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Our Vineyards The Seasons of the Vineyard The Wine Grower's Task
 

A great Wine is born of the talent of the Growers.
The vineyard has the potential for quality but only the talent of the grower and the genius of the winemaker can create a great wine.
Our quest for perfection means that we only use the very best. We have our own methods which are generally more severe than those commonly applied in Alsace.
Every year we select the plots where the vines appear to fulfill our specific requirements. We thin out the crop by eliminating some of the bunches to encourage greater concentration in the others. We delay the date of the harvest with the sole aim of obtaining maximum maturity. We pick our grapes by hand and our wines are made with an equal desire for perfection and respect for tradition.

     
 

This concerns a movement against the use of too many insecticides and fungicides. The aim is to employ them in a rational manner and to select, dose and apply such products as intelligently as possible.

Diseases affecting the vine were brought to Europe from the Americas in 1860 (eg. Mildew, powdery mildew and phylloxera). Growers were forced to use ever-increasing amounts of insecticides in their attempts to combat these diseases.These products were essential to the health of the vine and to ensure that the healthy grapes realized their full potential. However, for maximum protection they had to be employed regularly and systematically, thereby eliminating the predators of insects and other parasites whilst at the same time weakening the vine. Moreover, these applications had a negative effect on the environment.

Some years ago, the Cave de Pfaffenheim took the decision to use these products only when and where absolutely necessary. Our growers monitor the development of the disease to assess whether treatment is absolutely necessary. They determine the amount to be used and how each product is to be applied.

This movement towards more rational growing techniques also involves allowing grass to grow between the rows of vines, avoiding excessive tipping and pruning back of summer shoots, banning the use of highly toxic products and separating the bunches one from the other in order to avoid rot.


 
 JANUARY Winter pruning takes place between December and March when the vine is resting.
 FEBRUARY The plant may rupture if the temperature drops suddenly.
 MARCH Pruning ends. The vine prunings are collected into bundles. Those wines destined to be drunk young are now bottled.
 APRIL The soil is worked as needed during the vine's entire growth cycle. At the Cave de Pfaffenheim, we try to respect the environment by growing grass between the rows of vines to reduce the plant's vigour. The earth is hoed around those vines not surrounded by grass.
 MAY The vines are monitored constantly and frost protection measures taken as required. Insecticides and fungicides are applied but treatment is kept to a minimum thanks to adequate prevention measures.
 JUNE Unproductive shoots are trimmed. Then the grower trains the vine on wires to support the branches and also to ensure maximum exposure to the sun. The subsequent harvest will now be determined by flowering or failure of fruit-set.
 JULY Some leaves and green shoots are eliminated to allow air to circulate and the sun to reach the bunches and especially to avoid failure of fruit set at the time of flowering. The grower must also protect the vine from diseases and parasites.
 AUGUST The ends of the shoots are pruned to help the young fruit develop. This procedure is called “tipping”. Some bunches of grapes are removed to limit yields. This is called “green harvesting”.
 SEPTEMBER Regular grape samples are taken in order to define levels of ripeness and to fix the date of the harvest. This is a crucial stage and requires precise judgement; decisions are taken according to the ripeness of the grapes and the healthiness of the vine.
 OCTOBER Harvesting and wine making. Wines for ageing will be put into barrels to mature.
 NOVEMBER Preparatory pruning commences. The soil is prepared for the following year.
 DECEMBER Time for the vine – and the grower – to take a well-earned rest.
 
     
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