As life today becomes increasingly complex, we are all looking to simplify choices, whether at home, at work or even in our free time. We all want to believe that in response to the onslaught of information and the growing number of decisions to be made, a standardized and systematic approach is a factor of […]
The trade press is just beginning to talk about a topic that greatly concerns many winemakers here in France – the sharp increase in vine mortality due to what is euphemistically called “wood diseases.” Every year, an average plot in France can lose between 1.5% and 3.5% of its population (in a decade that means […]
A wine owes its character to the potential of its soil and how it’s interpreted by the winemaker. I often compare winemaking to music — the results depends both on the musical score and the musician. Reducing the equation to just these two parameters is a simplification that I can easily overlook, but it ignores […]
The vineyard I’m looking at from my window this morning is shaggy with chaotic vines, bristling with wild weeds and mottled by spots of mildew from the recent rains. Some years back I would have thought “what messy work” and today I find it just beautiful. I learned to take care of vineyards before understanding […]
Did you know that in France Mourvèdre used to also go by the name of the “Plant of Saint Gilles”? Check out this extract from the Pacific Rural Press in 1881 ! In fact, Mourvèdre used to be a principal varietal of our region’s vineyards, especially around the abbey of Saint Gilles, where the monks […]
As nature awakens and the 2014 vintage begins, I wanted to share with you some of the things we do in our vineyards to preserve the delicate balance of an entire ecosystem. Much of our appellation, Costières de Nîmes, still enjoys a rich biodiversity, which is why it was chosen as one of four sites […]
I’d like to introduce you to an occurrence called shattering, an event that happens in the lifecycle of a vine that is often perceived as bad news but can instead be a factor of quality. I made a little video about it a few weeks ago while I was in a young Grenache vineyard (4th […]
A few days ago, while walking a row of our parcel of baby Mourvèdre I couldn’t resist taking this picture. It shows how exceedingly well our September cover crop seeding has taken off. The intelligent use of cover crops not only respects our appellation’s engagement to ensure ecological diversity in our vineyards: the mixture of […]
Pruning is a delicate and crucial task for the lives of our vineyards. It determines in great part the evolution of each vine with respect to its growth, health, form, and the quantity and quality of its grapes at harvest. The objective of pruning is to train vines to produce without excess, in order to concentrate the natural sugars and flavors in the summer, and evenly distribute the grapes on the vines so that they can […]
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