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Archive from July 2021

Working in an organic vineyard in the Loire Valley


Throughout June, we had the pleasure of organising the Gourmet Odyssey Discovery Experience Days again at Château de la Bonnelière and to get to meet our adopted vines once more!  After this chaotic year, we were very happy to enjoy and share these fun times!

 

Rent-a-vine gift in the Loire Valley

 

The welcome coffee, taken in the château’s barn, enabled us to get to know the winery and its owner, Marc Pouzeau.  Château de la Bonnelière is a family run winery which Marc has been running since taking over from his father in 1999.

 

Wine-maker gift experience

 

To help get us acquainted, Marc explained the Chinon appellation system, and the location of the winery’s different vineyard plots, all of which are to be found on the left bank of the River Vienne.  He also explained his philosophy for working organically, and how he strives to produce wines that express the uniqueness of each plot of vines.

We then headed into the Clos de la Bonnelière vineyard, where our adopted vines are located. We started by taking a few photos to remember the moment by!

 

Organic adopt-a-vine gift experience in the Loire Valley

 

The aim of the day was to learn about all the different stages of work in the vineyard.  Marc brought us up to speed on what his team had been busy doing since the last harvest, with particular emphasis on the most crucial task of pruning which kept everyone busy at the start of the year.

 

Get invovled in working in the vineyard alongside the wine-maker

 

Marc then showed us our task for the day to remove some of the leaves from the vines, and to de-bud them.  De-budding is necessary to remove the small unwanted shoots that have grown, and won’t produce any grapes.  And to help the grapes ripen better, we take away some of the leaves east-facing leaves in front of the grapes on the side facing the rising sun.

 

De-budding the vines

 

One of the groups also had the pleasure of weeding a plot of young sauvignon blanc vines.  In May, Marc planted one hectare of vines opposite the winery.  Young vines demand much attention to water them and weed around them.  With the rain of the previous weeks, watering wasn’t a problem, but the weeds had grown rapidly and were starting to suffocate some of the vines.

 

Weeding in the plot of young vines

 

The morning finished, it was now time to taste the organic wines produced at Château de la Bonnelière, and sit down for lunch, which we enjoyed outside whilst continuing our conversation with Marc.

 

Wine-tasting gift experience with the wine-maker in the Loire Valley

 

As is often the case in Chinon, after a big wholesome meal, the urge for a siesta was strong!  But we still had some more to see and discover!  We made our way to the cellar for an introduction into the wine-making side of things, something that we will cover in more in depth during the Vinification Experience Days.  But before then, we’ll be back to harvest the grapes in October. Many thanks to Marc for these really interesting and informative days.

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An original gift to discover the work of an organic wine-maker in the vineyard in Burgundy


It was a pleasure to welcome our apprentice wine-makers for the Discovery Experience Days at Domaine Chapelle in Burgundy in June and July.  The aim of these days is to learn all about the work in the vineyard to produce the best possible grapes at harvest time, and to participate in some of the work alongside the wine-maker.

 

Adopt-a-vine in an award-winning organic winery in Burgundy and learn about all of the work that goes into making wine

 

After the introductions, Jean-François Chapelle, the owner at the winery, explained the history of wine-making in Burgundy, that of his family, and his journey that led him to transform the winery to being organically certified.

We then headed out into the vineyard to meet our adopted vines, give them some warm words of encouragement, and take a few souvenir photos before learning about the vegetative life cycle of the vines and the work carried out during the different seasons.

 

Adopt your own vines and follow the making of your own personalised bottles of wine

 

Pruning takes place between December and March and is the most important job in controlling the maximum number of grapes that each vine produces, directly impacting the quality of the wine.  It also gives the shape to the vines to help facilitate the work needed to be done.

With the arrival of spring, the buds start to burst on the vines, forming the first branches which grow rapidly in May, keeping the wine-makers busy in the vineyard to ensure that all of the branches are supported by the training wires and don’t fall to the ground or become entangled with the branches from the neighbouring rows.

