Pibarnon's amphitheater vineyards : an example of audacious landscaping (pic 2004)
Categories : Terroir, bulldozers and miscellaneous.... There's a debate going on here and there about what is included in the concept of terroir : we know that it includes the progressive adaptation of a particular variety to a region and to its soil along the ages and we know that human intervention on the slopes and soils played a role with the selection of climats and building of walls and of drains. But how far should it go, is there some antinomy between massive bulldozer landscaping and the respect of terroir and its soil ? Many wineries are tempted to resort to some sort of vineyard landscaping in order to maximize available room (which is often in dire shortage in the sought-after Appellations) or get the best orientation for a given vineyard. Some wineries have powerful financial backing and anyway, an increased (or optimized) surface will pay back the expenses through a sizeable increase in revenues. The bulldozer-made amphitheater at Pibarnon (known as théatre d'épidaure) in Bandol exemplifies what can be made in modern times : what our ancestors made in a lifetime, building terraces (called restanques in provence) with walls to hold the earth for cultivation, olive trees and viticulture, modern machines and daring investors can do in a year. If we did it painstakingly by hand in the past, why not do it machines today, then ? The answer is not simple. Of course, there's this shortage of available (and affordable) surface in expensive Appellations, and some droits de plantations (plantation rights, something that is stricly controlled by the Appellation bodies) are sometimes tied to potential plots too steep, too stony or too uneven for exploitation.
Bulldozers on Les Folatières (Puligny-Montrachet 2007)
Sometimes the heavy machinery is used to get rid of surfacing rocks in the middle of the plot or to level the terrain evenly from one end to the other. That could be the case here in this block of Les Folatières in Puligny-Montrachet (I shot this picture in 2007). We can see a big heap of earth in the foreground and it may have been scratched from the highest part of this clos. Either they have later taken this surplus earth away or they have spread it evenly over the whole surface, but in both cases that's a large removal that will not be without consequences on the exchange between the upper soil and the future vines. The upper soil has disappeared as a result and some terroir experts say that the microbial and fungus life of the upper soil is central to the notion of terroir and this needs many years to build up. That's why deep plowing is considered as having a negative impact on the fragile exchanges between the living soil and the vines [in this case, it's more than deep plowing...]. The deep restructuring of vineyards is also something that the estates conduct without much publicity, preferring usually to entertain the customers with the concept of a terroir built step by step along the millenaries rather than having to tell the unpoetic story of bulldozers flattening the irregularities of a block...
Massive earth removal in Pommard 1er Cru (Clos de Verger - nov 2009)
I shot this picture a few days ago (november 2009) just above Pommard on what seems to be Pommard 1er Cru Clos de Verger (with Les Arvelets further on the left). We had in hand the excellent book of Charlotte Fromont "la Côte de Beaune au Grand Jour" (sold out but hopefully soon to be reprinted) with all the precise maps of the climats and terroirs of the Côte de Beaune. The Pommard 1er Cru map is on page 120. At first glance, it seems that large volumes of earth have been removed and are being bulldozed back before replanting. I called INAO's Eric Vincent in Dijon for more informations on what is allowed exactly in this matter. He is the engineer overlooking the "Terroirs and Délimitation" department, which is in charge of checking the question of the Appellations' limits and also of the conditions of the terrain modifications wished here and there by some growers. Eric Vincent says that there are no really written, fixed rules, but the vignerons must inform the INAO for any major intervention they wish to conduct on the soil, and the answer is given case by case. There is no breach of the tradition when the terrain is being corrected, he says in substance : along the ages, the growers have considerably modified the landscape on these terroirs to help mother nature offer the best conditions for the vineyards. Walls around the climats and the Clos have often been extracted stone by stone from the vineyard itself for an easier planting and work of the soil. On this particular case, Eric Vincent says that this plot was a former medieval quarry which had been entirely covered with earth along the ages. There were curves on the surface on the border and the owner wanted to regulate the surface. For this, he needed to take all the surface earth out, regulate the bumps and the hollows and pull the earth back (which is the stage on the picture I guess). This block was still planted and exploited before this landscaping but the irregular surface was bringing problems with the use of machines and tractors according to the grower, so the landscaping work was given the green light. That's something (the accident risks) that the INAO takes into account when auditing the planned terrain modifications.
Recently-landscaped former quarry (Saint Romain-nov 2009)
I shot this picture a few days ago (november 2009) near Saint Romain (Burgundy). There's a small road leaving on the right before reaching the village, and it goes through a narrow, canyon-style valley where heavy modifications have been made, especially on the left hand. You can see on the foreground that the upper-soil is very recent. It has been replanted and if the baby vines are too small to be seen, you can see the sticks. Here, even if it may look like some new surface has been conquered from the cliff with the use of bulldozers, there had been patches of vineyards long time ago. Eric Vincent knows this particular vineyard work too : there is actually a former quarry in the middle of it (the region had plenty of these small quarries). The landscaping company dug into the hill on the lower part to get some thing more flat and manageable (there were redants in the middle) but he says that the original topography has been maintained overall. On the upper slope, a large rock bench has also been erased. He says that he had always seen these plots before covered with woods and bushes and the vineyards that were planted long time ago there are supposed to have been abandonned before WWI [maybe following the Phyloxerra disaster]. The vigneron who had this landscaping done spent years to buy one by one the many, intertwinned tiny plots around this former quarry (the existence of many different plots is an other indication that there was cultivation before). He says that the whole surface given back to viticulture here is a bit more than 2 hectares. Eric Vincent says that they take into account the necessity to adapt the size of such remodeled plots to trellising (which is needed for modern viticulture) but at the same time avoid as possible the erosion (which means avoid having long rows), build embankments and the likes. He says that in some instances the correction of a slope will diminish the risk of tractor accidents (there are many cases of vineyard tractors turning over its driver on difficult terrain, and he added that there has been such a fatal accident in Saint Romain not long ago, by the way).
