They say that about houses don’t they? Location, location location! And it’s the same with vines.
Where vines are planted has a big impact upon many things. When the buds will burst, how protected they are from frost and how susceptible they are to disease to name just a few things.
Last week we were driving through the vineyards of Saumur Champigny on our way back from La Levée de la Loire tasting and stopped off to have a peek in the famous vineyard Le Clos d’Entre les Murs in Parnay.
I talked about this historic vineyard during our last Zoom tasting. If you remember it’s a vineyard that was created and planted by Antoine Cristal at the end of the 19th century.
There are a series of 60cm thick walls, and vines are trained through holes in the walls. The end result is that the roots are on the north side (protected from the heat and ensuring less water stress during dry spells) and the foliage and grapes are on the south side (receiving maximum sun exposure and protection from the walls).
Vines in the clos are always a couple of weeks ahead of other vineyards in the area. It’s clear to see and that’s where I took this picture of a woolly bud.
Being a couple of weeks ahead can be a curse and a blessing. At this time of year the main preoccupation is whether or not we’ll have sharp frost after budburst after the terrible damage last year. So, vines that are further on in their development could potentially be at greater risk.
