The vine rows are still visible in this photo. There are even some grape plants trying to come back from roots left behind. I'm assuming this parcel will be replanted, probably next spring after another winter lying fallow. It's one of several parcels out back that have been ripped up over the last couple of seasons.
What's in store for this parcel?
I don't know what prompts the growers to remove and replace vines. Age? Disease? A changeover to organic growing methods? It might be that the growers want to include more parcels in the recently (2011) sanctioned Touraine-Chenonceaux appellation. That means sauvignon blanc for white wine and côt (malbec) and cabernet franc for the reds.
To me it looks like it’s already been replanted. No?
ReplyDeleteWe’ll have to be patient until next spring. You are very good at that. :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, maybe they’ll plant Welch’s. (Wait, does Welch’s use real grapes?)
ReplyDeleteIf your trees grow old and die within a couple of decades, I imagine grape vines would as well. And letting a field lie fallow for a year or so is healthy, no?
ReplyDeletechm, no, not yet. Those grape leaves you see are sprouting from roots.
ReplyDeletebettyann, ha!
mitch, as long as they're not the grapes of wrath.
emm, I know that some of the vines were around a hundred years old. I think lying fallow, or planting with a cover crop, is a good thing in general, so maybe it's good for vineyards, too. Although, vines are known to thrive in poor soil. So, I guess I don't know the answer. ;)
I read wineries are always trying to predict what the customers want; this takes a few years to grow the vines so their projections they hope are right. In the states vines are replaced most often for what they think will sell.
ReplyDelete