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The aim of this hands-on wine course is to learn about the winemaker’s work in the cellar from harvest time until the wine is bottled.

Charlotte, the 32nd generation of winemaker from her family at the chateau, welcomed us with a coffee, and she introduced us to the history of the winery, her family, and the Terrasses du Larzac appellation.  Gaël, the Gourmet Odyssey oenologist, presented the day’s programme, and we were very happy to welcome back a couple from Ireland that had come for their third day with us.

We started in the fermentation hall to understand how the grape juice becomes wine.  Charlotte explained the fermentation and maceration phases, and the different methods used to make red, white, and rosé wines.  We also learnt all about racking wines and the role that yeast plays in the fermentation process.

The group of participants was very curious, asking Charlotte lots of questions.  We learnt about the different containers used at the winery to age the wines, and the different impact that the concrete egg, stainless steel vats, and oak barrels have on them.  What better way to learn than by tasting!

We then tasted the latest carignan, mourvèdre and syrah wines individually to appreciate the distinct characteristics that each grape varietal has before Charlotte gave us a lesson on how to blend wines to better understand the possibilities open to the winemaker.

Lunchtime quickly arrived, and we sat down to a delicious meal prepared by a local caterer.  On the menu were Mimosa eggs with beans and truffle oil, coq au vin de Granny Martine, and a dark chocolate dessert with cookies and a vanilla ganache.  To accompany these courses, we tasted 5 organic wines from the winery.

After lunch, we visited our adopted vines, and marvelled at the beauty of the plot of old carignan vines that were planted some 70 years ago by Charlotte grandmother.

Back at the winery, Charlotte ended the day by describing in detail the steps taken to prepare the wine for bottling, and then how the bottles are sealed and labelled. 

Many thanks to Charlotte for giving us such a warm welcome, and to all of the participants for their enthusiasm.  We can’t wait to taste the 2022 vintage once it has finished its ageing process!

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Jean-François told us about his family’s history, that of the winery, and the Burgundy wine-growing region.  He explained his reasons behind transforming the winery to being organic to preserve the soil and safeguard the people coming into contact with the vines, starting with himself, his family, and his team of staff.

Myriam, the Gourmet Odyssey oenologist then gave a detailed explanation of the senses used when tasting wines, particularly the aromas, and influences from ageing the wines in oak barrels. 

In the cellar building, we visited the rooms and saw the equipment used to make and age the wine.  Jean-François taught us about the work involved during the fermentation and maceration stages phases, and how he monitors the wines during the ageing stage.

Ageing the wine in oak barrels is crucial for the wines at Domaine Chapelle, improving the aromatic complexity and equilibrium on the palate.  The tiny pores in the wood allow micro-oxygenation to occur, making the tannins more refined and the wines smoother.  The wood will also helps the wine to develop aromas such as vanilla and coconut that are associated with oak, whilst the heating of the inside of the barrels will develop toasted and smoky aromas.

It was one o’clock before we knew it, and so time for a Burgundy aperitif of a Santenay white wine, accompanied by the famous gougères!

We then sat down to a delicious lunch of jambon persillé, Gasto Gérard chicken, and a three-chocolate dessert, accompanied by a 2021 Burgundy aligoté, a 2020 Santenay Clos des Cornières, and a 2019 Santenay Beaurepaire Premier Cru.

After lunch, we headed out into the vineyard to visit our adopted vines.  The pinot noir adopted vines for the clients having chosen the Santenay red wine are located in the Clos des Cornières vineyard, and the chardonnay adopted vines in the neighbouring Crays vineyard for the Santenay white wine clients.  

Back at the winery, Jean-François ended the day by explaining how the wines are prepared for bottling, how they are then bottled, labelled, and sold.  Bottling is done at the winery using their own machine, as opposed to using an external company that come to the winery with their bottling truck, a common practice for smaller wineries.  Domaine Chapelle is lucky to have its own bottling line as it gives them much more flexibility in organising when to bottle the wines.

Domaine Chapelle exports between only 20 and 30% of their production, compared to 80% on average for Burgundy.  The rest is sold directly to their clients so as to keep a link to their customers.

