March in the vineyard

“Vineyard and cellar – 1910” is a series of articles that we present to you throughout the year 2020, month by month. The articles are taken from the 1910 “Wine Trade Directory” and describe the various works necessary for the grapes and wine production at the beginning of the 20th century.    

March in the vineyard

  During the month of March, the work in the vineyard was marked, at that time, by the end of the work of pruning the vine, the establishment and maintenance of trellising, the spreading and the first plowing of the vineyard ground.  

Here is what can be read in March in the Wine Trade Directory from 1910 :

  Vineyard grading – The grading is done in March, immediately after the last winter season. The stems, trimmed and sulphated, are sunk 25 to 30 centimeters, depending on the height of the vine. Fixed trellising, in lines and wire, can replace mobile stakes. The wires used for trellising must be visited. The repairs are of particular interest to support posts and tensioning devices. As soon as the supports are in place, it is advantageous to tie the base of the stumps, in order to keep them in a suitable position.   Pruning and manners – As pruning, we will finish that of the only shortened branches. We will transport and spread the fertilizers. We will proceed to the first plowing. We will operate, at the beginning of the first fortnight in the South, at the end in the Center and the North, the preventive painting with acid iron sulphate against anthracnose.    

Nowadays in March

  The trellising of the vine is used in most vineyards to raise the foliage so it will be straight above the base and well exposed to light. The stems are spaced along the row of vines and support the lifting wires which are responsible for maintaining the foliage. The stems were sulfated at the time to protect them from decay. Today, the winegrowers use stakes in galvanized steel or in wood: autoclave-treated pine or acacia and chestnut naturally rot-proof.