A Day in the Life of a Beaujolais Wine Maker in June
I am Laura de Vermont, intern at Christopher Piper Wines for 6 weeks. My father, Yannick de Vermont, of Château de Vaux, in Beaujolais, is one of Chris Piper’s principal suppliers. Today, I have decided to describe a typical day of a winemaker, in this case, my father. I know that every day for each winemaker is different but this is my personal vision about the work of my father.
5:30 AM, the alarm clock rings. It is time to get up to go and spray the vineyards. Indeed, the treatments are easier to perform early in the morning before the wind picks up. The winegrower goes to the winery, where he will prepare his tractor for the day's treatments.
From the cabin of your tractor, you can enjoy the sunrise over the hills of Beaujolais. Depending on the surface to be treated, this task can take a whole morning. Once the area to be sprayed is finished, it is now time for the winegrower to get his shears out. During the month of June the vine grows at high speed and it is therefore necessary to cut the small shoots to encourage the blossoming of the vine flower, then later in the summer, the ripening of the grapes.
12 p.m., it’s time to finally take a short break. A nice lunch, a little nap and then off we go again for an afternoon of shearing! The heat makes shearing very tiring and physically demanding. Fortunately, the wine grower can count on some part-time workers who help him to go faster.
Around 4:30 p.m., the winemaker's outdoor day ends. But now it's the office tasks that need to be done. Responding to customers, managing orders… The winegrower is a multitasking person who has a lot to think about in a single day.
6 p.m., arrival of customers at the estate's cellar. This is the time to have your wines tasted, talk about the functioning of the estate, the Beaujolais region. Obviously, the winemaker feels a certain pride when his wines please the customers. It is the work of a whole year that is rewarded.
Once the customers have left, it's time for the winemaker to head home to enjoy his family and friends. However, sometimes, it happens that he has to attend regional meetings concerning different wine topics, a winemaker is a very busy person !
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