Spring workshops

Our vine-pruning workshops are offered on a Friday and a Saturday morning during the second half of March, a period when the temperatures get milder.

The dates are announced at the end of the year. Reservations become possible online from this moment. For more information, please feel free to contact us.

Pruning is the vinegrower's main work in winter. The pruning season starts after the leaves have fallen, generally at the end of November, and should finish in early April at the latest, before the first buds start appearing - what is called bud-burst.
Winter pruning consists in cutting the dry branches that were produced earlier during the year. Leaving a precise number of eyes (that will develop into a bud and then a branch carrying grapes) will help control the yield the following year. Pruning will also contribute to the vine's longevity and will ensure proper yields over the next years. Stop pruning a vine and after a while, it won't give any more grapes...

A good pruner is said to be able to prune one vinestock per minute. Actually more than this! As 6,660 vinestocks have to be planted per hectare (approximately 2.5 acres) in the Vouvray vineyard, it would mean 110 hours of work per hectare. Actually it takes a good pruner between 70 and 80 hours to prune that surface area!

We invite you to come and spend a few hours in the vineyard to learn how to prune vines. Don't worry, we promise we won't ask you to be as quick as a professional! The technique will be shown to you by the vinegrower himself, Cyril Robert, who is Myriam's husband. We will lend you a pair of pruning shears for you to train. This time spent in the vineyard will also be the opportunity to discover the specificities of AOC Vouvray and of the wines produced in the area. We will finish the workshop by tasting the estate's wines, served with local delicacies.

Disbudding aims at ridding the vine of some unwanted sprouts - the famous suckers that gardeners also take time to remove from tomato plants. These shoots unnecessarily consume the spa of the plant or will form twigs which will interfere with the aeration of the vine stock. This task is done by hand, from early May to mid-June.

Come and discover this task in the company of the vinegrower and/or our wine workers. In small groups, for a better learning of the techniques.

We will conclude the morning in a friendly atmosphere with a tutored tasting of some of the wines produced at the amily winery served with local finger food.

Our disbudding workshops are scheduled on Friday and Saturday mornings, in May or June.


The dates are decided and announced in April, which is when the vines start budding. Reservations become possible online from this moment. For more information, please contact us.

Trellising, or lifting of the wires, takes place in June-July. This involves raising the two wires that were lowered in winter when pruning the vine - this makes it easier to pull the vine shoots - and keep them tight using small metal or plastic hooks in order to train the young branches of the plant.

In small groups, for a better learning of the techniques