Saint Romain - other view on soil landscaping (nov 2009)
Eric Vincent says that very often, these interventions on terrains and soils occur on plots which were still planted with vineyards a few decades ago, sometimes in the 19th century. The landscaping is useful to allow a more modern viticulture like the use of tractors. He comes once or twice on each vineyard to audit the conditions and the pertinence of the planned landscaping and see what can be done and how. In some cases he has to tell the grower that the modifications are'nt necessary and can't be authorized. There's a discussion on the spot between himself, the grower, the landscaping company and the local growers & Appellation syndicate to determine what can be done. For example when there's a demand for heavy modifications on a 1er Cru or Grand Cru between uprooting and replanting the answer is often no because if these vineyards were currently in production, there's no real need to modify the soil. On the other hand, for the plots that are in Appellation but weren't planted for decades because the topography is to shaky or rocky, he considers that it is understandable to do something and allow a feasible vineyard management. By principle, he thinks that letting the vineyard landscape change and adapt to our times is in line with what growers have always done.
Widening of a vineyard block along a cliff in St Romain (january 2010)
This picture was shot at the beginning of this small road near Saint Romain, this is what you can see on the right hand. The pictures showing the quarry part of the vineyard were shot a bit further and on the left hand. Here, heavy machinery helped flatten the irregular part of this plot just against the cliff and bring it to the same level as the rest. Looking back to this major work in Saint Romain, it has been considered locally as a very nice and successful job. Eric Vincent says that in the matter of 4 to 5 years when the vines and bushes will have grown back, it will be more obvious for the visitor and for the grower of course.
Meursault : creation of a drain below a vineyard (2007)
On this picture shot in 2007 in Meursault, you can see clearly how the ground was worked below this vineyard : the upper earth was partially rermoved, a cavity was dug all along the lower end of the block in which large rocks were trucked in. Some earth will then be pulled back over this improvised drain. The desired result is to avoid having the lower vineyard inundated after heavy storms. Eric Vincent says that if before there was no clear written obligation for the vigneron to signal his desire to conduct work on his soil and terrain, now a rule has been added in the new workbooks related to the Appellations (which will replace the Décrets de Définition des Appellations) : it's now clearly said that the grower planning any substantial modification of his soil or terrain has to make a formal demand at the Organisme de Defense et de Gestion de l'Appellation (ODG) tied to his vineyard. Eric Vincents says that in terms of erosion risks, the recent evolution in the viticulture practices had a big impact : the changes observed around the region for a stark diminution in the use of pesticides and weedkillers had very positive consequences on the soil life, allowing it to better stand and absorb the rains and storms.
An old wall with a shelter in St Romain
Now as a conclusion, here are a couple of pictures of the hard work of our ancestors on the vineyards. This picture was shot along the same side road in Saint Romain : No recent work here but in its time, this wall must have represented a lot of efforts and pain to build. The expertise of these wall buiders is impressing : they even had a shelter built into the wall, probably to rest and prepare the food, maybe to store tools who knows. You can guess the door of the shelter in the middle of the wal on this picture.
The built-in shelter
When was this wall built ? no idea, probably in the 18th or 19th century ? You can see that if not very deep, there's enough room in there for a couple of workers having their lunch or hiding from the rain.
..........
Now, here is my first video file, there could be more in the future (occasionally). I'm sorry that it's so short, I should have made a few minutes of this real-life scene. This takes place near B.'s parents' place in Burgundy and I find the ambiance is very Tarkovski style (Andrei Tarkovski, the great Soviet director who shot such icon movies as Andrei Roublev, Stalker and Solaris). these horses were wet from the rain and came to me, breathing silently and turning their head toward the visitor...
Comments
Very interesting and thought-provoking post. Thank you!
These things are more common than one expects. Think of the terraces at Côte-Rôtie or the Kaiserstuhl (http://gogermany.about.com/od/picturesofgermany/ig/Black-Forest-Photo-Gallery/Vineyards-in-Black-Forest.htm ). I don't think anyone objected to Henri Jayer's applying dynamite to create the Cros Parantoux. In the case of the Folatières, looks as though it was unplanted land -- what do you expect them to do, pull each plant and tree out by its roots? Don't know what was going on with the Clos de Verger.
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Very interesting and thought-provoking post. Thank you!
Posted by: Tom in Houston | November 18, 2009 at 08:27 PM
Thank you for your work. I learned a lot! I am grateful.
Christine in "Nelson County"
Posted by: Christine Bennett | November 22, 2009 at 01:15 PM
Very interesting and informative post. Wish I
knew you were out here...
Cheers
Posted by: Ray Walker | November 22, 2009 at 06:18 PM
These things are more common than one expects. Think of the terraces at Côte-Rôtie or the Kaiserstuhl (http://gogermany.about.com/od/picturesofgermany/ig/Black-Forest-Photo-Gallery/Vineyards-in-Black-Forest.htm ). I don't think anyone objected to Henri Jayer's applying dynamite to create the Cros Parantoux. In the case of the Folatières, looks as though it was unplanted land -- what do you expect them to do, pull each plant and tree out by its roots? Don't know what was going on with the Clos de Verger.
Posted by: Claude Kolm | November 22, 2009 at 11:51 PM