We all had an excellent day and learnt lots about the art of winemaking.  We look forward to welcoming you back soon to Domaine Chapelle or one of our other Gourmet Odyssey partner wineries for another wine experience day!

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Benoît, the Gouret Odyssey wine expert, introduced us to the day while we enjoyed a coffee and croissant.  Then Matthieu, who represents the 13th generation of winemaker at the winery, presented Château Coutet and its diversity of terroirs and grape varietals.  It’s an exceptional place where the vines, trees, and family have been living together in perfect harmony for over 400 years.

In the vinification hall, Matthieu explained the fermentation phases, something that those of us who had already participated in the Harvest Experience Day had touched upon last September.  Matthieu proved to be someone both very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject.

We then went through to the barrel room, where the wine is laid to rest and age in oak barrels once the fermentation has finished.  Traditionally, wines are aged in oak barrels in Bordeaux.  At Château Coutet, the aim is to limit the amount of wood that can be tasted in the wine, so the percentage of new barrels used is fairly low.

Back in the fermentation hall, Benoît then initiated us to the art of wine tasting, starting with a reminder of the basics, so that we were all talking the same wine language.  We blind tasted a first series of wines, a very interesting exercise that enables us to better concentrate on the aromas and tastes to analyse the wines by avoiding being influenced by labels and any preconceived ideas that go with them.

We continued with another blind tasting of the four grape varietals grown at the winery.  This enabled us to identify the characteristics of each before having a go at blending them together in different proportions to create our own wines like real Saint-Emilion wine-makers!

The morning flew by and before we knew it, it was time to sit down to lunch.  We continued the wine tasting with the Vertige white wine made by a cousin of the family at Château Grand Verdus, which accompanied the Landais salad for the starter.   The 2020 Château Coutet paired wonderfully with the beef brochette main course, ending with the magnificent 2018 Demoiselles wine, which has a long finish and complexity to it that matches the best of the Saint-Emilion wines.

After lunch, we made the most of the sun’s return to go and visit our adopted vines up on Saint-Emilion’s limestone plateau, surrounded by Château Coutet’s prestigious neighbours.  We each found our vines thanks to a personalised slate that had been put out.  We marvelled at the wonderful view, and took some photos in the hope of winning a magnum of wine in the “My Vine” photo competition.

We finished the day with a visit to the cellar where the bottles are stored.  Matthieu explained how the wine is bottled and labelled, the last remaining steps before the wine is ready to be sold and tasted.

Many thanks to Matthieu for his warm welcome, and to all the participants for this great day, that was as enjoyable as always.

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The day started with a coffee and croissant to introduce ourselves to one another and discover the day’s full programme of events.  The objective of the day was to learn the decisions the winemaker takes in the cellar when making wine, and as we were to learn it’s a complex task!

We divided the group into two for the morning’s two different workshops.  One half started in the chai opposite the château with the winemaker, Marc.  This building is home to the fermentation hall, the bottling and labelling line, and the logistical centre.

Marc had the honour of transforming our guests into apprentice winemakers through his explanations.  He covered all of the most important steps from the harvest, through the fermentation and maceration phases, up until the wine starts the ageing process, which was to be our theme for the afternoon!

The other half stayed with Louise, Gourmet Odyssey’s wine expert, for a wine tasting workshop!  It’s all very interesting to learn about how wine is made, but it’s also good to know how to taste it properly!  We worked on the senses we use when tasting wines, in which order to use them, and the specificities of each step.  Before putting our new found skills into practice, we put our noses to the test!  Most of us are not used to paying close attention to the aromas that surround us, and we learnt that it is something we need to train to be able to better identify the subtle aromas and characteristic of different grape varietals.

The groups were then swapped around before we all met up again for the aperitif and lunch, a good occasion to put into practice our morning’s work!

As always, Mme Plouzeau had prepared a wonderful meal, and we savoured the range of Château de la Bonnelière’s wines that we tasted.  So much so that it was difficult to pull ourselves away from the table afterwards!

There remained two important activities: meeting our adopted vines in the vineyard next to the château and visiting the cellar underneath the Chinon Fortress.

The vines were in very good shape.  They had recently been pruned and were impatiently waiting for the first warm days to burst back into life.

