There are a number of vineyard practices that are routinely done in the Springtime and in recent years we have seen more and more growers working their soil mechanically instead of using chemicals. So what exactly is décavaillonnage?
Décavaillonage involves pulling back the soil from underneath the vines (the cavaillon) and turning it over. Commonly done from the beginning of February if the weather permits, it limits the risk of frost by removing the weeds growing under the vines which may limit the soil’s capacity to heat up during the night time. It’s a very important job and great care has to be taken not to damage the vines in the process.
Removing the soil mechanically is the organic approach at Domaine Ogereau
It’s lovely to see vineyards in such good condition such as this one belonging to Domaine Ogereau in the Layon valley
It can be done using a tractor which has a sensor and avoids damaging the vines, going round them or it can be done using a horse, something that we are seeing more of in recent years as growers move towards organic and bio-dynamic viticulture. Horses stop when they sense even a tiny bit of resistance and so there is less likelihood of damage to the vines. It also allows old parcels that are not planted in perfect lines to be worked whereas this would not be possible using a tractor. Another advantage is that a horse can be taken onto the vineyard after wet weather as it will not damage the soil structure, something that must be avoided at all costs.
Arnaud Lambert working the soil using Scarlet in his Clos Moleton vineyard in the Saumur Champigny appellation
It is obviously much slower to use a horse than a tractor – around 8 hours a hectare.
A big positive of working the soil mechanically is that we are seeing fewer herbicides used to control the weeds under the vines (something that is not nice to see).
Here’s a link to a website in French that gives lots more information about using horses in the vineyard.
