The first of the tasks is the de-budding to remove all the excess buds and any unwanted shoots. De-budding generally takes place a few weeks after the bud burst. During pruning, a certain number of eyes are left on the branch, which represents the number of buds and branches that will form (see our post of pruning). However, sometimes more buds appear than were bargained for during pruning, which can increase the load on the vines and reduce the quality of the harvest. Studies have shown that de-budding improves the maturity of raisins at harvest time by increasing the sugar levels, and thus the potential alcoholic volume. De-budding is a purely manual task. There is no machine capable of removing the buds without harming the plant.

We also remove the buds and shoots from the base and trunk of the vines. This is known as "epamprage" and can be done manually or mechanically using a tractor with rotating axels that brush the vines and remove the unwanted growth. Epamprage can also be conducted chemically with contact products or by using heat to burn the new shoots. Empamprage is often conducted at the same time as the soil is turned to remove grass and weeds.

The remaining shoots on the vines will then continue to grow, and from May to July comes the moment to raise the training wires in the vineyards. As the vines grow, the wires are raised and fixed to the posts, a task that usually requires several passes. We make sure that all of the branches grow between the two training wires so that the weight of the leaves and fruit are better supported. To help avoid the branches falling back down, the wires are clipped together. The branches are spaced apart to let the air better circulate and the sun to reach the leaves. This also helps the tractors to pass freely in the vineyard without damaging the vines and to improve the efficiency of any treatments.

At the same time as working on the vines, the winemaker also works the soil from April onwards to air the soil, let in more warmth, and to keep the growth of grass and weeds in check.

The next tasks for the winemaker in the vineyard will be to control the growth between the leaves, branches and fruit, jobs that we will explain in more detail soon.

More articles on the work in the vineyard :

• de-budding
• training the vines

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To start talking about the fermentation and vinification stages, there is no better place than the chai, and it was here that Christine Nadalié, the winemaker at Château Beau Rivage, explained all about the alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentation.

Christine comes from a family of coopers and as she says, she fell into a barrel at a very young age! The barrel room at the winery is very impressive, and Christine talks with as much passion about her barrels as she does her wines. She explained the importance of the source of the oak used for the barrels and the different toasts that are used to influence the structure of the wine. With the stirring of the lees, topping up the angel's share, and racking the barrels, there's more than enough to keep the maitre de chai busy!

We then took a few minutes to venture into the vineyard and enjoy the sunshine. With a week to go before Easter, instead of hunting for the Easter eggs, we searched for the adopted vines!

The Vinification Experience Day is the course where we taste the most wine. To better prepare us for the wine tastings, we organised a workshop to identify the aromas found in wine. When tasting wines, finding the words to describe our impressions is often the most difficult thing.

The first tasting was blind, and we had to find the difference between two wines. They were both however identical wines, the only difference being the type of barrel that they had been aged in. The comparison showed us the aromatic and difference in taste of a wine aged in French oak and a wine aged in American oak.

At lunchtime, we dined in the 1902 restaurant, located at the family cooperage. During the meal we tasted wines from the range made by Christine.

Blending wines is a true art form, and we set aside the afternoon to better understand it. First of all, we tasted wines from four different grape varietals separately - merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and petit verdot to appreciate the characteristics of each.

We then made several blends to see how the wine changes when different combinations of grape varietals are used. Even a small change in percentage can have a big impact on the final wine. We gradually honed our blends to try and find the best wine.

Many thanks to Christine and Guillaume from Château Beau Rivage for sharing their passion for their profession with us, and to all of the participants for their enthusiasm. We now just have to wait patiently as we give the wine the time to age sufficiently before knowing the blend that Christine will choose for our cuvée!

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We met up with Arnaud from the vineyard management team in the Boissonneuse vineyard, which was the first plot of vines to be converted to organic and biodynamic farming. Arnaud talked about the work that was conducted during the winter, and showed us how the vines are pruned and then attached horizontally to the training wire.

