CPA Folklore Vin Vendanges Champagne Moet & Chandon Preparation de la futaille pour les vendanges www.cpaphil.com/fr/c... #Champagne #MoetChandon #WineHarvest #GrapeHarvest #Vendanges #FrenchWine #WineMaking #WineryLife #BarrelMaking #OakBarrels #ChampagneRegion

Eight days of palissage came to an end today. We arrange the stems that carry grapes nicely between the double wire and make sure they stay with the small brown staple, made of starch.
These have been demanding days. The team choose to begin at sunset to bemefit from cooler temperatures of 5.30 am. The first days 14 deg Celsius but fast rising to 18 and with more than 30 deg Celsius in the afternoon. Those of you in the knowing will be aware that on the warm side of 20 deg Celsius.
The grapevines have benefitted from the sun and heat this far. No disease so far and what seems many grapes despite the hail of May 3rd that destroyed stems in Loisy-en-Brie. The grapes will reach the stage of “la fermeture de la grappe” these next days. From this stage disease can no longer enter the cluster. This decisive stage has been reached in what seems like no time between flowering and “fermeture”.
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#tangegerard #champagneregion #organicmetods#pallissage #champagnegrower

An amazing display of the humble yet pretty tough dancing queens of early summer. The poppies obviously and we are delighted by an amazing display of red skirts dancing in the wind. But take a look inside this on the surface so simple flower with that darker center that seems sugarcoated. I guess it’s not really but that this helps to attract some bees. The poppies show in amazing amounts this year. Equally amazing they seem to grow from nothing. Where mosses have broken through the old asphalt on the sidewalk, the poppies are happy to follow next. A population of poppies tell us that no herbicides were sprayed which pleases us obviously. This was not always the case but we believe that this is the best, in fact the only, way forward. Welcome back and may the dance carry on big time and all summer(s).
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#tangegerard #poppy #noherbicides #ruralfrance #champagneregion

Red red berry: What speaks summer more than strawberries from your own garden? Our garden is also our favourite spot to present and enjoy champagne. From the table under the walnut tree, there is an excellent view of the biggest of our strawberry beds. Now and then our guests take a walk to see what grows. Some weeks ago one visitor was quite surprised to see red strawberries. “Already?” Though the berries were not ready to eat on the 4th of May. Two weeks later they were. I’m not even sure if that’s early for Northern France. In the vineyards, we currently look for the first flowers, which is a bit early. If a warm summer follows, it means grapeharvest in August. But that’s still a guessing game. We’ll stick to the strawberries for the time being and there is a lot of work to eat them all on time. I’m not a big fan of frozen ones and we don’t eat much jam. No one complains about a dish of fresh strawberries twicec a day though. We don’t add any sugar so we would not hesitate to pair these delicate berries with Rosé de Saignée, our 100% Pinot Noir pink brut champagne. But then again, believe or not, there is not champagne with every meal at your favourite bubbly brand in Soulieres.
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#tangegerard #organic #gardening #strawberries #champagneregion

We receive many visitors at the moment. Danes, Swedes, French, Germans, Brits and soon a big group of Norwegians get the same treatment. Walk to the nearby vineyard of les Crochettes and there we dive into it all. AOC, recent hail, soon-to-be grapes, quota and sales, are grapes from old plants better?, what about disease and what abour climate change, what does organic taste. We don’t know where the Dutch are? The roses are purely decorative and it’s a birthday present living the good life in Champagne. Please mail us if you are interested. Visits are only on reservation and not every day as we have other tasks to finish now and then :-) Thank you’s to the photographer who paid us a visit last weekend.
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#tangegerard #champagneregion #organic #chardonnay #

We love butterflies. But this particular species likes to breed and install the eggs between the immature grapes for their worms - les verd fe la grappe or worms of Cochylis - to feed on the small grapes.
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We put the Rak in place yesterday to prevent this. These small containers contain pheromon that confuses the male butterfly. He will have to fly somewhere else than the vineyards to breed which is the idea.
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The system works when more than 20 hectares put it in place. This means that it can only be done in collaboration with neighbour winegrowers. We are quite pleased that most winegrowers in our locations participate.
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In the autumn we collect the containers and send them back to the producer.
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#tangegerard #rak #awalkinthevineyards #champagneregion #organicvineyard

A grey morning in the forest on top of our village. Still spring is here with early arrivals like catkins, anemones, primroses, and hawthorn. The buds of low trees and bushes are coming out. Signs that the Chardonnays will open the first buds soon followed by the Pinots. The season 2025 will be visibly on in Champagne.
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#springtime #flower #champagneregion #tangegerard