SICAVAC, the technical arm of Centre-Loire wines
Core values and missions
SICAVAC (Service Interprofessionnel de Conseil Agronomique, de Vinification et d’Analyses du Centre) is the technical arm of Centre-Loire wines. Founded by the winegrowers, it is solely dedicated to helping them.
SICAVAC offers:
- Laboratory analysis
- Winemaking advice
- Winegrowing advice
- R&D
- Training
The SICAVAC team comprises 13 people.
Laboratory
The laboratory undertakes all standard analyses on grapes, must, and wines. It supports Centre-Loire winegrowers from grape picking through to bottling.
The SICAVAC laboratory is certified by COFRAC, the French accreditation body (www.cofrac.fr). It is authorised to issue export certificates, an essential service in a region where a large proportion of the production is sold abroad.
Services include:
- Grape analysis to determine the optimal picking date
- Follow-up analyses during winemaking and maturation
- Analyses prior to, during, and after bottling
- Analyses required for sales and marketing (conformity, appellations, competitions, export)
Winemaking advice
Monitoring of SICAVAC reference vineyard plots takes place from veraison — when the colour of the grapes changes — until the end of the harvest.
In-depth analysis of the berries allows for a better understanding of their ripeness and the specifications of the vintage. This monitoring is complemented by ripeness checks in every vineyard, the results of which are shared with the owners.
SICAVAC plays a key role in pre-harvest meetings in each appellation. It presents the results of its monitoring of technological, phenolic, and aromatic ripeness, and offers advice on the forthcoming harvest and subsequent winemaking.
A summary of this advice is sent to all winegrowers in the area.
SICAVAC also provides individual consulting services, either throughout the year or just during the harvest.
Winegrowing advice
Every year, in early December, SICAVAC brings winegrowers together to review the previous year, update them on rules and regulations, and discuss SICAVAC trials and technical updates relating to the previous vintage.
Weekly observations by SICAVAC staff across all vineyards provide an excellent understanding of vine health and growth.
A weekly SICAVAC newsletter is distributed free of charge to all Centre-Loire estates during the growing season. It contains essential information about potential phytosanitary treatments and offers advice on technical issues such as fertilisation and vine training.
SICAVAC engineers regularly visit estates that request it, providing guidance on the sustainable management and plant health protection of the vineyard.
Pruning best practice Guide
Esca, Eutypa dieback, and Phomopsis cane and leaf spot are complex vine trunk diseases that remain poorly understood. They are spreading across vineyards in France and many other wine-producing countries, leading to an exponential increase in vine mortality. These diseases are among the most concerning and difficult for winegrowers to manage.
Since 2002, the work of François Dal and his colleagues at SICAVAC and Centre-Loire Wines on vine trunk diseases has been of immense value to both French and international viticulture. Their research was first published in 2008 and expanded in 2013. Since then, the Centre-Loire region, through its interprofessional bodies, has continued to share it, notably through training sessions held across France and in many other countries.
The third edition of the pruning guide was therefore a natural next step. Many explanations have been further developed, particularly those concerning the training of young vines.
This guide covers the main pruning techniques — Guyot, Cordon de Royat, and Gobelet (bush vines). It helps identify mistakes that lead to premature ageing and even death of vines, often in the form of trunk diseases. It also outlines tried-and-tested curative techniques to restore vines showing severe symptoms.
Accessible yet thorough, this guide is essential reading for vine technicians, students, and anyone involved in pruning.
It is available from SICAVAC: accueil@sicavac.fr