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Montes experimenting with dynamite
Pioneering Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes Sr has revealed that he is experimenting with dynamite to monitor its effects on sub soils in his vineyards.
Speaking during a comparative tasting in London last week of his wines and those made by his son, Aurelio Montes Jr, at Kaiken in Argentina, Montes said: “I’m putting dynamite in the sub soil in some of my vineyards at the moment to see what effect it has.
“The explosions will be two metres deep. I don’t know if the plants will end up in China or will stay where they are. It’s a bit of a gamble – I want to wound the sub soil to allow the vine roots to go deeper without the need for irrigation.
Montes revealed that the project is costing him a lot of money and the dynamite has proved tricky to get hold of. “You need a permit to use it, which took us three months to obtain from a mining area near the vineyard in Marchigue.
“When we push the button there will be police officers there overseeing it. I have no idea what the result will be but it’s important to keep innovating and experimenting,” he said.
“I never look at the numbers with these sorts of things – if I did I wouldn’t end up doing half of the things that I do. It’s the only way to keep moving things forward,” he added.
I still can’t believe this guy. Is wine that important? Does he not make enough wine as it is?
Pick a place more suited to growing. Terroir is right out the door at this vineyard and thus the wines are a hoax.
Sincerely,
Organic wine grower
Based on those red leaves, he should also check the virus status of his vines as that is a big factor in fruit character.
As a Newbie, I am continuously searching online for articles that can aid me. Thank you eeegaekedfeadgga
While red leaves may be a sign of vineyard diseases, such as Red Blotch, these are in fact very healthy vines. One of Chile’s signature red varietals is Carmenere (fascinating story there about years of cultivation where winemakers thought it was Merlot), which actually blooms with red leaves. It’s beautiful to see row upon row of healthy carmenere vines in season.