WINTER
Pruning the Vines
After fermentation, the wines develop and age under the watchful eye of Jean-Yves Delaporte. His thirty years of experience and dedicated attention to every detail ensures the development of the finest wines.
It is during this period that the leaves fall from the vines, which go dormant over the winter season. Before the arduous pruning process can begin, the vines which died during the previous season are replaced. In the Delaporte vineyards we use only the Guyot simple pruning system, common in the Sancerre region and which ensures even maturity of the grapes.
SPRING
Vine Growth
Thanks to the first rays of springtime sun, tiny buds appear on the vine shoots before the leaves begin to open. After a few weeks, the ensuing harvest can be predicted, based on the way in which the grape clusters form. The vines are carefully cultivated in such a way as to maximise the quality of the wine produced on each terroir.
Production control begins at the Domaine. During the spring, the long process of nurturing the growing vines begins: they must be pruned, trained and continually examined. With their growth comes the long manual process of de-budding and training the vines. We constantly verify the health of our grapes and vines to thus assure the best possible quality of our wines; this is one of the factors that contributes to the success of our winery.
SUMMER
Trimming And Training Of The Vines
In summer, the continuous growth of the vines requires successive trimmings as well as vigilance in case of disease. Each parcel of land and each vine is unique, so green harvest of the immature grapes and any thinning must be done on a vine-by-vine basis. This vine-by-vine nurturing strongly influences the final quality of the wine.
The condition of each parcel of land is one of the major concerns of Gilles Magnin, the head viticulturist of the Domaine. Protecting the vineyard against disease is essential, and the processes used to counteract disease if and when it arises must be rational. Constant observation of the land and vines is necessary and we only intervene if the threat is considered too great: this method is called “lutte raisonnée”, or sustainable viticulture.
This on-going care for the vines, the fundamental component in assuring the quality of our wines, is what makes the Domaine successful.
AUTUMN
Harvest
After many months of work, the grapes have matured, the year’s work is nearing its end and the time for harvest is near.
The grape harvest takes place based on the maturity of each individual parcel of vineyard, something that depends on the “terroir”, or the different soils, exposure of the vineyard and age of the vines. Regular controls are carried out to determine the sugar content and the acidity of the grape juice. Grapes for the Domaine’s Cuvée Maxime are picked carefully by hand from specially designated old vines. In autumn, the Domaine is bustling, with the personnel fully occupied, yet only one thing counts : quality.
After the grapes are taken to the wine cellar (the “chai”), the winemaking begins. In the vineyards, the grape leaves turn yellow and red – their full autumnal colours – before falling from the vines.
