That day, I happened to be in a corner of town that I rarely frequent. I saw a large green awning with gold script, ‘Livres Anciens’. I walked in and the elderly lady seated in the wooden chair behind an wooden table with a marble top which appeared to be quite old itself welcomed me warmly as if we had met. Really nice of her to be this sweet to a stranger. Then, in French, ‘so, will you finally be taking your Guyot home today?’ The memory of the Guyot book rushed back into frame. She offered a discount, figuring that the price had put me off. After her holding the book that long for me, I thanked her and paid her full price, which wasn’t substantial in any sense of the word.
The book was just as I had remembered it to be. Brilliant condition inside, with the covers betraying the obvious care and attention of the original relieur that had covered the paper covers with the protection that a book of this importance was clear to deserve. Inside were illustrations of vineyards from the north central part of France, including vineyards of the Côte d’Or. Interesting as well were the details of the mindset of those working the vines, the vignerons. These accounts were timely in that at the same moment of his studies, the very vines which his legacy was based upon were under attack by the root louse, phylloxera.
His system, the Guyot (single and double cane), would become popular throughout the world’s wine growing regions. Having just found this book after all of this time, I still have a lot to read. But, it is interesting to note his impressions on the vineyards of Burgundy. citing that most of them were over 100 years old, he is quick to point out there is a great pride in the region for these ancient vines and the wines that they yielded. With this reputation, he thought, was a certain lack of interest in accepting new ways to do things. He suggested that the method of planting, was problematic in ripening, aeration and efficient yields, along with pest, mold and mildew control. The common method involved a linking of sorts, provinage which entailed the cordons, once over around 15-16 years old to be lead into a new hole, adjacent to the current vine in order to create the next generation vine and resulting shoots. This new generation would be more prone to mutate (a trait that pinot noir is known for) which further encouraged diversity within the vineyards. He spoke of a general disinterest in his idea of having individual vines with a self-contained system which can have new generations of shoots and canes each year, which would not interfere with other neighboring vines, or the land which they grew in.
Some would try his ideas, but they would invariably fail, in his estimates and those planting. The problem, he said, was not the system, but the mentality of the grower. Everyone knew that vines of 3-5 years old would result in wines which were of lower quality than those which were older. This was true in both systems, the old and newly proposed. The growers, however, would be impatient in allowing the vines to reach maturity before allowing the Guyot system to establish itself. The wise would seem inferior, thus pulled out, further damaging the merits of the system. Eventually, new plantings would do well and more still would come about after the phylloxera plight. The Guyot system was more straightforward, and allowed for a faster replanting, with decreased down time for these precious terroirs.
Much more can be said, but I have to jump into writing something related, though different in scope.
Thank you again for reading!
Cheers
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