We spent the morning in the vineyard. Ghislain showed us how to harvest the grapes - which bunches to cut and which to leave on the vine. Secateurs in hand, we then spread out among the rows to get stuck in!
We harvested the plot of Carignan vines, a grape variety that is particularly liked by Ghislain and Delphine, placing the grapes in cases to later transport the harvest to the chai.
With the sun now directly overhead, the aperitif was particularly welcome! We headed back to the winery to find some shade and sit down to the harvester's meal, accompanied by a tasting of the different wines that Allegria makes.
In the afternoon, our task was to put our harvest into the fermentation tanks. First we emptied the cases into the de-stemming machine that separates the grapes from the stalks. The grapes are then gently pushed through a pipe into the tank where the fermentation begins to transform the sugar into alcohol. Ghislain explained the fermentation process and talked about the different methods used in making white and rosé wines.
A huge thank you to Ghislmain and Delphine for their welcome, and to our clients for their enthusiasm and hard work! We harvested more than a ton of grapes!
