We returned to
Domaine la
Cabotte on Saturday for the 2nd of the
Harvest Experience Days. The harvest, which started at the end
of August at the winery, is now reaching the end, with just a
couple of plots left to go, including their Châteauneuf du Pape
vineyard which should be picked this week.
As soon as we had finished the introductions, we walked through
the vineyard to the plot of Carignan vines that are located on
the other side of the road. Eric & Marie-Pierre handed out
the material we needed to pick the grapes and gave us our
instructions.
Armed with our secateurs and buckets, we spread out among the
vines and started picking. The Carignan vines are pruned using
the goblet method, and so grow as free-standing plants. With no
training wires to worry about, you can rotate around the plant to
more easily access the bunches of grapes.
As we worked our way down the rows, Eric advanced the tractor
little by little, so that we had less distance to empty our
buckets. With the large bunches of delicious grapes that we were
picking, the buckets quickly filled up, and so too did the
trailer!
The weather was perfect for harvesting, with bright blue skies
and a slight breeze to keep us from getting too hot. It's a
magical place to spend a morning, with just the sound of birds,
and the snip of the secateurs to accompany us.
Once we had finished cutting the rows that Eric &
Marie-Pierre had left us, we made our way back up to the winery
and followed the route that the harvested grapes take.
We made our way behind the winery building to see where the
grapes are received. First they are emptied into a de-stemming
machine to separate the berries from the stalks. The harvest was
of a very good quality, and so there was no need for a sorting
table.
The grape berries are then transported up a conveyor belt and
then fall directly into the vat below where they will start the
process of being turned into wine.
After all the morning's effort, we were ready for the aperitif!
We tasted a couple of the winery's white wines and the Côte du
Rhône Colline red wine, before sitting down to lunch where we
continued the wine tasting.
In the afternoon, we first of all took a few minutes to visit our
adopted vines and take a few pictures.
We then headed back to the chai, where Eric talked about how the
grape juice ferments, and the important work done to extract the
tannins and colour during the maceration process. Eric also
talked about the differences in making white wines.
We tasted a couple of grape musts that are already in the process
of fermentation to see how the sugar level decreases as the
alcoholic content increases.
Eric then answered lots of questions about wine-making, notably
about the use of sulphites to preserve the wine, before the day
drew to a close. We will get the opportunity to discuss the many
choices of the winemaker during the vinification, blending and
ageing phases in much more detail during the Vinification Experience Days.
Once again, many thanks to Eric & Marie-Pierre for welcoming
us and for letting us get a taste of what it takes to be a
winemaker.
Other articles relating to the 2015 harvest
The 2015 harvest gets under way for our partner wineries
The 2015 harvest. What happens next in the cellar?