During winter, pruning represents about three months of work, during which our vineyard team must face sometimes harsh weather conditions. This long phase, though seemingly tedious, is crucial for the upcoming harvest.
It’s natural to wonder why pruning is so important and how it actually takes place at Château d’Eyran. We’ll explain everything here!
What is pruning?
Pruning is a process that involves removing the excess wood from the previous year to guide the growth of the new vine. About 80% of the wood from the year (buds), called canes, is cut. Once pruning is completed, our team will ‘drop the wood.’ The canes are then separated from the vine and placed on the ground in the middle of the row. This isn’t the end of their story; two futures await them.
Scenario 1: Anticipating the summer season (10% of the canes)
With the owners’ permission, some people come to collect the canes and patiently store them until the sunny days arrive. Vine wood proves to be the perfect fuel for grilling, providing abundant, hot embers, and especially that characteristic smoky flavor that enhances the meats (the famous ‘Bordeaux ribeye with canes’).
Scenario 2: Returning to the source (90% of the canes).
The canes that don’t find a home will be mechanically shredded and reintegrated into the soil. This is an ecological way to clean the vineyard, nourish our soils, eliminate waste, and enter a virtuous cycle. Returning this organic matter rich in minerals to the soil also helps replace fertilizers while benefiting soil life and structure (preventing compaction).
But beyond this beneficial aspect for the soil and its regeneration, pruning primarily serves a major purpose for the plant.
Why prune?
It’s said that in the vineyard, an ideal winter is a long, cold winter. However, in recent years, we’ve noticed increasingly mild winters, leading to buds opening earlier and earlier.
The earlier a vine buds, the more it is susceptible to spring frost damage. Therefore, it’s essential to implement a suitable pruning strategy to minimize these risks and effectively manage this critical period.
The budding of the vine is the first stage of the vine’s growth cycle. During this phase, the buds develop and open, revealing a fuzz called ‘bourre,’ which will later become the vine’s leaves
Indeed, some grape varieties naturally bud earlier than others. Varieties like Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Merlot are pruned last to delay bud break as much as possible and to protect the future harvest. Cabernet, being naturally later, is often pruned first.
An early variety is a grapevine that naturally buds earlier than other varieties.
Why not prune everything in March to avoid spring frost?
We choose never to finish pruning with white grape varieties, as they are particularly early. We want to avoid overlapping certain stages. For example, if bud break occurs at the same time as tying and bending, there’s a high chance of damaging the bud and losing a considerable amount of time. »
‘Sécaillage,’ sometimes referred to as ‘carassonnage,’ involves controlling and maintaining the vine’s trellising to ensure proper support. This means checking the condition of the stakes and, if necessary, replacing them, repairing any faulty wires, managing tension, and so on.
Bending is a step that involves tying the cut cane to a horizontal wire to control the vine and better distribute the grape clusters.
However, this is not the only factor to consider. To maximize our chances and protect the future harvest, we also take into account frost protection methods when choosing the pruning order. Thus, plots equipped with micro-sprinkler systems, which are the most protected, will be pruned first, followed by plots protected by wind machines, and finally, those without protection.
Based on these various criteria (installations and varieties), our team creates a schedule and navigates between multiple plots and stages, which sometimes means pausing pruning to start another task and returning to it later. This good coordination is essential to ensure that each operation is completed at the right time.
How to prune ?
At Château d’Eyran, we have chosen a Mixed Guyot pruning method, which involves leaving one cane with 6 buds on one side (called ‘latte’ or ‘aste’) and a cane with 2 buds opposite (called ‘courson’). Regulating the number of buds allows us to control both the quantity and quality.
These buds are selected to be as well-positioned and spaced as possible. This allows the foliage and grape clusters to develop properly and helps prevent rot. This pruning method will be alternated every other year to reverse the sap flow and ensure a balanced nourishment of the different buds.
Each vine requires special care and individual analysis. The team considers the vigor and behavior of the vine to adapt the pruning. We think about two things: the annual production that will determine the upcoming vintage, and the long-term training of the vine. It is then possible to adjust the pruning and remove buds if necessary.
Of course, there are standards and quotas to respect according to the specifications. In Pessac-Léognan, we have a maximum of 12 buds per vine, with a deadline for pruning (before the 2nd or 3rd spread leaf stage).
What equipment to use?
In December, the first part of the team, consisting of 3 people, started pruning, and then 2 more joined in January.
Concerned for the health of our team, we opted for equipment suited to the demands of the task and the fatigue it can cause.
Firstly, the entire team is equipped with electric pruners to reduce strain on the hands and wrists. We also invested in carts, called mini-scooters from the Humeau company. With 3 available, they allow our workers to prune while seated, providing a good view of the vine, while also protecting them from the elements and reducing fatigue. The carts are shared, and a rotation occurs naturally at the end of the rows.
These tools help approach this challenging and lengthy period with greater ease and are fully aligned with our company’s philosophy.
You’ve understood that pruning is a particularly important step in grape production. From this point on, our team will focus on how to produce the highest quality, so we can offer you complex and refined wines each year.
Do you have any questions? Would you like to learn more about a specific topic?
Feel free to reach out to us!
