Pruning is a key work in vineyards cycle. Each gesture is important as it really engages the grow up and health of the vine, the quality of the harvest… Pruning is quite over, here’s time for binding just before buds burst.

Most of the time, cutted branches remain between the rows and then are grinded to fertilize soil.

Pneumatic tools are a great help for theses operations, requiring however, some physical strength and patience. Hundred and hundred hours are necessary, depending of course of the surfaces.

Traditional pruning and binding method in cognac vineyards is arch-trained or horizonally-tied « double Guyot  » and « Guillot-poussard ». A long branch with 8 at 10 buds is kept on each side of the trunk.

If it seems to be simple,gexperience is needed to be efficient. When you are in front of your first frapevine, pruning shear on hand, it’s not so easy to start,even if you have carrefully listened the explanations… At first time, I had the unpleasant feeling that the vine did not look like what I have learned !

At the end of the rows, vans and cars are used as rear base for material and mobile cafeteria : french saucisson, home made « pâtés », bread, cheese, hotdishes in a box and beverages, essential to get through the day. We are in France…

And to know more on the vine cycle

L’article Pruning and binding in the vines est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

More than 200 millions bottles in more than 150 world countries

For the fourth consecutive year, cognac continue to boom. Theses figures represent for nearly 25% of the total value of exported french wines and spirits.

According to the data collected by The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac US is on the top of the fist step of the podium « The dark spirits category is growing in the US market, encouraged by the historical presence of cognac and the constant investments of cognac houses » said Patrick Raguenaud, President of BNIC.

Shipments to the Far East have risen 13,5 % in volume in this period equaling a total of 60,9 million bottles. Sales are climbing again in China.

Cognac export volume 2017 2018

The dream team  of Cognac

This success is the result of a big dream team : 4309 winegrowers, 112 distillers, 279 cognac houses, without forget all different skills working for cognac. 60 000 persons are working  for this economy in the area.

Let’s have a look on precedent posts and links to highlight harvest time, distillation, work in vines, cooperage and so on …

http://livingincognac.com/en/cognac-harvest-days-the-crunch-time/

http://livingincognac.com/en/distiller-full-time-job-in-wintertime/

http://livingincognac.com/en/pruning-work-and-binding-the-vines-in-all-weathers/

http://livingincognac.com/en/toasting-the-barrelwedding-of-wood-and-fire/

L’article New record of volume and value for cognac export est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

Since an half century shape of cognac vineyard has changed, from low trained, narrowly-spaced vines to high-trained with 3 meters on average between each row. Pruning method follow the same evolution.

As an evidence, pruning is a crucial moment and cannot be done any which way. The know how of the winegrower is essential. Achieve pruning operation needs to learn about it in school and then experience. On this video, it seems to be simple, but he is an experimented guy. Pruning shear on hand, when  you are in front of your first vine, it is not so easy, even if you were a good student. It seems that the vine is not similar as that you have learned !

Nevertheless several methods are authorized depending for the vine, the choice of the winegrower, the age of the vine…

Traditional pruning method here is arch-trained or horizontally-tied Double Guyot and Guyot Poussard. On each side of the trunk, a long branch is kept with 8 to 10 buds.

With grapevine trunk diseases, a worldwide  plague on which numerous teams of international researchers work, such  INRA in France,  the pruning is now an issue of great importance.

Then theses branches are binded to the wire in an arch or horizontally

. Pneumatic tools are a great help for this operation requring, however, some physical strength and patience !

Hundred and hundred hours are necessary to end pruning, a winter time work. Cognac vineyards represent 75 000 ha !

At the end of the rows vans and cars are used as rear base for pruning material, and mobile cafeteria : french saucisson and home made « pâtés, bread and cheese, coffee, wine (with moderation!) water, essential to get through the day…  for theses tough guys and girls in their vines .

