News from the vineyard 6/16/2021

June 15, 2021
By Eléonore Lafarge

Summer seems to have finally arrived in Burgundy. It’s now sunny and warm. Thus, despite a complicated beginning of 2021 in the vineyards, the vines are growing well and flowers appeared a few weeks ago, leaving a wonderful smell all over Burgundy.

Winemakers now started the accolage (tying back the vegetative growth) in the vineyards. They do this to make sure that the vines grow vertically which is important.

For biodynamic domaines, the beginning of June is often the time for a silica preparation. This is one of the key biodynamic preparations, with a 500 preparation.

To obtain the silica, quartz crystals are crushed into a powder. A very small amount of silica is diluted with water in a dynamiseur and then sprayed on the vineyard with a copper backpack.

The silica can be described as a “spray of light”. Indeed the preparation is used to intensify the light and photosynthesis in the vineyard. The other effect is to reinforce the health of the vines and make sure they have enough vitality.

 As this biodynamic preparation has to be done in the morning, usually before 8am, winemakers often get rewarded with a nice sunrise!