We then headed into Chinon to end the day.  Marc has the very good fortune to own his own troglodyte cave, directly underneath Chinon’s fortress.  He uses the cave as a cellar to age his wines in oak barrels from anything between one and three years depending on the wine and the vintage.

It’s a precise and painstaking job that requires patience and skill to know when a wine is ready, and which need longer.  It took Marc years of trial and error to master.  To give our participants a notion, we had the honour of tasting different wines to better understand how they change during the ageing process.  It was a unique moment that everyone very much appreciated.

Before we knew it, the day drew to a close, and it was time for us to go our separate ways.  Many thanks to all of those who took part and helped to make the day so special.  Hopefully see you again soon!

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After the introductions, we headed out into the vineyard to meet our adopted vines and better appreciate the diverse terroir of the Alsace wine-growing region.  It is after all the starting point for making wine.

We took some photos with our adopted vines, and listened to Céline as she explained the work of the moment in the vineyard to prune and attach the branches that will produce this year’s fruit-bearing canes. This is probably the most fundamental way in which the winemaker can set the tone for the style of wine that they are trying to produce.  Céline pointed out the number of nodes left on each branch and the smaller arc of the vines compared to the majority of the neighbouring vineyard plots.  As we could see, Domaine Stentz-Buecher voluntarily reduces the number of fruit-bearing branches that each vine will produce, thus keeping the yield of grapes lower per vine.  This ensures grapes of a higher quality, and is one of the main reasons why their wines are more concentrated and aromatic than your average Alsace wine. 

We then followed the journey that the grapes had taken at harvest time back to the winery, where Stéphane explained the different ways that the red and white grapes are received.  Some of us had seen this first hand during the Harvest Experience Day last year. The white grapes pass through the press to extract the juice and separate it from the skin, stems and pips, whereas the red grapes are put whole into the vat to extract the colour and tannins from the skin during the maceration phase. 

We had a quick look at the barrel room where the pinot noir grapes are aged.  Alsace pinot noir is becoming more and more critically acclaimed, and starting with the 2022 vintage, has finally been accepted as one of the grape varietals allowed to be considered for Grand Cru status within the Hengst vineyard.

The white wines ferment and are aged in stainless steel vats or large oak casks.  Stéphane explained all that happens and how he keeps track of the wines through the fermentation process.  He then drew some of the 2022 Pinot Gris Rosenberg directly from the cask for us to taste what a wine is like that hasn’t yet finished.  It was still a little cloudy, tingled a little on the tongue, and hadn’t yet developed all of its aromatic potential, but it was great to have the chance to taste a wine at this stage.

Céline had organised a blind wine tasting session for us.  Before starting, we learnt the key steps in wine tasting and how we use all of our senses when doing so.  There were three wines in the first series, and our challenge was to describe what we thought of each wine and to name the aromas that we could identify.  It’s not always so easy to put words to our sensations!  We then tried to determine what the three different wines were.  Different grape varietals, different ages ...?  Lots of guesses were made, none of them correct!  They were in fact all the same grape varietal, riesling.  The difference was the type of soil.  The first wine was the Riesling Tradition which is made from grapes grown mainly down on the alluvial plain.  The next was the Riesling Ortel, from a clay limestone marl soil  , and the third wine the Riesling Steingrubler Grand Cru from a sandy clay marl soil on top of limestone and granite .  As we had noted, these three different terroirs produce greatly different wines in taste, aroma, and complexity, helping to also explain the different levels of wine in the Alsace hierarchy of AOC wines.
There were two wines in the next series.  This time they were of different grape varietals to show the difference between the more floral pinot blanc and the more honeyed and smoky pinot gris.

We continued the wine tasting over lunch of traditional Alsace specialities.  Kouglof, choucroute, local cheeses, and black forest gateau, were enjoyed with the 2018 Who Am I blend of pinot blanc, pinot gr is and riesling, the 2019 Gewurztraminer Rosenberg, and the 2019 Pinot Noir Tradition.

After lunch we returned to the cellar to learn about the work for bottling and labelling.  Stéphane showed us the filters used to clarify the wines and remove the last of the lees.  We learnt the different choices available for corks and their alternatives, and saw the machines used for bottling and labelling.