L’article Pruning work and binding the vines in all weathers est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

Courageous rose in the garden…

Not a reason for my friends winegrowers, to stop working in vines. Pruning is a winter activity, by any weather, rain, cold, windy… They are tough guys… and girls so. Hat, bonnet, gloves, parkas, wind-jackets, coffee in the cars, are essential.

Our small nice villages of cognac region seem to be asleep. Nobody in the streets of Trois Palis, even no dog or cat…

It was time to come back home near the fireplace. Surprise someone was already at the best place…

Philo, you’re exaggerating a little bit,  isn’it ?

What we do at the end of the week

As we are in low season, it’s for us the best moment to visit the nice exhibitions and natural sites just opened in our region called Nouvelle Aquitaine.

Lascaux IV : an awesome place, in Périgord or when up-to-date technologies  meet first painting  masterpieces.

The original cave of Lascaux,  a UNESCO world heritage site since 1979, is one of the most famous upper-paleolithic art in the world. Discovered in 1940, the cave is closed since many years to protect it. The new replica, called Lascaux 4 just opened  last december, is quite stunning !

900m2 of decorated walls have been produced by a french company called AFSP: a scientific, technological and artistic challenge realized by teams of highly skilled sculptural artists and specialist technicians. in less than 30 months.

Discovering  the replica in the almost complete darkness is as same as  if you were  in the true cave. The precision of the drawings, the colors, even the erosion of the rock are  reproduced in the finest details.

When you leave the replica, you can examine more in detail and at your time, the same drawings in the « atelier de Lascaux » helped by your digital device which give you more informations and more videos.

In fact, you can spend a lot of hours in this magic place. For thoses of you  too far from here, the exhibition Lascaux III travels around the world and is presently  in Japan. More than 200 000 visitors saw it in this country. To know more about click here

The international Cité du Vin , opened in Bordeaux last july, is a unique place devoted to the cultures of wine in  the world, and much  more than a museum. First the  architectural design is very impressive for its shape and audacious curves, as well as its ever-changing reflections depending on the moment of the day, or the sky luminosity.

There is no permanent collection, but a self-guided tour punctuated by 20 themed spaces explaining the culture of wine in an immersive, sensorial setting, helped by our  travelling-companion.

In the world wine tour, here in Mendoza Argentina

Scent and aroma workshop.

The end of the tour leads us up to the belvedere for a tasting of worldwide wines.

The ceiling is just amazing !

I deeeply recommend the 7 th floor restaurant to enjoy a gastronomic break with a nice view on Garonne and bridge « Chaban Delmas », name of a famous former mayor of Bordeaux and national politic personnality.

We appreciated a white wine from Vallée de Cafayate « San Pedro de Yacochuya » from Argentina, a good food pairing with the fish.

We need more than 3 hours as it’s said in the website.

Business week

Meeting in Rochefort. Even if the weather is not fine, I always take few minutes to walk along the « Corderie Royale ». This day was particularly cold with a tough north wind.  Anyway, I wanted to say hello to the l’Hermione Ship. Visits are closed till mid february.

To make a balance with the fresh températures, I decided to go for the blog to « Tonnellerie de Jarnac » and the « bousinage » workshop :  the kingdom of fire and wood and a fascinating moment. More about it here. 

Angoulême International Comics Festival

And last january a famous event takes place in Angoulême, the international comics festival, an extraordinary moment in the city. Exhibitions are also in the streets like « Gaston Lagaffe » in front of the townhall.

Some highligths of the events : conférences, exhibitions, book signing,…

Left down picture : what we see when you are VIP behind the wall of photographs !

And finally, the place to be is the Awards ceremony in theater.

I have choosen this picture as it is not so frequent, a stage with a majority of women !  « Prix de la Révélation » for the Young corean artist Ancco for « mauvaises filles » (bad girls)

A very busy month with awesome discoveries during resting time. Don’t forget that around the clock, distilleries are on till end of march.

L’article Chilling january in vineyards est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.