In Ans, a handful of volunteers, supervised by regulars, grabbed their secateurs to tackle the 2,000 feet of “Coteaux de la Légia”, a small vineyard which produces red, white and recently Crémant de Wallonie. These are noble grape varieties.
Most are novices: “We are really primary in this, I discover. We meet other people and it’s convivial,” explains Frédéric, between two strokes of the pruning shears. Anne works near Ans, she heard the information: “I had already thought about it several times, this time I made up my mind”. ” It’s the first time. Here, say to yourself, I’m going to try to learn something. I will be there for the harvest and of course for the tasting”, adds this other wine worker for a day.
All, in any case, listen to the valuable advice of Salvatore Carvona, urban winemaker: “I have always been interested in the vine since my dad Giuseppe. I often went to vineyards in Italy. Then I was buying the grapes, I was making wine and I thought, why not try here. I started planting vines. »
Cut well
The pruning is not done just anyhow, you have to leave three sticks: a main one then two others which will fold down on the left and on the right, these will each give two bunches.
As the President of the District Council of Ans Coteaux, Patrice Lemperor, explains: “Les Coteaux de la Légia is a small vineyard covering 4,000 square meters. Small but old: it is a vineyard that belonged to the religious community of Val Saint-Lambert. It dates from around the 12th century. We are lucky to be crossed by the Légia in the heart of the vineyard, there is a gallery so at the time they vaulted the underground river which fed the washhouses, the mills. In the last century, it was still in operation”. The vineyard can produce up to 1500 bottles in good years.