Soil Work

Cover crops, weeds, natural growth. For us, the plants in the vineyard, that are not vines, are both a challenge and an opportunity. On the one hand, the vegetation can affect the vitality of the vines, especially in the dry summer months. Then every raindrop is precious and it is annoying when the grass grows instead of the vine. Also, a competition of nutrients can mean a sensitive restriction in growth and thus also in yield. On the other hand, the weeds can also bind nutrients and make them available at a later date. A soil cover also provides erosion protection, which is all the more important the steeper the vineyards are.

Fortunately, the time of year when the vine actually needs a lot of water and nutrients is relatively short. During this period, we try to keep the vegetation relatively short, partly also to open the area under the vines. Herbicides are out of the question for us, because the destruction of weeds also destroys the livelihood of many valuable soil organisms. A soil treated with herbicide is a dead soil that takes the monoculture of vine to extremes and increases susceptibility to disease.