09 Jan Planting a New Vineyard | Cinsault
Recently, we planted a new vineyard. As you can imagine, this doesn’t happen all that often, so the occasion becomes quite auspicious on the farm. The process may seem straightforward – dig a couple of holes, put some baby grapevines in them and fill the hole up again – but since the vines could potentially be there for many, many (many) years, it’s important for the vines to be planted carefully.
Firstly, the soil is cleared and plowed. After that, careful measurements are made in order to ensure that the rows of vines are as perfectly straight as can be. This allows for easier harvesting later on. As you can see, measuring out an entire block is quite a process in itself!
Donald Mouton, our farm manager, gave the Cinsault planting team a short lesson on the effect that differently dug holes have on grapevine root systems.
In some heavier soils, unless one digs a hole in just the right way, the roots can become constrained and aren’t able to grow in the way that they should. This impacts the ability of the plant to absorb nutrients from the soil, which in turn affects the health of the vines, and ultimately the taste and quality of the wine.
Finally, the new Cinsault vines are planted! After all of the digging and measuring, seeing a field full of the final product is a sight to behold. These vines are destined to become bush vines, and will only be able to be harvested in 2020.
We’re already looking forward to it!
