During harvest time we don't sleep a lot. Early in the morning, at cockcrow, we begin this year's harvest. François drives the tractor and Pierre-Yves the big harvester.
Harvest starts late this year, almost two weeks later than last year. It's because snow and frost delayed the ripening process last spring.
First we harvest our whites. Our best lot is Pabiro, where the vines are full of the most beautiful white grapes.
What you see in the photo above is still grape juice, but fermentation will begin shortly. We will take and taste samples during every stage from now on, ensuring quality every step along the path to our finished white wine.
Tasting during fermentation is always a bit of an adventure, because during that stage we often can't determine with certainty how the wine will really taste in the end.
But our staff is very good at this. They grew up in and around the cellar and we are pretty sure Pierre-Yves, one of our predecessors, knows every vine by name.