Every season, grape growing requires a variety of specific jobs:

– Winter: the winter (December to March) isreserved for pruning the vines, a very important and long operation that determines the development of the vine and its future production.

– Spring: Spring is a busy time as the vines require a lot of attention. Budding in April is rapidly followed by plenty of lush vegetation! By manually de-budding and removing the sucker shoots, we can remove the buds and side branches that are not needed and were missed during pruning on the top and trunk of the vine. As the vegetation continues to grow, the trellising wires must be lifted and then trim it as you go. This is also the time to cultivate the soil and protect the vineyards against pests and diseases.

Early spring is also when we replace the missing vines by young shoots.

– Summer: trimming and trellising continue until the plant stops growing, the schedule is very busy until late July. August is a relatively calm time for the winemaker! We let the grapes gently ripen in the sun. Regular checks on the ripening enable us to assess the harvest date more acurately.

A last trim will be done just before harvesting to eliminate the grapillons and facilitate access to the grape clusters for the pickers.

– Late summer – early autumn: The harvest marks the end of the maintenance period of the vines and the start of winemaking. The grape picking is done by hand using small 90L trucks to handle the grapes as carefully as possible. We use traditional Beaujolais winemaking methods where the whole grape clusters are introduced into the tank for a semi carbonic maceration.

– Autumn: is winemaking time, the winemakers are in the cellar. The vines will rest quietly until the leaves drop off and pruning starts again!

 Winemaking:

From when they change colour during ripening, we regularly monitor the ripeness to be able to choose the perfect timing for harvesting. The grape picking is done by hand on all of our plots.

The red Beaujolais Villages grapes are turned into wine in open concrete tanks. Fermentation will take 1 to 2 weeks depending on the plots, the maturity of the grapes and the type of wine sought after. We use traditional Beaujolais winemaking methods where the whole bunches of grapes are placed in the tank.

The aging process of the wine is essentially takes place in the tanks.

A selected wine is aged in oak barrels for 6 to 12 months.

Beaujolais Rosé:  Rosé winemaking is created by direct pressing, cold settling. The fermentation has a duration of about 20 days at a temperature of 15 ° C. The aging process happens in the tank. The rosé is then bottled in early spring.

Maceration for our Moulin-à-Vent takes a long time in the tank. The Chénas enjoys its winemaking process in barrels.