Alain Breuille’s work with peach trees inspired us to test grape seedlings

Alain Breuille has been researching forgotten varieties of peaches, nectarines, clingstone peaches for 40 years... He doesn’t graft anything. Everything starts from the seed, from the stone. Here he has placed stones for the winter in moist potting compost. After winter, he will place his stones in a greenhouse so they can grow. From these seedlings, he observes an infinite genetic variety that holds wonderful surprises. Why don't we do the same in the vineyard? Why have cloning and grafting taken over? It is no simple task, but it makes us want to try. And we will start by immersing ourselves in the literature, particularly the work carried out by Soins de la terre. The issue is that growing from pips is unpredictable; it does not yield solely fruit-bearing plants, and these seedlings will produce variable results in terms of quality. It is therefore an approach that requires a great deal of time, with no guaranteed results.