Roots, But Also Wings

A lot of the debate focuses solely on the harvest date. However, we must avoid such simplification; wine cannot be judged by the picking date only. In my opinion, the solution lies definitely elsewhere than in harvesting unripe grapes. We surely cannot harvest too late (and make 'old-fashioned' wines), but picking al dente grapes in the pursuit of modern wine isn't a solution either.

We must first and foremost make wine that we can, what our soil and region will allow. Not what we want. We must embrace change. The worst thing is to believe that we should preserve a recipe simply for the sake of tradition. We have roots, but we must also have wings.

So what should we do? Cool the soil. The key is not to open it and prevent evaporation. Use cover crops. I often hear that these are a huge competitor for vines, but it is not quite so. The roots of the vines are at different depths. Or at least they should be. We have to make them grow there. Another important precaution is not to cut the grass cover, because that leads to selection and often only one type of grass remains in the vineyard.

This all entails a significant reduction of yields, logically. 15 years ago, our average yield was in the range of 40-45 hl/ha. Now, in some vineyards, we are at 15-25 hl/ha. However, the quality of the wine is radically different and we welcome this.

Palissage. Allow the vines to grow and do not cut off the apex, the ends of vigorous shoots. The plant forms a natural shade for itself. When the above-ground part grows, the roots grow as well, because this growth is provided by the same hormone. How much deeper could the root systems of our vines be if winemakers had not spent the last 50–60 years shaping their vineyards into the gardens of Versailles? Another advantage is that when a plant does not produce new secondary leaves, it can substantially reduce its water consumption. Moreover, the resulting wines are not so 'angular' because the secondary leaves encourage the production of malic acid in the grapes.

Newly planted vineyards. Increase the density of plants per hectare. Plants naturally shade each other out more and competition forces roots to grow deeper. This is one method of responding to prolonged drought periods. If we increase the number of vines per hectare, it will not increase the overall yield per hectare, the amount of grapes you get from the vineyard remains the same. We reduce the yield on individual plants, which is important for the concentration and good structure of the wines. The vineyard aspect is also important – when we plant new vineyards nowadays, we are not looking for "perfect" southern slopes, but rather western or even northern orientation.

Pruning. If it's possible for us, the later the better. Ideally in March, as this will delay the vegetation processes in the plants and we decrease the risk of losing the crop to spring frosts.

Cellar work. Making elegant wine in recent years is not just a problem of sugar per se, but of the ratio of glucose vs fructose, in favour of fructose, which yeasts don't like at all, so it's harder to dry ferment wines nowadays. I remember 20 years ago it took 8, 10, 12 days of ripening to get one percent potential alcohol in the grapes. Nowadays, grapes ripen much faster, and it often takes only 3 to 5 days to produce 1.5 to 2.0% potential alcohol.

The quality of harvests has also changed. About 20-25 years ago, I remember that in a decade there were 2 excellent vintages, 6 mediocre ones and 2 difficult ones when the grapes did not even ripen. Today, we have 5-6 very good harvests and there are simply no harvests where the grapes would not ripe. The change that is taking place has some positive sides, too and we need to look for them – like the fact that we get ripe grapes year after year. (In Bordeaux, for example, the last warm harvests are the best rated. So far, the wines seem to be good now even in the warmest years, but of course we don't know the future, in 30 years it could be a disaster.)

The fact that we pick at earlier dates when it's warmer also makes the work of our natural yeasts easier. I remember we'd often harvest in November when the temperature dropped below 5 degrees Celsius. Fermentation would stop and didn't start again until around Easter. In general, I think constant, uninterrupted fermentation is better for the precision and vitality of the wine. For me, to have spontaneous, gradual fermentation lasting 3-4 weeks is currently the ideal.

Careful extraction. Generally we don't follow trends, we simply need to harvest ripe grapes and vinify them in the right way. For white wines we don't want any extraction that would lower their acidity and raise the pH. For red wines, we need to extract the right way. We choose the right length of vinification, with fewer punchdowns or pump overs. We don't really believe in short infusions. We need perfect polymerisation. We try to use all lees. At the beginning of their journey, the wines can seem a bit rustic, but in the long run it's essential to get full structure and energy.

However, what we strive for and what we are passionate about takes place entirely in the vineyards. Thanks to the practices I mention, we will have lower yields and at least twice as much work. But we simply cannot achieve the best results without this. Vineyards have always needed and will always need a certain amount of labour. Manual labour. Unpopular especially nowadays when everything is mechanised and there is a huge shortage of agriculture workers. But this is exactly what makes the difference. Between the wines made with painstaking amount of work and care and these made with the main goal of maximum volume and minimum effort.

There is another important fact: we as farmers must and will have to be able to accept that we are working with the fragile conditions of agriculture, of working with nature. We have to be so strong that even a lost vintage will not break us. Let's not complain, let's adapt. Yes, the climate change is our new reality, but the vine is such a wonderful plant. In the end it doesn't even need much water, nutrients or growth. So I remain optimistic.