Vineyard of sands of the ocean

The vineyard of sands of the ocean extends on a littoral fringe from the department from the Landes, of Read-and-Mixes in north with Capbreton in the south. It gives local wines called wines of sand .

Presentation

The vineyards of sands of the ocean are fixed on the dunes of the littoral or are cultivated in sandy plains bordering the ocean. The roots explore a basement of shells and gravels marine. Sand filtering and hot accelerates the maturation of the grape. The reds and the rosy ones containing Frank Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat express flavors of violet and Bruyère. The dry white containing Chenin and of Crouchen are scented, fruity and fleshy. This encépagement is strictly faithful to the history of the vineyard.

To the Field the Dunes of the Point with Capbreton the vine is led low, in the short face. The densities of plantation are high (7.000 pieds/ha) and the weak outputs (40 hl/ha). The dune ecosystem is rich of life but fragile: the vine grower must include/understand and know to adapt to preserve it. This is why the techniques are based on an organic fertilization and a strictly mechanical weeding. In many ways farming are applied to the hand stock after stock and the ground is protected by a vegetable cover (association the graminaceous ones and of Vesce) during all wintry time.

The grape harvest is completely manual and the wines are traditionally elaborate in wine storehouses.

History

The vineyard of sands of the ocean is established at the 13th century on four communes of the littoral of the Landes of Gascogne. Very snuffed, this wine is quickly subjected to the imposition (16th century). In 1600, the commune of Messanges only produces with it 300.000 liters of wine, which are consumed in the country and are exported in England and Holland thanks to the proximity of the Port of Bayonne. It at that time is found red Capbreton with the chart of the royal menus at the side of refined mets (one is used it in particular in 1680 at the court of king de France with oranges as China).

In Capbreton the vineyard at the time is composed of small pieces forming of the dunes. Palisades of brandes and brooms divide their slope Is in “tournets” and are used as ramparts with the vine, planted with the shelter of the dominant winds carrying destroying spray. The young vine shoots are not cut because each year, one hides the stocks with amended sand of shells; the bunches thus resting on the sand burning of the summer, acquire a perfect maturity.

In addition to the production of wine, the vines must contribute to to fix a little the sand of certain dunes of the rather unstable coasts of the Maremne and Marensin, at one time when the dunes are not fixed yet, nor the Adour definitively with the Boucau Neuf.

Doctor Guyot, biologist and agronomist, written in 1868:

“… since five to six centuries, the intelligent ones and courageous inhabitants of Capbreton do not have fears to plant vine in moving sands of the dunes… ”, and to add that the wine is “very remarkable by its qualities of color, body, spirits and bouquet”.

After the appearance of the Oïdium in 1852, Mildew in 1878 and Blackrot in 1885, the vineyard périclite to disappear almost completely on nearly one century, making sand wine a residual vineyard, a survival on the side of Titmouses, Moliets-and-Maa, Read-and-Mixes and Capbreton: a few arpents to occupy the old men Gemmeur S producing their wine of barròt . In 1995, some vine growers decide to on their premises start again this production and the vineyard re-examines the day thus.

Nowadays

In Capbreton, the vine stocks are established on the dunes of the sea front, in the south of the commune, 100 and 800 meters of the beach. They open out with the shelter of the salted winds, in a very particular medium, made softness océane and heat of sand. The new producers of the sand wines thus fall under the tradition of the sailor-vine growers who made the reputation of red Capbreton, of the Tite de Crabe (goat in Gascon) or white Chenin.

References

Unfolding field of the Point, Nicolas Firebrand, in Capbreton
Unfolding Vineyards of the Moors (Armagnac, Chalosse, Tursan, Sands of the Ocean)
the invention of the Coast of Money, Jean-Jacques Fénié (Editions Junctions)
South-western Newspaper Sunday of July 15th, 2007

See too

Local wines of soils landais
Vignoble of South-west
Liste of the regional wine specialities

External bonds

Site of the wine of the dunes
Site quality Moors

Sands of the ocean

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