Working the vineyard in spring: suckering, an essential step for the quality of the grapes

In spring, the vine’s growth cycle enters an active phase, and suckering is among the first operations performed by our teams.

It involves manually removing the young, useless shoots that appear on the vine, particularly around the trunk and non-fruiting branches. These shoots, called « suckers, » consume energy without contributing to grape production. By eliminating them, the vine can concentrate its resources on the branches bearing grape clusters, thus promoting a better quality of the future harvest.

Carried out by hand, vine by vine, suckering is a precision task. It requires observation, experience, and a thorough knowledge of the plant. It is also an important step for improving the vine’s ventilation, limiting the development of diseases, guiding its growth in a balanced manner, and preparing for pruning the following year. This technical gesture, carried out with care by our vineyard workers, is one of the many green works carried out in the spring.