Vincent & Tania Carême have planted a new parcel called Les Granges in the village of Noizay this past week.
Growers tend to plant parcels in the spring rather than the autumn (contrary to what you might think). Planting in the spring has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Vines have the chance to become established before they enter dormancy in the winter but they may require watering during the summer months if the weather is hot.
Irrigation is forbidden in the vineyards of Vouvray so there are no sprinkler systems installed up on the plateau. Watering vines is hard work and involves taking a trailer and tank of water up to the vines.
Vincent hand grafts his own vines. This sytem is called selection massale. He takes cuttings from vines in his best vineyards, hand grafts them onto a phylloxera resistant rootstock, dips them in wax and leaves them in sand to grow roots.
In the spring, the baby vines are then planted out. The roots are trimmed and they are buried right up to the grafting point (the point where the rootstock meets the cutting).
Very soon, the new vines start to push (as you can see in the picture).
A more common way would be to buy ready grafted baby vines from the local pepinieriste (vine supplier).
By hand grafting from fine quality vines, Vincent and Tania can ensure they have the best chance of reproducing fine quality wine from an early age.