Séphane also explained how the Crémant d’Alsace sparkling wine is made, and he showed us the rotating crate used to collect all of the deposit in the neck of the bottles.

The day finished in the wine library  , where a selection of wines are further aged in the bottles before being sold as old vintage wines. It was a very informative day, and we can’t wait to taste our 2022 Pinot Gris Rosenberg wine again when it is ready sometime around the end of the year!

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The day started with a quick visit to the vineyard to meet our adopted vines and take a few photos to immortalise the moment!  It was also a good occasion to remember that the wine made can only be as good as the grapes grown in the vineyard.  With the idyllic location of the vines, high up on the terrace, overlooking the Rhone Valley plain below, our vines certainly looked to be very happy!

We then headed to the chai, following the journey that the grapes take at harvest time.  Quentin and Jeff from Château Cohola explained how the grapes go through the de-stemming machine to remove the grapes from the stalks and are then put into vats to start the fermentation process.

There are two fermentation processes that take place.  The first transforms the sugar from the grapes into alcohol using the yeast that is found naturally in the picked grapes.  The second is the malolactic fermentation that changes the malic acid into lactic acid, softening the wines and giving them more depth.  Quentin also explained how the colour and tannins are extracted from the grape skins during the maceration phase.

Once the fermentation has finished, the wines start the ageing period, and so we went through to the barrel room.  Most of the wine is aged in large 650 litre oak barrels, but some of the wine is also aged in stainless steel barrels, and earthenware jars.  Quentin explained the virtues of each, and the impact that they have on the wine.  We even got to taste some of the wine direct from the barrel.

The syrah wine that was ageing in one of the stainless-steel vats needed to be racked to separate the wine from the lees.  Jeff had set up the pump and tubes to do so, and so we watched as he drew off the wine and pumped it into a second stainless steel barrel.

Once the first barrel was empty, Jeff opened it, so that we could take a look at the lees, and some of us even tasted them!

We then headed to the tasting room, where Mark explained the principles of wine tasting, and how to use all our senses to taste and compare the different wines that had been prepared for us.  We started by blind tasting two wines, and then taking the time to compare their characteristics before having the difference between them revealed.

We then compared two different grenache syrah blends that Quentin prepared for us to see how a wine changes if it is dominated by grenache or syrah, before comparing the same wine that had been aged in a stainless-steel vat and one that had been aged in an oak barrel.  As we were to learn, there are many different options and decisions to take for the winemaker.

After all this wine tasting, we were starting to feel a little hungry, so the delicious lunch prepared by one of the local restaurants was very welcome.  For the aperitif, we tasted the 2021 Château Cohola Sablet rosé, following up with 2021 Cuvée Fruit with the caillette starter.  We paired the 2018 Château Cohola Sablet red with the main course of daube provençale, and the 2022 Château Cohola Sablet white without added sulphites with the goat’s cheese, and square of honeycomb from the winery’s bees.  The meal ended with a mirabelle tart, accompanied by the Château Cohola TBF red wine.

After lunch we returned to the winery to learn about the last stage in the wine-making process, covering topics such as bottling, labelling, and the different options available when choosing corks. 

And so the day drew to a close.  As we had also learnt during the Discovery Experience and Harvest Experience Days, winemaking is a wonderfully diverse profession, and we left invigorated by the passion that the team at Château Cohola exude.  We can’t wait to come back again!

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The first robots appeared around 10 years ago, with notably the Vitirover, a grass cutting robot that was tested for the first time at our partner winery, Château Coutet in Saint-Emilion.  We’ll be asking a few questions to Adrien and Matthieu David-Beaulieu, the son and nephew of the inventor of the robot, and winemakers at Château Coutet at the end of this article.

The main aim of robots is to reduce the workload of the winemakers.  Finding the people to work in the vineyards is becoming more and more difficult, particularly in finding qualified tractor drivers.  And the tractors aren’t always very suited to working in the vineyard as they can easily uproot the vines.   The second factor that helped robots find their place was the questioning of the use of herbicides and other chemical products as opposed to more environmentally friendly alternatives.

