The vine follows an annual cycle: weeping and budburst in spring, flowering and fruit set, véraison in summer, harvest from late August to mid-October, then lignification of the canes and winter rest. The winegrower accompanies each stage with vineyard work, watches for diseases and keeps the soil alive.

The vine cycle covers every change the plant goes through in a year. As winter ends, the sap rises and the vine weeps from its pruning wounds. The bud swells and opens: this is budburst, the first visible stage. Tendrils anchor the shoots, the inflorescence appears, and flowering lasts only a few days.

Then comes fruit set, when each fertilised flower becomes a berry; poor fertilisation leads to coulure or millerandage. After bunch closure, véraison colours and softens the berries. Finally the canes turn woody: this is aoûtement, which prepares the vine for dormancy.

The vine stock, grafting and young plants

The vine stock is the vine plant itself: its roots, its trunk and the wood that carries shoots and grapes each year. Well managed, it lives for several decades, sometimes more than a century. Since phylloxera, almost all vines have been grafted onto an American rootstock.

To go further: vine plants, young vines, grafting, the omega graft, top grafting, the vine nursery profession, vine canes, the grape bunch and the cooper's craft.

Winter work: pruning, pulling the canes, planting

Vineyard work begins with pruning, between December and March: every cut of the secateurs chooses the wood that will carry the crop. Then come pulling the canes and shredding the vine shoots, which are left on the ground.

It is also the season for planting work: spur pruning, uprooting, planting, root dipping of young plants, complantation, massal selection, tucking and training the young vine.

Green work, from spring to harvest

In spring, suckering removes the shoots on the trunk that bear no grapes; at Cazebonne it is done by hand. From May to July, trellising guides the shoots between the wires, which helps the foliage dry after rain and limits disease.

Other tasks of the season: lifting, tying the vines, braiding, trellising on stakes, trimming, leaf thinning, sécaillage, dusting and the question of irrigation in Bordeaux. The year ends with the harvest, from late August to mid-October.

Working the soil under the row

Without chemical weedkillers, the row is worked mechanically: we earth up the vines before winter to protect the graft union from frost, then unearth them once the risk of late frost has passed. Mechanical weeding and horses in the vineyard complete this work.

Vine diseases

The most feared vine diseases are caused by microscopic fungi. Downy mildew, which arrived from the United States in the mid-19th century, thrives in the oceanic climate of the Gironde; it attacks the leaves (mosaic downy mildew) and then the bunches (downy mildew on grape bunches). Powdery mildew (oidium) is recognisable by its white, felt-like coating.

The other pages: black rot, botrytis, esca, flavescence dorée, erinose and eudemis, the grape berry moth.

Living soils

A living soil is home to bacteria, fungi and earthworms: they give the soil its structure, hold water and make organic matter available to the vine. We feed it with compost, soil amendments and humus, and we check it with the cotton underwear test.

To dig deeper: the role of nitrogen, organic matter, grass cover, melliferous sowings, crumbling discs and Kress fingers, agroecology and agroforestry.

Featured wine: Le Grand Vin 2022, Graves red

The 2022 vintage sums up a year in the vineyard: 17 days above 35 °C, Merlot picked on 16 September, Cabernet Franc on 6 October and Cabernet Sauvignon on 13 October. Certified organic (FR-BIO-16) and Demeter, rated 92/100 in the RVF's 2025 Guide des meilleurs vins de France. Discover Le Grand Vin 2022 (€22)

Frequently asked questions

What is a vine stock?

It is the vine plant itself: roots, woody trunk and the wood that carries shoots and grapes each year. Vines over about forty years old are called old vines, though there is no legal definition.

What is the vine's cycle through the seasons?

Rest in winter, weeping then budburst in spring, flowering then fruit set, véraison in summer, harvest from late August to mid-October, then lignification of the canes before dormancy.

What are the main vine diseases?

Downy mildew and powdery mildew, both fungi, are the most damaging in Bordeaux. They are followed by black rot, botrytis, esca and flavescence dorée, which is caused by a phytoplasma and classed as a quarantine disease.

When should vines be suckered?

In spring, when the suckers are a few centimetres long, so that the sap goes to the fruit-bearing shoots and air circulates around the bunches.