A heart for the wine

Pole cultivation continues to play a significant role in the Moselle region. On the trunk, two fruiting canes are cut, which are then bent downwards and attached with willows or ribbons. That is done so that the new shoots and grapes are exposed to a lot of sun. But this method of cultivation is very labour-intensive and is therefore used less and less.

     
Where machinery can be used, in the shallow areas anyway and in the meantime also in many steep areas with special caterpillars, the so-called wire frame cultivation dominates. Wires are spanned between a number of stakes, to which the fruiting canes are usually tied in a half-arch. The new shoots attach themselves to the staple wires. Wire-frame training makes it possible to use the full harvester, which has become indispensable in the Moselle region. There are other types of vine cultivation, but they are less common in the Moselle. In vertico cordon method, the trunk is pulled upwards and fastened to the stake, and the vintner cuts short cones distributed in tiers. The main advantage is the saving in labour time compared to pole training. The cordon method requires a great deal of expertise.