Pruning has finished throughout the estate, but Arnaud had left us a few small rows to prune. After a few demonstrations, it was our turn to have a go. Secateurs in hand, we quickly learnt that pruning is not as simple as you would have thought. Each vine requires thinking about and it seems that there are as many exceptions as there are vines!

Arnaud also showed us how to "pluck" the remaining branch to better concentrate the vines energy in the fruit-bearing branches.

The special vineyard tractors were also out working in the same plot, and so we were also able to see how they are used to turn the soil in between the vine stocks and the rows.

The Boissonneuse vineyard is also the plot where the adopted vines of Gourmet Odyssey's clients are located, and so we took a few minutes to find our micro-plot of vines!

Our taste buds were fully awake after all the morning's fresh air, and so back at the winery, we began to taste different wines from the range of Chablis wines that are produced on the estate. We continued the tasting during the meal, which was prepared by a local Chablis caterer.

The afternoon continued with a visit of the winery building for an introduction of the work carried out in the cellar, something that we will explore in more detail during the Vinification Experience Days.

Many thanks to Pierre and Arnaud for having shared their passion for the professions with us, and to all of the participants for their enthusiasm!

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As soon as the grapes are harvested, they start the vinification process to extract the different compounds from the grapes and to optimise the quality of the wine produced. Once the grapes are brought to the chai from the vineyard, the grape must starts to ferment to transform the sugar into alcohol with the help of yeast. The juice then becomes wine. Often a second fermentation then takes place to turn the malic acid into lactic acid, making the wine rounder and softer. The wine then enters the ageing period in vats or oak barrels.

The general principle seems fairly straightforward, but there are different processes according to grape varietal, colour and wine producing regions. And at each step, the winemaker takes decisions that are crucial in influencing the aroma and taste of the wine. These choices are personal and so there are as many different ways of vinifying and ageing wine as there are winemakers!

Without going into specific vinification details for rosé, sparkling or sweet wines, there are two principal details for vinifying white and red wines.

First the white wines. Once the grapes have been picked and sorted, and have arrived in the chai, they are put into a wine press to extract the juice from the grapes. The time that the pulp and grape skins are in contact with each other is very short for white wine, explaining why the wine is lightly coloured. Next the juice is clarified by removing the solid particles present in the must, such as skin, pip or stalk particles. This is done by letting the particles settle or by centrifuge. The juice then ferments to become wine and enters the ageing phase which can be just a few weeks or a few years for wines that are made for keeping. Ageing can be in barrels or vats.

For the red wines, the process is slightly different. Once the grapes have been picked and sorted, they are put into a vat, either whole or having been separated from the stems. Sometimes the grapes are lightly crushed to set free some of the must. In the vat the grapes are left to macerate so that the juice can extract the tannins and colour from the skin and pips.

The alcoholic fermentation starts at the same time and generally lasts between one and three weeks. Once it has finished we draw off the liquid. The remaining solid matter is known as marc and is then pressed to extract the wine that has been soaked into it. This is known as press wine, and the winemaker can choose whether or not to blend it with the rest of the wine. The wine is then left to finish the fermentation, alcoholic and malo-lactic, before being aged in barrels or vats.

At each step of the way, the winemaker tastes the grapes and wines, analyses them, and then makes a multitude of decisions such as how strong to press, whether to de-stem the bunches, how long to let the wine macerate, how long to age the wine, whether to use vats or barrels... As many important choices as there are different wines!

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After an introduction by the winemaker, Marc Plouzeau, we headed out into the Clos de la Bonnelière, the vineyard where our adopted vines are to be found.  We took a few minutes to take some pictures and introduce ourselves to our vines!

 

 

With the relatively mild winter, pruning has now finished across all of the winery's vineyards.  It's important to wrap up the pruning before the sap rises into the branches.  Marc explained how the vines are pruned to leave just one branch that will produce the fruit-bearing canes on one side, and a short branch on the other in preparation for the following year.

 

 

Once pruned, the cut branches need to be removed from the vines.  Marc had left us a few rows to do, so rolled up our sleeves and got stuck in!  The vines wrap themselves tightly around the training wires, so it's quite a physical job!