 

Learn about all the work that happens in the vineyard to nurture the vines organically

 

Training the vines has to be done with care so as to not damage the fruit-bearing branches.  The wires are then clipped together to hold the branches more tightly in place.  This is one of the jobs which our apprentice wine-makers helped out with, even doing so on one occasion with a little rain that gave us a good insight into what it’s like when the weather isn’t at its best!

 

Getting involved in the work in the vineyard

 

The vines are trimmed just above the training wires to limit the growth of unnecessary vegetation, keeping the grapes better exposed to the sun and ventilated which will help them grow and ripen in the best conditions through the summer months.

The vines are treated organically throughout the spring and summer depending on the weather and amount of rainfall.  This year has been particularly difficult due to the frequent rainfall, and has meant that the wine-makers have had to adapt how they work.   We were able to notice the difficulty and delays due to being unable to get the tractor in the vineyard with so much rain.

 

Organic treatments

 

After our mornings spent in the fresh air, the aperitif and tasting of the Santenay white wine made from the adopted chardonnay vines at Domaine Chapelle, accompanied by some gougères, was most welcome!

The delicious lunch, prepared by a local chef, was the occasion to learn more about wine-making in Burgundy, and to taste three other wines from Domaine Chapelle, including the Clos des Cornières red wine made from the pinot noir vines that other clients had adopted.  It was a very enjoyable moment, full of interesting discussions.

 

Taste organic wines in Burgundy with the winemaker

 

In the afternoon, Jean-François took us to see the new plot in the Clos des Cornières that had been recently replanted.  He explained the work done to remove the old vines and replace them with young vines and the economic implications involved.  Following the harvest, the old vines were pulled up and then the plot was left fallow for three years to regenerate the nutrients in the soil, then after the vines were replanted you have three years without a harvest, and then you have a low quality harvest for the following three years.  In total it will be at least 10 years before the winery will start to enjoy a quality harvest from the plot!

 

New vines need to be planted to replace old ones

 

We then returned to the winery for a quick tour of the vinification hall and cellar to see where the grapes will journey to at harvest time, and where they will be transformed into wine, and aged before being ready to be bottled.  We’ll learn more about the stages in the Harvest and Vinification Experience Days.

 

Winery tour gift experience with the winemaker in Burgundy

 

Thank you to all the participants of the Discovery Experience Days.  As always we spent some really interesting days with you, and we hope to see you again soon for the harvest.

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Adopt vines in the Rhone Valley with Gourmet Odyssey


Another great discovery for Gourmet Odyssey Cheli and Jérôme Busato, winemakers at Château Cohola in Sablet, have welcomed us to their boutique organic winery and made their oldest and best plot of Grenache vines available to be adopted. Their winery is nestled on the foothills below the Dentelles de Montmirail in the southern Côtes du Rhône region, and they tend to it with all of the passion and enthusiasm of the other Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience partner winemakers.

Starting today, you can adopt organic vines at Château Cohola for the 2022 vintage on the Gourmet Odyssey website, discover the work of the winemakers, and follow the making of your own organic wine.  Keep updated with the developments in the vineyard and cellar through the newsletters and photos from the wine-makers, from the skill needed to prune the vines right through to the bottling of your wine, complete with your own personalised labels.  You can also choose to add some days at the winery to meet Cheli and Jérôme, and help them nurture the vines, harvest the grapes, or work in the cellar.  Follow this link to learn more about the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience.

Meet the winemakers in their winery and enjoy a tasting and visit

You can also learn more about Château Cohola, their wine and the region.  The winery produces a great range of red, white, and rosé Côtes du Rhône wines in Sablet, one of the 21 communes allowed to add their name to the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation.  They are regularly selected for the wine guides and produce award-winning wines.  For example, the Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet wine chosen for the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience won a silver medal at the 2020 Paris Agricultural Show, won a bronze at the Millésime Bio organic wine fair, and was selected for the 2020 Bettane+Desseauve wine guide with a rating of 16.5/20.

Château Cohola in Sablet offers organic vine adoption
If you like Côtes du Rhône wines and are interested in organic wine-making, Château Cohola will be a real treat for your taste buds.  We can’t wait for the first wine experience days at the winery next year!

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Adopt a Vine in France and Follow the Making of Your Own Wine !

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