When the time arrives to begin the harvest, which are still carried out manually, and where the traditional conviviality and bonhomie have not been lost, the grapes simply need to be picked and placed into baskets. The sorting in the cellar enables the separation of grapes from leaves and petioles, and finally the grapes which are damaged or passed their best.

The quality of the grape at the time of the harvest depends largely on the work that man dedicates to his vine, but it is ultimately nature who remains in charge of the game, and the climate and weather play an enormous role.

Between two and three weeks before the maturation of the grapes, the ripeness of the grapes is checked at the vine twice a week. This consists of removing individual grapes from each parcel of land in order to follow the evolution of 100 fruits and their sugar and acidity content.

But of course, only regular tastings hold the key to discovering the flavours they express and to follow their evolution.

The difficulty of wine production is to adapt oneself to the raw material each year, in order to bring out, in both their diversity and subtlety, the essential characteristics of the vintage and the soil particular to Belles-Graves.

Château BELLES-GRAVES - 33500 Néac - Tél. + 33 (0) 557 510 961 - Fax + 33 (0) 557 510 141 - Email : x.piton@belles-graves.com

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