 

 

We placed the branches in the middle of the rows where they will be crushed in-situ to return some nutrients to the soil when they decompose.

The next job is to bend the remaining branch on each vine until it is horizontal and then attach it to the training wire.  We worried about breaking the branches, but with a gentle touch we managed just fine!

 

 

During the morning, Marc also explained the other work that will be carried out into the vineyard between now and harvest time, and we learnt that there is much more to be done than you would first think!

After our hard work, the aperitif was just reward!  We tasted one of the winery's sparkling wines, "Perles Fines", with some homemade goat's cheese and olive cake.  During the meal, we continued the wine tasting with some of the other white and red wines from the winery.

In the afternoon, Marc introduced us to the notion of biodynamic farming and showed us how he makes some of his biodynamic preparations.  He also showed us the range of tools and machines that he uses to work the vines and the soil.

 

 

The day ended in the winery's cellar which is located directly underneath the Chinon Fortress.  Marc showed us where the wines are aged in oak barrels and also took the opportunity to turn his bottles of sparkling wine.

 

 

Many thanks to all who participated in the day and to our passionate winemaker, Marc, for letting us in behind the scenes to discover what it's really like to be a winemaker!

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After the introduction of Céline, winemaker at the estate with her brother Stéphane, we headed off to the vineyard to meet our adopted vines. Having taken a few pictures, we then walked through the different vineyards until we arrived at the Steingrubler Grand Cru plot. Here, Céline and Stéphane had left us a few rows to prune!

Armed with a pair of secateurs, and under the instructions of Jean-Jacques, the father of Céline and Stéphane, we learnt how to prune the vines using the Guyot method.

 

It's not as easy as it would seem at first to work out which are the canes to leave or cut, but getting stuck and having a go is the best way to learn! Pruning is really important to help control the yield of fruit per vine.

 

At the end of the morning spent in the vineyard, we returned to the winery to taste some of the wines and to enjoy an Alsacien stew with the Stentz family.

In the afternoon we visited the fermentation halls and the cellar for an introduction to the winemaking side of the things from the harvest, through the fermentation and the ageing of the wine. These topics will be covered in more detail during the Harvest and Vinification Experience Days.

Many thanks to all of the participants for your inquisitiveness, and to the winemakers for your passionate and fascinating explanations!

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To get us started, Marie-Pierre, the owner of the winery, explained to us how she arrived in the Massif d'Uchaux from her native Burgundy, and how she has planted and developed the lion's share of the vineyard with her husband, Eric, over the past 20 years. We spent a few minutes visiting our adopted vines, which have now been pruned during the winter months ready for the next campaign.

Back in the chai, we got down to the serious matters of the day. Marie-Pierre told us all about the vinification of red and white wines, both of which are made on the estate. She told us how the wines are then aged. Marie-Pierre showed us the different tools that are used in the chai, such as the plungers used to push the cap of grape skins and pips down into the wine, and the metal flags that are lowered into the vats to control the temperature. We then tasted some white wine from the 2013 vintage, directly from the barrel.

In the wine boutique Marie-Pierre showed us that to make a good wine, you must have good grapes, perfectly ripened, to obtain the most aromatic wine. She showed us how to estimate the alcoholic potential of the wine and how to measure the density of the wine to know if the fermentation has finished.

We then participated in a workshop to help us identify the different aromas that we can find in wine, whether from the fruit itself, or the choices made by the winemaker in ageing the wine. Next, we tasted the three red grape varietals grown on the estate, and then had a go making our own blends. Marie-Pierre prepared a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache used to typically make the "Garance" wine which the Gourmet Odyssey clients receive.

We tasted some of the finished wines from the estate over the lunch that Marie-Pierre had prepared, starting with the Colline and Sauvageonne white wines. We then tasted the Colline, Garance, Gabriel and Châteauneuf-du-Pape red wines.

After lunch, we headed back out into the vineyard, where Marie-Pierre explained what makes the Massif d'Uchaux terroir special, and how the soil has been worked since the last harvest to prepare the next one.

