Champagne plants its first semi-wide vines

fter some heated debates within the industry, semi-wide vines aka VSL were authorised in production specifications for Champagne at the end of 2022. A clutch of winegrowers have chosen to go down the lower density vine planting route, including Simon Blin in Verneuil, Marne.

Blin has just planted 0.47 hectares of Chardonnay in a single block to a density of 6,500 vines per hectare compared with 8 to 9,000 for narrow plantings. “The vines were planted 1.8 m x 80 cm so as not to lower the density too much, yet allow for the vineyard to be managed differently”, explains Blin. “I’ll decide whether I change the density when I plant my next semi-wide vines over 0.45 hectares in 2025. I don’t intend to switch everything over to VSL, just the best blocks”.

In terms of equipment, Blin was loaned a reduced-size tractor that is 1.25 m wide. He plans to buy second-hand equipment over time, including a post driver and tillage equipment. His aim is to be able to do away with high-clearance tractors which he sees as costly and unreliable. “In twenty years’ time, I intend to have replaced high-clearance tractors with a crawler tractor and a vineyard tractor”.

The VSL block is also being converted to organic. “To farm organically, and even conventionally, it’s good to be able to raise the vines”, he claims. “When Champagne had issues with ripening, it made sense to have grapes close to the ground, but that is no longer true today. Semi-wide vines really improve working conditions, which is a genuine bonus. My three permanent employees are keen to see the difference!”