We spent a sunny weekend amongst the vines in Burgundy for a Wine Experience weekend at Domaine Chapelle. The aim of this hands-on wine course is to learn more about the work in the vineyard, a stage which is so important in making quality wine.
The day started in the vineyard, where Jean-François Chapelle, the owner of the winery, and Yannick Jacrot, the Technical Director, showed us the difference between the local terroir, something which is always easier to appreciate in situ than looking at a geological map!
Yannick and Jean-François then explained the different steps taken to nurture the vines from pruning right up to the time of harvest.
The warm and sunny spring that we have enjoyed has meant that the vines are ahead of where they would normally be, and the buds have already started to appear.
The vines are organically certified at Domaine Chapelle, so we spent quite a lot of time learning how the vineyard is managed and the differences involved compared to conventional farming methods.
Each Wine Experience client is the adopted owner of some vines, and so before getting down to some work, we left some time free so that everyone could introduce themselves to their vines!
Yannick had left us a few rows of vines to prune, so that we could see how to do it for ourselves. It seems easy when you listen to the explanation, but once you're confronted with a vine, secateurs in hand, it's not that simple!
Another task that we got involved with was to use a hoe to remove the weeds from between the vines that the plough had missed.
We started the afternoon in the fermentation hall with an introduction to the wine making side of things. This is where we shall spend more time during the Harvest and Vinification Experience Days.
The day ended in the cellar where we toured the labyrinth of barrels and bottles where the wine is matured and stocked.
Many thanks to Yannick and Jean-François for sharing their passion for their profession, and giving us a brief glimpse into the life of a winemaker.
Comments
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Thanks for the excellent Wine Discovery Day... We didn't realise that growing vines was so complicated, but the great wine makes it all worthwhile! Congratulations to Jean François, Yannick and their team for the quality of thier work, their organic approach, and their love of good wine.
See you again soon for the next stage in the making of our vintage... -
Thanks for the warm welcome from all the team. We had an excellent time discovering the life of a winemaker.
Envoyé le Mardi 10 April 2012 by Yves and Valerie