Cave de Sauveterre - Vignerons de Bordeaux

Droplets of sap bead from the small pruning wounds of the vine.  We are in the month of March and the vines weep.

This is not the sign of some sadness but rather the premise of the forthcoming spring.  Nature awakes, and the sap again circulates in the vessels of the plant.

This running sap weakens the vine somewhat (there is a loss of mineral elements) but also preserves it and hence the proverb:

‘Prune early, prune late, none of it compares to the pruning of March’.

In fact, by ‘sweating’ in this way the penetration of certain fungi, which are the carriers of disease, e.g. Esca or Eutypiose and threaten the longevity of the vines in our vineyards, is hindered by the dripping sap.

Therefore, we  tend to reserve the month of March for the pruning of our most sensitive grape varieties e.g. Semillon and  the Cabernets.