Vendanges 2021

Vendanges seems to have happened really quick this year. It hasn’t had the same busy excitement we have experienced in other years though. I think it’s because it has been such a tough year. They have tended the vines through harsh frosts, and then through the summer with weeks of rain, spattered with hot sunny days, making it ideal weather for mildew to develop. Not good for champagne growers.

The picking has been at it’s usual efficient pace, with teams of pickers working in an orderly fashion across the vineyards, diligently ensuring not to miss any of the precious grapes.

Unlike last year, when the vignerons were having to leave grapes on the vines as they had exceeded their quotas, this year they are being left bare. Many will probably need to tap into their reserve wines to make up the deficit in quantity.

Some growers have finished picking already. Some, who left it a few more days before starting, are still out there. Even this week the weather hasn’t been totally kind to them, with some days of rain making for a very cold, damp and muddy harvest. But today we have sunshine, and we’ve just had a final dip in the pool for this year. Let’s hope 2022 is a better year for them.