Gnarled Old Vine Stocks

‘Les Cornes du Diable’ – Cahors A.O.C.
50 x 31 cm
watercolour
© adam cope

Fields of gnarled old wine stocks. Archaic. Tormented.

These vine stocks (‘céps’) are pruned (‘La Taille’) in the mediterrean manner, much lower to the ground than the Atlantic manner, which is the widesest spread (‘Taille Guyot’)… This way of pruning is called ‘La Taille Gobelet’. I always felt they looked demonic, like the horns of some, crazed, demented Devil.

Strong early spring sunlight. The white isn’t snow but white chalk. In the Cahors Apellation the vines sometimes grow out almost pure rock.