Budbreak Walk
This year's budbreak walk took place in a vineyard close to the Canal du Midi and although it was a blowy day it was dry and the sun shined for us and we had a great turnout. We began the walk alongside the canal and headed for a Syrah vine where Emmanuel explained the training system he uses there which is called 'Guyot'. This training system is sometimes called 'Replacement Cane' because at the end of each year all the canes that held the grapes will be pruned off apart from one which will then be laid along the wire for the next year's growth. This method is generally used to encourage a higher yield and therefore only used for varieties that tend towards too low a yield, for although high yield should be avoided when aiming for quality wine, too low a yield may make that vineyard unsustainable.
 
The Syrah vines are planted on land that is just outside the Minervois appellation and Emmanuel therefore sells this fruit to be made into Pays d'Oc wine. A short walk up a slope in the direction of the canal brought us into the appellation and here Emmanuel has planted a block of Vermentino (Rolle in French) and right next to it Viognier which is now allowed in Minervois appellation wines. It was interesting to see that the Viognier vines were budding whereas the Vermentino had hardly begun which demonstrated nicely how some varieties are early and others are late budders. This also translates into the harvesting time so we can expect Vermentino to be one of the last of the white grapes to be harvested.
 
Emmanuel has trained these vines along a wire using a method called goblet which usually does not involve a wire. You will see goblet vines in Beaujolais and all across the south of France, in Languedoc as well as in the Côtes du Rhône and also in Spain as many Mediterranean vines do not need a wire for support and therefore this method is ideal. They look like an arm thrust up through the earth with gnarled fingers curling towards the sky. So why has Emmanuel trained them along a wire? The answer is to open the 'hand' and allow air to circulate easily and aerate the vines during times of humidity and so reduce the chance of mildew.
 
Back at the winery Leanne & Emmanuel had laid on a delicious apéro and gave us all the chance to taste the 2022 Grenache based wines for the first time and I can report to those who couldn't make it to the walk, that they are all delicious.