The day ended back in the chai for a few explanations of biodynamic winemaking, and Marie-Pierre also told us how the wines are bottled and labelled before being ready to be poured into our glasses!

Many thanks to all the participants for their good humour and curiosity

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We started the day in the vineyard to see where the adopted vines are located.  On the way to the plot of Syrah vines, we saw how the pruning was progressing.  The view from the Mazet vineyard is great, and we could see all the way to the snow-capped Pyrenees.  The Canigou is beautiful with its blanket of snow.  For the participants it's a great sight.  For the winemaker, it's the indicator that bad weather will arrive within the next 48 hours!

 

 

Back from the vineyard, we visited every square inch of the chai.  The questions were varied; what's a wine without sulphites like, why do you use selected yeasts, why are the concrete vats lined with epoxy? The discussion also included bottling because the fermentation hall is currently bursting with palettes of bottles and cases.  On the 26th Februray the winery will be bottling wines all day, concentrating mainly on the 2013 rosé wines.

We then played a little game to try and identify the aromas present in wine.  The first series contained mainly floral and fruity aromas, the second series ones that are present due to the ageing in oak barrels.

 

 

We then tasted two different Syrahs taht are still in the process of ageing, one that had been aged in a vat, and the other in oak.  The comparison helped us to better understand firsthand the influence of oak barrels on the structure and aroma of the wine.

We enjoyed lunch outside. For the aperitif, we tasted the Dolce Vita 2013 rosé, an avant premiere of the wine to be bottled the following week.  During the meal that was prepared by Delphine, we continued the wine tasting with the Cinsault Abuelo 2012, the Tribu d'A 2010 red wine, and the Cousu Main 2010 from a magnum.  We then tasted the first of the 2014 goat's cheese from our friends at the Mas Roland, with the Tribu d'A 2012 white wine.  The perfect match!  We then finished the meal with a chocolate fondant, accompanied by the Belle Histoire 2009 wine.

 

 

After the meal, all the participants voted to make the most of the magnificent winter sun and to go for a walk in the vineyard.  So off we went, and continued our discussion, covering topics such as organic wine making, and different pruning methods.

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In the chai, Marc Plouzeau, the winemaker at Château de la Bonnelière, explained how the grapes are handled during the harvest, and how the grape juice is then turned into wine.  Marc told us all about malo-lactic fermentation and the differences between ageing wine in vats and barrels.

 

 

Once the ageing has finished, which can take up to 18 months after the harvest depending on the year and the type of wine, the wine is then bottled in-situ at the winery.  Marc showed us the machines used to bottle and label the wine.

 

 

We then sat down to a workshop to help us identify the aromas found in wine, something that is not as easy as it seems!

 

Before settling down to lunch, we tasted one of the sparkling wines produced by Marc, the Perles Fines.  During the meal, we continued the wine tasting with a Chenin white wine and two of the winery's red Chinon wines, the Clos de la Bonnelière and the Chapelle.

 

The cellar used to age the wines produced by Château de la Bonnelière is located directly underneath the Chinon Fortress, in one of the galleries formed from where the rock was extracted to build the castle above.  In this magical place, we saw where the barrels of wine will be brought to continue the wines maturing.

 

We tasted 4 wines from the 2013 vintage that are currently in the ageing process.  The first 3 were each from the Clos de la Bonnelière vineyard, home to the vines of the Gourmet Odyssey clients, but are ageing in either a stainless steel vat, old oak or new oak barrels.  To compare these wines with a different terroir, we also tasted a Chapelle wine that is ageing in oak.

 

The day finished with us each having a go at blending these four wines.  Using measuring cylinders, we blended several different wines to better understand firsthand the different characteristics that each can bring to a finished wine.

Many thanks to all of the participants and to Marc for sharing his passion of winemaking with us.

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In the morning we visited the cuverie to follow the path that the grapes, juice and wine take.  First we saw the area that the grapes are received during the harvest and put into the presses.  Pierre, from Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard, explained how the presses work and how the juice is then put into the vats.

