit ripening period) in the summer. At this time, the grape bunches are thinned out so that all of the remaining fruit is well-nourished (and does not exhaust the vine), and so they won’t be too crowded together, allowing air to move freely around them and keep them healthy.

.

Please share this with friends and family.

All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.
Syndication Information
Affiliate Information
As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.
Previous post

Exploring from Apt 4 Day Trips in the Vaucluse

Next post

Classic French Madeleine Recipe from Duchess Bake Shop in Edmonton

Guest Post

No Comment

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.