In the vineyards
Pruning is carried out in winter when the vines are dormant. Vines are pruned to train the plant to grow in an organised fashion, manage the rapport between wood, fruit and vegetation, prepare for rejuvenation and limit the quantity of grapes being produced. Quantity is sacrificed in favour of the quality of the fruit and to avoid causing stress to the plant.
Pruning can also be delayed to avoid the risk that the vines flower when spring frosts are still possible. In Champagne the temperature can fall below zero overnight in the unprotected vineyards and damage the vine's flowers, therefore affecting the pollination and fertilisation of the grapevine and the development of the grapes.
The pruning techniques used are finalized to sustain the health and vigour of the vine while managing the quantity and quality of the fruit to be produced. By controlling the number of shoots that the plant can produce the vines' reserves are concentrated on the production of a limited quantity of high quality grapes.
Vines are pruned to restrict the height of the plant and produce fruit nearer to the ground. The grapes benefit from both the sun's rays reflecting off the soil and the heat released from the ground in the evening coolness to help mature the fruit.
The regulations of the Appellation Champagne authorize the use of four specific pruning techniques:
- Taille Chabis
- Taille Cordon de Royat
- Taille Guyot
- Taille Vallée de la Marne
The Taille Chablis is a cane pruning technique with one or more 30cm long canes, charpantes, with fruit bearing extensions at the end.
The extensions are cut at 5 spur buds, yeux francs, for the Arbane, Chardonnay, Meunier and Petit Meslier grape varieties and at 4 spur buds for the Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir varieties. The height at the end of the spur bud extension must be less than 60cm above the ground.
At the base of the vine, on the stump or souche, there is a replacement spur, or courson, known as rachet cut to 2 spurs buds and a second rejuvenation courson known as rentrure also cut to 2 spur buds.
It takes approximately 200 hours to prune a hectare of vineyard, corresponding to 1 minute and 30 seconds per vine.
The Cordon de Royat is a form of spur pruning with one main permanent horizontal trunk3 also known as charpante, or cordon. It is positioned at no more than 60cm from the ground and its length can vary considerably.
Spurs2 (coursons) along the charpante are distanced at least 15cm from one another and are cut to a different number of spur buds or nodes (yeux francs) depending on the vigour of the grape variety. The Arbane, Chardonnay, Meunier and Petit Meslier grape varieties, are cut to 3 spur buds; while the other Pinot grape varieties (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir) are cut to 2.
The extension cane1 or prolongement at the end of the charpante is also cut to various lengths depending on the grape variety. Arbane, Chardonnay, Meunier and Petit Meslier are pruned to 5 spur buds; while the Pinot grape varieties are cut to 4.
The replacement cane 4, rachet, is pruned at the foot of the vine and is cut to 2 spur buds. It will be used in the following years to replace the old charpante and rejuvenate the plant. The new charpante (growth of the rachet) is trained alongside the older wood.
Rejuvenation is restricted to 20% of the plants in any single vineyard plot each year and a one year old replacement charpante cannot be replaced by another the year after.
It takes approximately 180 hours to prune a hectare of vineyard, equivalent to 1 minute and 20 seconds per vine.
The simple Taille Guyot is a cane pruning technique with a long cane from the previous year's rachet bent? with 10 nodes, yeux francs, and a spur cut to 3 yeux francs. The baguette is trellised with a maximum height of 50cm above the ground.
The double Taile Guyot has 2 baguettes from the previous year and 2 spurs cut to 2 yeux francs. The baguettes carry a maximum of 8 buds of which a maximum of 6 buds can be found after the elbow and tied up to the wire supports.
The asymmetric Taille Guyot has a rachet spur cut to 2 yeux francs, a long cane of 6 nodes from the previous year's growth and a fruit bearing extension with a maximum of 6 spur buds.
The Taille Guyot takes approximately 180 hours to prune a hectare of vineyard, corresponding to 1 minute and 20 seconds per vine.
The Taille Vallée de la Marne is a cane pruning technique that can only be applied to the Meunier grape variety and adapts well to below zero temperatures in early Spring.
It involves the bending? A cane from the previous year with a fruit bearing extension, prolongement, cut to no more than 6 spur buds and with a height of less than 50cm from the soil.
A baguette, a fruit bearing cane that grew from a previous year's rachet, is cut to 9 spur buds, yeux francs, and trailed alongside the other cane.
As it is impractical to grow a new baguette each year, it is possible to leave a rejuvenation spur trimmed to 2 yeux francs on one of the two canes. This spur is known as a rentrure.
It takes approximately 180 hours to prune a hectare of vineyard, corresponding to 1 minute and 20 seconds per vine.