 

 

Pierre told us about the alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentation processes.  The 2013 wines have all finished their first fermentation, and are now starting the malo-lactic fermentation which will soften the wines.   We stopped in front of the vat containing this year's Boissonneuse wine for a first taste of the wine that the clients of the 2013 vintage will receive next year, once the ageing has finished.  At this stage, the wine is still a little cloudy, which is completely normal.  The wine is far from being finished, but we could taste a nice concentration and equilibrium.

 

 

Once the ageing has finished, the bottling takes place in the next door building.  Pierre showed us the line of machines that are used to clean the bottles, bottle the wine and insert the corks.  The bottles then move to the labelling machine before being boxed, ready for transit.  It's a very impressive set-up to see!

 

 

We also organised several workshops around wine tasting.  To hone our skills, we started with a workshop to help identify the aromas that can be found in white wines.  This can be quite frustrating when you know you know a smell, but can't put a name to it!  We then tasted some sweet, salty, acidic and bitter flavoured water to feel how these different tastes act on the tongue.

 

 

We were now better prepared to taste the wine.  We blind tasted three series of wines to try and identify the differences.  The wine tasting continued over lunch with different vintages of the Boissonneuse, the Chablis chosen for the Wine Experience.

 

 

After all of the wines tasted, it was good to get some fresh air!  We walked to the Boissonneuse vineyard to see the adopted vines and to take a few pictures.

 

 

Back at the winery, we went down into the cellar to see the exposed cut of the ground to better understand the kimmeridgian soil that gives Chablis wines their specificity. We finished the day with a tasting of the 2012 Boissonneuse wine.  This wine is almost at the end of its ageing process and will soon be bottled.

 

 

Many thanks to all you participated in the day.

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We started the day in the chai with Christine Nadalié, the château's winemaker.  She explained how the grapes were received during the harvest and how the grape juice was transformed into alcohol during the fermentation process.

Next door, in the barrel room, Chrsitine told us about the work done whilst the wine is ageing such as stirring the lees and topping up the barrels.  Christine comes from a family of coopers, and so she let us in on the fascinating world of barrels and the harmony between oak and wine.

Once we had visited the chai, the plan was to visit our adopted vines.  However on the Saturday it started to pour down with rain at that point so we changed the plan.  On Sunday, we got booted up and braved the mud to take a look at our vines!

The Vinification Experience Day is where we taste the most wine.  To help us describe what we are tasting, we organised a workshop to help us identify the aromas that we can find in the wine.  It's not as easy as you would think!

We then tasted three wines that are still in the process of ageing.  Each wine was from the same grape varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon, picked on the same day from the same plot of vines, but each had been aged in a different type of barrel.  It's amazing to smell and taste the marked differences between the three wines.

To accompany the lunch, we tasted several of the Bordeaux Supérieur and Haut-Médoc wines produced at the winery.

 

The afternoon was dedicated to blending, using the four principle grape varietals grown at Château Beau Rivage; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec.  First of all we tasted each grape varietal separately to appreciate the individual characteristics that each brings to a blended wine.

 

In small groups, we then made several different blends to understand for ourselves how we can make completely different styles of wine.

At the end of the afternoon, each group chose their best blend to present to Christine and the rest of the group.

All in all a day rich in information, aromas and tastes!

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Following an introduction to the winery and the Chapelle family, we started with a workshop to hone our senses in preparation for the different wine tasting sessions to come. With the help of some small sample bottles, we had to try and identify the aromas that can be found in wine, either naturally from the fruit and terroir, or those that are introduced during the ageing of the wine in oak barrels. It's not always very easy to do!

 

We then worked on our palate to recognise the different feeling that sugary, salty, acidic and bitter flavours have on our tongue when we taste wines.

 

After the workshops, we went into the cuverie and cellar to learn more about the fermentation of the wine after the harvest, and their subsequent ageing. We tasted some wines straight from both new and old barrels to learn firsthand the different impact that they have on the wine.

