{"id":792,"date":"2015-05-12T14:54:43","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T12:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/?page_id=792"},"modified":"2015-05-12T14:54:43","modified_gmt":"2015-05-12T12:54:43","slug":"vintages","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/the-wine\/vintages\/","title":{"rendered":"Vintages"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

2013<\/h2>\n

Harvest starts October 2nd – the latest harvest for over 25 years!<\/p>\n

Similarly to previous years, a cold and rainy spring means that blooms do not sprout well until the end of June.
\nDowny mildew and powdery mildew attack the vines. Hods are in full use once again.
\nThen comes the famous July 23rd: hail strikes \u2013 half an hour of ping pong balls and pigeon eggs.
\nIn 30 minutes we go from summer to winter.
\nThe vineyards of Savigny, Pernand, Beaune and Pommard are affected the most.
\nA few walls collapse. 100% of our \u201cClos des Mouches\u201d is destroyed. There is nothing left.
\nAnd it does not stop there\u2026
\nWe have a late harvest, as it is cold and humid. The grapes could start rotting so it is necessary to find a good compromise for the harvest date; wait a bit so the grapes ripen, but not too long so the grapes do not rot.
\nThe sorting table is required, but sorters wear themselves out through picking the grapes out one by one.
\nHowever, it is the only solution to having only healthy grapes in the vats.
\nWinemakers despair…<\/p>\n

2012<\/h2>\n

Harvest starts September 21st.
\nA horrible year. We have all had a miserable 2012.<\/p>\n

A rainy spring prevents us from using the tractor. We are forced to take the good old hods out again \u2013 winemakers suffer! Growers of organic wine suffer even more.
\nBarely finished, the rain washes away the treatment and we have to start from scratch. Downy mildew is a threat.
\nBlooms have difficulty in sprouting and just when the weather seems to get better we have an awful June 30th;
\nhail destroys Beaune, Pommard, Volnay and Meursault\u2019s vineyards.
\nOnly Auxey and Monthelie are spared.<\/p>\n

The massacre returns on July 31st: the storm resurfaces, damaging even more vineyards and attacking the vines that were previously spared.
\nThe only upside is that after the storm ends the good weather reappears. The damaged grapes have fallen, leaving the few grapes that remain have royal treatment.
\nThe small harvest means the vintage is very healthy and the sorting tables whiz through getting rid of dry grapes still attached to their stalks.
\nWinemakers conclude: we will need wine in 2013!<\/p>\n

2011<\/h2>\n

Harvest starts August 29th.
\nAs each year goes by no two are alike!
\nApart from a few frosts in the month of February, the winter is not that long.
\n2011 has an early warm spring, with the vines soaring away.
\nThe blooms are already there in mid-May meaning the harvest will be an early one.
\nThe month of June is very hot\u2026 but this does not last.
\nEverything collapses in July; it is cold, nearly making us put on the heating.
\nAugust is neither good nor bad, with the weather constantly varying from sunny to rainy.
\nAfter 2003 and 2007, 2011 is the third August harvest, whereas there were only three in the last century.<\/p>\n

The quality is good; the wine is fine and fruity, yet the harvest is still low. It is undoubtedly much better than 2010, but still below average.
\nWinemakers ponder…<\/p>\n

2010<\/h2>\n

Harvest starts September 21st.
\nWe are back to a \u201cnormal\u201d harvest start date.
\nWho said that winters no longer exist?
\nAfter a month of freezing December, the frost causes major damage to the vines in the lowlands.
\nA white February follows, with several snowfalls creating beautiful landscapes.
\nThe first buds appear in mid-April, but the month of May is very cool.
\nThe bloom makes its appearance around June 15th.
\nJuly and August are a bit too rainy and cold; coulure and millerandage occur, lowering the spirits of winemakers.
\nBut once again, September is the deciding month! The sun is out to conclude the ripening, the wind is blowing for the drying, and ideal temperatures avoid rotting.
\nA great vintage is to be expected! The only downside – the harvest is very poor.
\nWinemakers worry…<\/p>\n

2009<\/h2>\n

Believe it or not, harvest starts 09.09.09! The new \u201909 vintage has been eagerly awaited\u2026 will it keep up the standards of its 1999, 1989 and the legendary 1959 predecessors?
\nWinter is a bit too long, causing spring to come later than usual. The beginning of April already feels like summer, with temperatures hitting highs allowing a fast bud break. After a few light showers at the beginning of May, good weather settles in, making the vines grow at a phenomenal rate. Blooms are already noticeable around May 20th.
\nEverything looks good. However, it rains heavily the first few weeks of July, worrying winegrowers.
\nBut the sun comes back and hardly any more damage is done before the harvest!
\nPerfectly ripe, a healthy harvest enters the vats.
\nIt is almost not worth sorting, even though a few green grapes can sometimes be found caught in the middle of clusters after having swelled too quickly.
\nAfter limited amounts in 2007 and 2008, 2009 is finally a normal harvest.
\nWinegrowers rejoice!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":774,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-792","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":793,"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/792\/revisions\/793"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.violot-guillemard.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}