About Champagne - Summer in Champagne

Summer

In the Summer, from July to September, the caprices of the weather are crucial factors: a great vintage needs a dry, hot summer with plenty of sunshine. The vines' leaves and shoots have to be carefully regulated and protected against the hazards of nature.

Flowering

In the second half of June the flowering of the vines is a crucial moment in the wine making calendar, for pollination is the start of the formation of the grapes. It requires a dry, warm period without which the grapes may not "set" properly, ultimately compromising the  harvest.

De-budding

Sometimes it is even necessary to remove excess buds in order to limit the number of bunches of grapes. - rognage-écimage (trimming back) (about 60 hours per hectare) is essential from July through to the harvest in order to remove the unnecessary shoots that rise up seeking light and risk depriving the grapes of nutrients and light.

Vine health

Renewal of humus in the vineyards' soil is achieved by chopping up the clippings, and by the addition of organic matter such as bark compost. Potassium is restored with mineral manures. These additions also encourage the microbial activity essential to the soil.