Men prune, women deleaf

Pruning and disbudding are tasks that have for a long time been considered work for men, while women have handled the work with leaves: attaching, deleafing, pinching back unwanted shoots. Among these leaf workers are working women from Valais, from the Martigny region, who join groups from the nearby Italian region of the Aosta Valley to work the vines of large landowners and vineyard overseers in canton Vaud. Payslips show that women and children were paid less than men for work on the land and harvesting.

Men were responsible for mechanical work: turning the soil, cutting back the vines, sulphur treatments. Women may take part, helping by dragging the tubes. The use of chemical products in the vineyard, starting in the 1950s, brought an end to manual weeding by women; this work shifted to men. Thinning out grape bunches is a practice introduced when quotas began in 1992; the work was not seen as just for men or women. Watering is the business of the entire family, especially if it involves surveying the rate of flow of the bisse (irrigation channel).

When harvest time arrives, women handle the shears and men carry and transport the grapes. For a long time, managing the grape press and work in the cellar was exclusively the work of men. Woman have gradually taken on greater responsibilities, training in œnology, tasting and sales. By the end of the 20th century women in the wine world were few, but renowned.

Sourced from
RABOUD-SCHÜLE Isabelle, « Les hommes taillent, les femmes effeuillent » in Histoire de la Vigne et du Vin en Valais : des origines à nos jours, Sierre-Salgesch, Musée valaisan de la Vigne et du Vin, Gollion, Infolio, 2009.