MARCH

Gradually the nights shorten and the days become longer. The first primroses appear on the edges of the slopes protected from the frosts. In the afternoon the silvery willow catkin shine in the sun in the bare bushes. Timidly spring is showing its face from the ground up.
An old saying warns us of the impending arrival of the new season: "If you want to drink, prune your vine by Saint-Grégoire (12th of March)". Indeed, by that date one should have completed this wintry task that has to be accomplished during the dead season, before the rising of the sap.
As soon as the pruning has been completed, the branches that have either been put into a heap or that are lying scattered on the ground have to be burnt, crushed or cut into small pieces. In the vineyards where this task can be mechanised, this does not represent a problem: a powerful grinder will hack them at ground level.
However, on the steep slopes surrounded by walls, this task is not so easy; we have to move from one piece of land to the other a mechanical cutter, which crumbles a bundle of branches at a time. No wine-grower really likes this arduous task because even if well bundled, the crooked and twisted branches hook up everywhere, on the vine-stick, the wiring and even on the clothes. It is not rare to hear at times some tremendous oaths, of course they are not solving the problem, but it nevertheless helps.
These crumbled branches are a good source of mould and given back to the vine in this way, they also are an important physical help against erosion.
Some vineyards look like thick high walls. They are all man-made and necessitate a permanent maintenance. Every twenty-five years, when the vine has to be replanted, we take advantage of the bare ground to undertake the necessary work to ensure the longevity of the walls.
Most of the time the winegrower organises this work himself and ensures that it is well done. It is an interesting job that calls for concentration: heavy stones for the foundation, then wedge and cement, respecting the necessary gradient, grout and plaster to hold everything together.
Indeed, such a wall is made up of innumerable stones. None is the same; they differ in size and form. However, large and small ones are needed; they complete each other to make up a unit sufficiently strong to ensure the perpetuity of the vineyard. Often we stand in admiration of the huge blocs of stone that were brought in and erected many centuries ago and that still stay strong today. How did our forefathers manage to wedge them in such a solid manner? They probably used the same secrets as those who built the cathedrals.
After the walls have been repaired and the winds and the sun have dried out the soil, it is high time to trench the ground. This is no longer done manually. We use a windlass that winds a cable attached to a plough with a big blade in order to better cut up the sod. This is teamwork and demands good coordination.
For some years now mechanised and mobile shovels have replaced the other methods of rooting up. They can even be brought to the slopes by helicopter.
They look like big yellow spiders hung up in the vineyards. The driver has to be courageous and at times even daring to manipulate this equipment on the steep and giddy slopes.
While the sod is being turned, the winegrower takes advantage to introduce a well-adapted mixture of ingredients to ensure the fertility of the new vines. Once this is completed, everything is in good order: the walls have been repaired, the sod turned and the soil well fed.
Springtime, we are ready for you. We all are awaiting you. You will wake up nature from its winter lethargy, you will make the vines bleed, you will make come out of the soil so many wonders. We are all looking forward to spring, you are the powerful catalyst of the revival.