Once the leaves have all fallen from the vines, and the weather has become crisp, the team of workers move in. Our local shepherd, having had his sheep in the mountains all summer, needs grass for his flock during the winter. We need the vineyard, weeds and grass around the base of the vines cleaned up.
It is a wonderful arrangement that we have had in place for at least 5 years which works very efficiently. Throw in direct fertilisation and half a lamb for the freezer – organic farming at it’s best.
The shepherd either fences off a parcel of vines for a day or two before moving them on, or wanders gently through the vineyard following routes that the older sheep remember keeping the group together with well trained dogs. This year he is accompanied by a partner and 7 month old daughter. It doesn’t seem to rain very much at this time of year but it can be very cold.
Technical details – the sheep are mostly yearlings, future moms. There are a mixture of breeds, but the white ones are mostly a type of Merino which comes from the south east of France and the red ones are Rouge de Guilliaume.
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