We started the day by heading straight out into the vineyard to see the source of the wine. Ghislain d'Aboville, the winemaker at Allegria, showed us the different plots and grape varieties that are grown in the vineyard, and explained how the vines are tended to and nurtured. At this time of year, all is very orderly as the pruning has just finished and the plough had just tilled the soil to remove the grass and weeds.

At the far side of the vineyard lie the adopted vines of our clients, a small sign in front of the vines denoting each micro-plot.

Back at the winery building, Ghislain showed us the vats where each vine plot and grape variety is vinified separately.

We then visited the cellar where the wines that are being aged in oak barrels rest.

But enough discussion, it was high time for some work! To warm up our noses, we passed around some small flasks containing different aromas that are to be found in wine. Our task was to identify each one.

For the wine tasting session, we started by comparing two syrahs from 2010, the first of which had been aged in one of the vats, and the second in an oak barrel.

We then tasted some of the wines that had already been bottled, starting with the Petits Bonheurs rosé 2010 and the Tribu d'A white wine from 2008. During the meal we tasted several of the red wines, the Tribu d'A 2008 red, the Carignan Gourmand 2008, and the Cousu Main 2008 from a magnum to finish.

In the afternoon, we focused on the 2011 vintage. First of all, we tasted the main grape varietals that are grown in the vineyard to make the red wines, syrah, mourvèdre and carignan, so as to better understand what characteristics each bring to a wine.

We finished the day by making our own blends in measuring cylinders. It's the best way to appreciate the art of blending, and as Ghislain explained, the objective being to blend a wine that is greater in quality than the sum of its parts.

Many thanks to Ghislain and to our clients who shared such a stimulating day with us.

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The wine fair is open from the 9th to 11th December and if you're in the neighbourhood, why not drop by to taste some of their delicious wines!

Have a great wine fair Guillaume and thanks for the photo!

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In front of the brand new winery building, Ghislain introduced us the estate and briefly described his professional journey, from his beginnings in the Champagne region, his studies of wine in Montpellier, the experiences he gained whilst working in wineries in France, Argentina and Italy, up until his quest to find the perfect land, capable of providing the quality of grapes to make the wines that he had so long dreamed of making.

Rounding the winery building, we headed up into the vines, where Ghislain pointed out the difference in grape varieties and terroir.  We crossed to the far side of the vineyard to reach the plot where the adopted vines of Gourmet Odyssey's clients are located.  A personalised sign for each client was awaiting them to identify their row of vines!

But, as the name of the Harvest Experience day suggests, we were there to harvest!  Armed with a pair of secateurs each and a crate, we dispersed amongst the vine rows in teams of two to get to work harvesting.  A few grapes found their way into our mouths rather than the crates, giving the first hint of the vintage to come!

The van was quickly filled with the bulging crates, so Ghislain took the first part of the harvest back to the winery and brought us back some new empty crates.  We obviously had a crack team of harvesters with us!

Back at the winery, the aperitif was most welcome!  We started the wine tasting of Allegria's nectar with the "Petits Bonheurs" 2010 rosé, followed by the "Tribu d'A" 2008 white. 

We continued the tasting over lunch with some red wines: the "Tribu d'A" 2008 red, a blend of 80% syrah and 20% mourvèdre and the wine chosen for the Gourmet Odyssey vintages, the "Cousu Main" 2008, served in magnums, finishing with the "Carignan Gourmand" 2008.

After the meal, it was time to get back to work! The first task was to empty the remainder of the harvested grapes from the van.

Before starting to put the grapes into the fermentation tanks, we had to rinse the material, and then we each took our places in a different work post.

The first team took the full crates and emptied them into the "égrappeur", a machine that separates the berries from the stalks.

The grapes fall into a basin, from where they are pushed into the vat with the help of an electric pump.  Another team, positioned above the tanks controlled the grapes as they arrived.  Each grape variety and plot of vines is vinified separately in different vats.

The stalks are collected in crates underneath the de-stemming machine and are then taken away and spread among the vines to decompose and return nutrients to the soil.  The vines at Allegria are cultivated organically, so no synthetic fertilizers are allowed.

It's very impressive to have the opportunity to be able to go behind the scenes to see the grapes being put to rest in the vats, and we were surprised with the speed with which we got through all of the bunches of grapes that had took us so long to harvest in the morning!

At the end of the day, all that remained was to clean the crates, secateurs and the rest of the material used so that all was ready the following day.

A very instructive and fun day to gain a small insight into the life of a winemaker.  Many thanks to all who came, and to Ghislain and Delphine for their warm welcome.  We left Pézenas with the feeling that the Allegria odyssey is only just beginning!

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