Le Vignoble is a passion, but also an opportunity to share activities with winemakers and friends.
You’ll find the latest news on our activities below. If you’d like to join us for harvesting or other activities, we’d love to hear from you: leave us your e-mail address and we’ll contact you when the time comes.
Winegrowers will find useful information: a box on the next steps in vineyard maintenance, and below some reference documents.
As soon as possible : – 2 rods (1 if the plant is weak); cut off the other rods, – 6 buds or less per rod, – 2 buds on the reserve – Remove the base buds except for 1 (future spur).
Removing buds and green shoots in May determines how many bunches will grow later, i.e. the structure of the plant. This controls the plant’s production and ensures its longevity.
Single guyot
For weaker plants, simple guyot pruning helps ripen the grapes, avoid “runts” and avoid overloading the plants.
1 – Removing excess canes
No more than 2 rods (double guyot).
In autumn, some growers have left extra canes to protect themselves in the event of bud freeze. Now is the time to prune them.
2 – Removing excess buds from rods (no more than 6 per rod)
Control the number of bunches that will grow. So as not to exhaust the plant, for more beautiful bunches.
We can now determine this number by removing excess buds.
3 – Reserves: we keep only 2 buds.
These will give us 2 spurs which will become next year’s rods during autumn pruning.
4 – The base of the plant
The buds at the base of the plant must be removed. They multiply and exhaust the plant.
You can keep 1 bud, the one best situated to become a reserve in autumn.
Trim:
– The leaf at the back of the bunch, – The leaves covering the bunches and the stump, – The 3rd bunch, any surplus bunches, – Any bunches on the spurs (future baguette).
Why remove leaves?
-Aeration of bunches to prevent disease,
-Bunches must be exposed to light,
-To allow the application of treatments needed to protect the bunches.
What to prune?
– The leaf at the back of the bunch to increase sap supply. Sap destined for the leaf will be redirected to the cluster.
– Prune the leaves to clear the base of the plant and the bunches.
When to prune bunches?
You need to prune during bunch closure (early July). The weight of the remaining bunches and their sugar content will increase.
But if we prune later (veraison), the weight of the other bunches will not benefit from the pruning.
What to prune?
-Prune excess bunches of 20-24 per plant, depending on vigour (10-12 per stick).
-Small, incomplete bunches.
–Remove any bunches on the spurs.
–The third bunch on the same shoot should be pruned. This bunch has grown after the others: it will affect the taste of our wine, since it will not be ripe like the others on harvest day. For the growth of next summer’s baguette
To get good-sized baguettes in the autumn, we need to prune the bunches on the spurs to encourage spur growth (spurs: shoots that will become baguettes in the autumn pruning).
As soon as the plants are deciduous : –
At the end of October, the leaves change color and no longer photosynthesize. Plants become deciduous. It’s time to prune in anticipation of spring.
1 – The wood
It’s time to prune the Guyot canes that have produced this year and become “wood”.
2 – The new baguette
From the sprigs we’ve kept, we fold 2 horizontally. Choose the largest ones, those best placed to lie on the bottom spindle. These will be the sticks that produce next summer.
3 – Reserves (2 buds each)
1 or 2 more spurs will be pruned after the 2nd bud. In a year’s time, in autumn, they will give us the rods for the following summer. Caution – do not cut too short
When cutting baguette or other stems, don’t cut too close to the trunk. This causes necrosis.
In other words, the death of part of the trunk tissue. It’s better to cut less close to the trunk and come back later, in spring, when the stem end has dried, to cut it off.
In the spring
What if a tub freezes and doesn’t make it through the winter? If you leave more than 2 sticks this autumn for fear of frost, don’t forget to remove the excess sticks in the first days of May!
In early June, the vines bear what appear to be “mini-clusters”. The little buds are actually flowers that open in mid-June.
Before working on your plants, you should check whether your plants have flowered, i.e. whether the flowers in your row have opened. Different grape varieties do not flower at exactly the same time.
Working the vines during the flowering period risks damaging fertilization, resulting in fewer grapes.
This is the period when coulure and millerandage can occur..
La Coulure
At flowering time, the floral caps open and fall, releasing pistils and stamens for fertilization. When under certain conditions (rain, wind, cold) the flowers can’t get rid of their floral cap, they can’t be fertilized. This is the coulure. The result is sparse clusters.
Millerandage
Certain conditions lead to imperfect fertilization of the flowers. Underdeveloped fruit will result in grapes that remain small. This is the millerandage.
Notes de cours sur la taille (2015)
Guide d’identification des principales maladies de la vigne Agriculture et agroalimentaire Canada
Agri-Réseau Avertissements et Bulletins d’information
Les bourgeons et le gel – photos Agri-Réseau Bulletin no 01 de 2014
