History |
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It is a long time... The vine is a plant which comes from Minor Asia. Travelling by Egypt and transported by the Greeks and the Romans, it
arrived in France by Provence and Languedoc at about the V th century before our era.
The establishment of the vine was also done by the valley of the Rhine with the arrival of the Hungarian and Romanian vineyards (famous
"tokay"). The vine will conquer the whole
of France because it was plait on all the grounds located at less than 500 meters of altitude. In France, certain type of vines are very represented like "pinot noir" in Burgundy, the "cabernet-sauvignon" in Médoc, the chardonnay for the white wines. Many wines are resulting from only one type of vine ("red gamay" for the beaujolais) but it is possible to assemble several type of vines ("cabernet-sauvignon","merlot" and "cabernet-franc" for certain bordeaux). The vine The wine and its quality depend on several factors :
The climate has a big impact on the production of the wine; the
vine fears the frost of spring, water is necessary to the enlargement of the
bunches but it is fatal if it is too present when the grape is ripe. The sun
also plays its role for ripening and the wine growers will prefer a sunning of
south or of east.
The culture of the vine and its maintenance represent a regular
work throughout the year. It is in winter that one cuts the vine according to
different techniques and different areas. The vegetation of the vine starts in
March-April with "debourrement"; at this time, the vine is very
fragile and fears the frost. During the growth of the plant, several operations
can be made as "epamprage" which consists in limiting the number of
branches on the plant. Stripping is also used to allow a better sunning of
the bunches. Throughout the year, it is also necessary to protect the vine
against the various diseases which can touch them. Techniques of wine making Each type of wine - red, white and rosé - has its own techniques of wine making : Red wines :
The first stage is called "picking off" or "éraflage" and consists in separating the grapes from the remainder of the bunch.
Then, "pressing" makes it possible to crush the grapes and to extract the juice from them. The juice is
then stored in tanks for "alcoholic fermentation" where sugar is transformed into ethanol and carbon dioxide
under the effects of yeast; during this fermentation, the wine releases some heat. At the time of this operation, the marc
is formed with the skin and the pips of the grapes; the maceration influences the quality and the conservation of the wine. White wines : The white wines are vinified only starting from the only grape juice, without skin nor pips i.e. without maceration. On can thus obtain white wines with black grapes with white juice ( the champagne for instance). Fermentation is carried out at a temperature not exceeding the 20° C. For the "moëlleux" white wines, fermentation is reduced an all the sugar is preserved (wines of Sauternes for example). Other wines :
The rosé wines result from red grapes for which a shorter maceration is done. History of organic agriculture
The birth of organic agriculture occurs in Germany in the years 1920. It is only after the second world war while the intensive
agriculture beats its full, that the organic agriculture was known in France. In 1962, the AFAB (French Association for Organic Agriculture) is created. At the beginning of the 1980's, the first decrees
and laws are taken in France for the creation of conditions of contract. In 1991, the European Community recognise officially the organic agriculture (EC n° 2092).
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