 

During lunchtime we tasted a range of wines from the winery before heading back down into the cuverie for a last exercise in blending wine. Even if Burgundy is a region of single grape varietals, the wines are sometimes blended if different parts of the same vineyard plot are harvested and vinified separately. At Domaine Chapelle, this is the case with the Clos des Cornières vineyard where the adopted vines of Gourmet Odyssey clients are located. There are three distinct areas, with three different ages of vines. We tasted each of the wines separately, and then had a go at trying different blends to try and find the perfect mix!

 

We finished the day with a visit to the Clos des Cornières vineyard to meet the adopted vines, and to take a few pictures for the "My Vine" photo competition.

 

Many thanks to all the participants for their good humour and to Jean-François and Yvette for the passionate explanations!

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More information on the Christmas delivery date limits

Turn you loved ones into an apprentice winemaker for a winemaking year! A very original Christmas gift that sees them adopted their own vines in a French organic vineyard. They'll follow all the key stages in making their wine from the work in the vineyard and cellar up to choosing the name for their personalised bottles of wine.

And to complete you Christmas gift, you can also include one of the Wine Experience Days at the winery. The Discovery Experience Day will allow them to get behind the scenes and learn about caring for the vines to bring the grapes to optimum maturity. The Harvest Experience Day will see them get involved in picking the grapes and following their path into the fermentation tanks. Or why not include a Vinification Experience Day to learn more about the work in the cellar and blending the wines.

Each Experience Day is valid for two people and lasts a whole day. You'll spend the day with the winemakers, get involved in one or more practical tasks, taste the estate's wines and share a meal of other local delicacies.

All of our partner vineyards are organically certified and the winemakers have been chosen for the passion that they share for their profession. They'll welcome you warmly and let you in behind the scenes to discover what it's really like to be a winemaker.

To have something to open right away in front of the Christmas tree, your recipient will receive a welcome pack containing a sommelier's apron, DropStop, personalised certificate and details regarding their chosen Wine Experience. A truly unique and hand's on experience to learn more about wine.

More information on the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience

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We were welcomed by Eric & Marie-Pierre, the winemakers at Domaine la Cabotte, who started the day by showing us around the chai. Here we saw the vats full of wine, and Eric explained to us the first stages of fermentation. We quickly got down to the practical side of things with a tasting direct from the vats of some of the 2013 white and red wines that are still in the process of ageing. We compared them to the 2012 vintage to give an idea of how they will develop over time. We also learnt how to spit out the wine, so as not to saturate our taste buds with all the wine to be tasted!

 

 

Back in the warmth of the tasting room, we put our senses of smell to the test with a workshop to identify the aromas present in the wines at Domaine la Cabotte. It's not always as easy as it would seem...

 

 

We then tasted wines from the three different grape varietials, grenache, syrah, and mourvèdre that will be used to make the Garance 2013, which is the wine selected for the Gourmet Odyssey clients. Following Eric's instructions we each then had a go at making several blends to see how the taste of the blended wine varies according to the grape varietials and percentages of each used.

 

 

After all this wine tasting, we were ready to sit down to eat a delicious home-made meal prepared by Marie-Pierre with other local specialities such as the winery's own olive oil and some truffles that their dog had found the day before! During the meal, we tasted some of the estate's finished wines, the Sauvageonne white wine, followed by the Garance and Gabriel red wines. Eric also explained to us the fundamentals and his passion for biodynamic wine-making.

In the afternoon we headed out into the vineyard to visit our adopted vines. Eric took us on a little tour of the estate to show us the different vines and terroir.

 

 

We ended the day back in the chai, where Eric showed us the different preparations and tools used in biodynamic wine-making, and how the wine is bottled and labelled once it is finally ready to be sent out to the clients.

 

 

We can't wait to see how the 2013 will age and mature over the coming months. Thanks to Eric and Marie-Pierre for having welcomed us so warmly, and to all of the participants for their good humour.

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Looking for something more inspiring than the usual good bottle of wine to give your Dad? Why not give him the chance to make his own wine this Christmas! Your father will be transformed into an apprentice winemaker for a year with the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience! Adopt some vines for him, allow him to follow all of the key steps in making his wine, and he'll even be able to personalise the labels on the bottles of his wine that will be produced at the end of his Wine Experience.

