In summer, it is said that the vine is in veraison that is to say that the grape grains begin to tint beautiful purple colors: a mosaic of colors.
This is a key moment when the grape berries are loaded with sugar, which later will turn into alcohol during alcoholic fermentation, polyphenols , the anthocyanins responsible for the color of the wine.
Important step where the grapes begin to load in richness, and in particular in tannins that will give the first structure to the future wine.
In the fall, change is everywhere you look. The vines show reds and golds as they say goodbye to the green of summer. The leaves float on the ground.
Dormancy begins gradually and approaches a long winter sleep.
Due to changes in the duration of daylight and changes in temperature, the leaves stop the process of photosynthesis. Chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange and red colors become visible and give the leaves some of their autumnal splendor.
In winter, while the village is still sleeping, the vines warm up to the first rays of the sun that sting through the mist that rises.
The vine is still dormant but will gradually come out of its winter lethargy. Winter pre-pruning is often completed as well as the burning or grinding of the shoots. Some winemakers will make a new pruning until the first buds come out.
With the spring, the vine continues its awakening and the budburst continues: the buds open and small leaves appear, the branches and the leaves grow, the sap circulates again in the plant. The pruning is finished and the winegrowers tie the vine horizontally on wires to maintain the shoots.
It is also the time of the suckering or disbudding: the removal of excess branches to suppress the non fruit bearing young shots.
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