At Pédesclaux, the vineyard teams work to the rhythm of the seasons, their traditional methods punctuated by occasional innovations. During the year, each of the 350,000 vines receives over 40 extremely painstaking interventions aimed at ensuring that the resulting wine will be a great one; from pruning, via pricking out, levage (lifting the foliage onto the wires), selective leaf-thinning, green harvesting where and when required, to testing the maturity levels of the grapes… the Pédesclaux winemakers never cover less than seven kilometres a day, on average – which is to say, 1400 kilometres a year. The estate is entirely committed to sustainable viticulture that respects the environment and plays the long game, nurturing the microbial life of the soils and giving special consideration to mycorrhization. This way of working is made even more successful by plot rotation, where each patch of soil spends time under grass, and by the use of compost or even green manure. Massal selection helps to preserve the genetic diversity of the vineyards, as well as protecting their unique character.