Your father-in-law is hyperactive? With his Christmas gift pack, send him off to France for a Harvest Experience Day to pick his grapes and follow their journey into the fermentation tank. He'll learn from the winemaker about the work in the chai, and will end up with his own personalised bottles of wine at the end of his Wine Experience. He'll also get to share the harvesters' meal and taste the wine from the estate. What's more, each Experience Day is valid for two people, so your mother-in-law can make the most of exploring one of France's beautiful wine regions too!

Your sister loves wine but doesn't understand anything about it? The ideal Christmas gift for her is a Wine Experience gift pack including a Discovery Experience Day. She'll roll up her sleeves and get involved in the work carried out in the vineyard to produce the best quality grapes come harvest time. She'll learn all about the fascinating profession of being a winemaker, and will get to taste the wines and enjoy other local delicacies during the winemaker's meal.

 

 

Your brother is a fan of all things organic? All of our partner winemakers are organically certified and passionate about the sustainability of their vineyards. He'll discover the challenges or producing organic wine, and will learn about the organic treatments used to care for the vines. An original organic Christmas Gift!

Here are a just few ideas of unusual Christmas gifts for wine enthusiasts. Thanks to the unique and down to earth approach to wine of the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience, your recipient will appreciate one of the personalised Christmas gift packs.

And to have something to open on Christmas Day in front of the tree, the welcome gift pack includes some goodies such as a wine waiter's apron, a DropStop, a personalised certificate and details of the chosen Wine Experience. Who said that Father Christmas wasn't a wine lover?

More information on the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience

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Marc Plouzeau, the estate's winemaker, had reserved the "Clos de la Bonnelière" vineyard for us to harvest, as it is here that the Gourmet Odyssey clients adopted vines are to be found.

We started each day with the handing out of the essential tools needed for harvesting; a bucket and a pair of secateurs each!  After the initial instructions of how to harvest, we spread out in two among the vine rows to start the harvest.

Every ten metres a crate had been placed under the row of vines.  Once the bucket was full of grapes, we emptied it into one of the crates.  The group was very enthusiastic and the grapes in abundance, so the crates started to quickly fill up!  So much so that we had to fetch some more to keep up with the efficiency of our harvesters!

Once we had finished the first few rows, a few brave volunteers helped to load the full crates, first onto the small tractor that went up and down the rows, and then to transfer them onto the flat bed truck.  Harvesting isn't just about picking bunches of grapes!

We then took it in turns to follow the grapes journey to the chai to get involved in the sorting.  We emptied the grapes from the crates onto the sorting table, and then removed the grapes that weren't ripe enough or those affected by mould.  Given the dampness of the preceding couple of weeks, there was remarkably little mould this year.

At the end of the sorting table, the grape bunches fell into the de-stemming machine to separate the stalks from the berries.  The berries then fell into the trolley below.

We put the harvest from the two days into two separate containers.   With the help of a forklift truck, the first part was put into one of the stainless steel vats, as is normal for the Clos de la Bonnelière wine.

This year, Marc is also testing using some demi-muids, large barrels that can contain 600 litres.  We put some of the harvest into one of these barrels, the idea being to give a little more structure to the wine.  But we'll have to wait a few months before seeing the results!

After these two work-filled mornings, the aperitif was just reward!  In the hanger next to the vineyard we tasted the "Perle Sauvage", a delicious natural sparkling wine made on the estate.

We took the harvesters lunch in the barn and continued the wine tasting with the "Touraine Chenin", a white wine made from Chenin Blanc, and two Chinon reds, the "Clos de la Bonnelière" 2011 and the "Chapelle" 2010.

In the afternoon we returned to the vineyard to find our adopted vines, a perfect excuse to take a few more pictures!

The day ended back in the chai.  Marc explained to us how the wines are worked during the fermentation period, and we finished with a tasting of some grape juices.  The first juice was before fermentation has set in, and the second one that had started to ferment, and so was slightly fizzy.

Many thanks to all of our clients for their hard work and good humour, and of course to Marc and his mother, Marie- Rose, for their warm welcome and hospitality!

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