Spraying the vines when the mistral sleeps

Hugo grows grapes on the hills above Cassis, just east of Marseille. He must spray his vines against mildew, but only when the air is calm and the hours ahead are dry. The mistral blows the spray away, and a shower washes it off. Last summer he sprayed three times for nothing, and lost a fifth of one plot. With xMap Flows, Hugo built Vane. Every evening at six, over his vineyards at Cassis, Vane reads the forecast hour by hour for the next two days, keeps the hours with light wind and no rain, picks the earliest good window, and tells him when to start the sprayer. On Thursday evening, Vane says the mistral drops at five the next morning, and the rain holds off until night. Hugo sprays at dawn, and the spray stays on the leaves. This year he sprays half as often, and every plot comes in clean. Hugo can’t tame the mistral. He just knows when it sleeps.

The story in words