Sunday, 17 February 2008

Pruning vines, Alsheim, Germany, Tuesday 12th February 2008



To appreciate what lies behind a good bottle of wine, it is most enjoyable to experience each stage of the process. Award-winning wine maker, Karl Breth http://www.weingut-breth.de/ was my teacher.

Here am I, laden with a battery power pack and powerful electric secateurs, cutting out all of the previous year's growth, except a single cane. This is then bent over to allow new shoots to grow upwards from the one new stem.
Only two supporting wires were cut as I was getting the hang of the task!



The cut vines are later removed and placed between the rows. They are then mulched by a tractor to produce humus to maintain soil structure.

Wine has been made here in Rheinhessen since Roman times and the soil needs all the help it can get.

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