Liadou du Vallon ®
A forgotten working tool...
The Liadou du Vallon ® is an authentic winegrower's knife - which means "binding tool" in Occitan. It is a simple, robust and functional tool that is no longer made today. A companion that every winemaker here once had in his pocket to work the vineyard. It was used to split the willow branches intended to bind the vines and form a crown. Its typical blade, thick and pointing downwards, its firm and responsive flat notch spring made it a reliable and durable tool highly appreciated by winegrowers. But this ancestral technique of binding the vine was gradually abandoned in favor of trellising on iron wire condemning Le Liadou to oblivion.
A rebirth through will & excellence...
The Liadou tells the story of a knife once used by the winegrowers of Marcillac to split the wicker and "bind" the vines for crown pruning.
The Liadou, "binding tool" in Occitan, was a folding knife. Its typical blade, broad and pointing downwards, its flat notch spring, firm and responsive, made it a reliable and durable tool. But this ancestral technique of tying the vine was gradually abandoned in favor of trellising on iron wire condemning this knife to oblivion.
At the end of the 19th century, there were more than 4,000 hectares of vines in this terroir. But phylloxera, the advent of trellising on iron wire, the frost of 1956, the Aveyron exodus to Paris and the decline of the nearby Decazeville mining basin were on the point of getting the better of this vineyard and dooming the Liadou to oblivion.
In recent years, the vineyard has been reborn with force and with it, more recently, Le Liadou du Vallon ®.
The Liadou is first and foremost a beautiful object that tells a story.
On this terroir, the vines were trellised in a ring. The winegrower chose from each vine stock the vine shoot(s) intended to carry the bunches and bent them into a wide loop - the crown - which had to be tied. Osiers planted at the edge of the vine served as a link. The winegrower cut them and made a sheaf of them which he slipped under his belt. Each strand, split with the Liadou, was used to tie the end of a crown of vine shoots. To ensure the solidity of the tie, he beveled the end of the wicker and inserted it forcefully into a loop of the knot which he pushed aside with the blade of the knife.
A knife made in Aveyron & guaranteed for life...
The liadou was basically a knife made ... to bind.
The Liadou du Vallon® has faithfully retained its traditional shape. It is efficient, solid as a good tool, pleasant to hold and it carries the history of an entire territory.
The Liadou is handcrafted in the purest Aveyron cutlery tradition. It benefits from the brand/label of the department "Made in Aveyron". The registered trademarks Le Liadou® and Le Liadou du Vallon® attest to the quality, origin and authenticity of the products.
Its characteristic curve and robust blade are the delight of the great Chefs of French gastronomy who have perceived the contribution of the aesthetics, efficiency and history of Liadou on their exceptional tables. Alexandre Bourdas is one of them; ambassador of Liadou du Vallon, he wanted to honor the traditional knife of his region in his restaurant SaQuaNa in Honfleur.
The Liadou du Vallon ® is guaranteed for life against all manufacturing defects. It is now available in 4 collections: Le Liadou ® Original, Le Liadou ® Exception, Le Liadou® de Table (boxes of 6 knives) & Le Petit Liadou