The benefit of using robots that is most sought after by the winemakers is to increase their productivity.  A winemaker’s year is very cyclical and is sometimes a real race against time.  Of course, the robots have not yet reached a stage when they can replace the winemakers and thankfully so! They can be a welcome help in long and repetitive tasks like weeding, spraying, or working the soil.  This new way of farming also helps attract a new type of worker, one that is younger and more interested in technology.

Even though the revolution is underway, there is still resistance from some winemakers.  The main reason remains the social impact.  Working with new technological tools calls for a change in working habits and lots of time before integrating them into the workflow.  You also need to think of training, as using robots isn’t always innate and requires time spent learning how to use them.  The effort needed to integrate the robot should not be overlooked because even if it is there to help lessen the workload, humans still remain central, and the robots can present some added risks, whether they be physical by cuts or flying debris, or mental by adding stress to the users.  You need to learn to trust the machine which is not always an easy thing to do.

The second constraint is of course the cost of these robots, as you need to pay between 80 000 and 200 000 € to buy one.  You then need to add annual maintenance costs as well as adding all the GPS coordinates for each vineyard plot, which can quickly add up.
It is important to note that the robots have certain limitations.  They are only allowed to circulate on private property, and so can’t use the road or public paths between vineyard plots, creating an additional task of towing the robots from one plot to another.  You also need to have a trained operator close by in case of emergency.

The robots are also reliant on the topography and weather.  For example, robots such as the Vitirover, can’t be used on slopes greater than 15% or on ground that is too slippy.

A closer look at Vitirover

Xavier David-Beaulieu, grew up at Château Coutet in the family winery that has always been cultivated organically. He couldn’t understand why there were no solutions to reduce the use of glyphosates in the vineyards elsewhere.   It is estimated that 8000 tonnes of glyphosate are used each year by professionals in France.  It is both dangerous for the health because it is cancerogenic, and also for the environment because it destroys the biodiversity. 

Xavier David-Beaulieu partnered with Arnaud de la Fouchardière to create Vitirover, the first grass cutting robot.  It was designed to reply to the need of returning to farming techniques that were kinder on the environment by using new technologies.

The Vitorover is a small robot, 30 cm wide, weighing 20kg, and that is 100% autonomous thanks to its solar panels.  It moves at 500 m / hour and can cut a hectare in 15 days.  They are not designed to work alone, but in a flock with a shepherd that controls them remotely with a smartphone, and who can intervene if necessary.

The Vitirovers aren’t available for sale, the company instead offering a service contract to maintain the vineyards, so that the clients don’t need to upkeep the machines over the long term.  Today Vitirover doesn’t just interest winemakers, but other sectors too.   SNCF use them to maintain their railway lines, and EDF to maintain the grass around their electricity pylons.

We asked a few questions to Adrien and Matthieu David-Beaulieu, Xavier’s son and nephew, who are now the winemakers at Château Coutet, and use the Vitirover daily.

•    Overall, how do the clients perceive the use of robots in the vineyard?
“That depends.  Those that think that their use replaces humans haven’t generally had to personally battle against grass and weeds in an organic way in a vineyard.  Whilst others appreciate this new technology that can replace tasks which are often hard and tiring, as much for the environment as for those that do the job.  Some people are also admiring of the service provided by the new solar technology which uses very little energy” recounts Adrien, “but usually the feedback from the public is positive.”  “We’re often told that it adds a touch of modernity to our traditional philosophy” adds Matthieu.

•    Does the use of the Vitirover impact the quality of the grapes?
Adrien is convinced, “by not compacting the soil for example, the roots can dig deeper and therefore better resist climatic challenges such as droughts, allowing the grapes to reach a better maturity when faced with a heat wave.”

“I’d add that it’s not the robot directly, but more the presence of grass throughout the vineyard.  During a very dry year, the grass will compete with the vines, that will produce smaller but more concentrated grapes.  During a rainy year, the grass will limit the amount of soil erosion, and help the water penetrate the soil thanks to the root structure” Matthieu explains.

•    How do you reinvest the time saved by using the robots?
“The robots enable us to save time spent cutting the grass.  This extra time can be used to concentrate on the more skilled jobs tending to the vines, treating them, or repairing the trellis system.  In a vineyard, you can never have too much time on your hands.”

•    Is the Vitirover sufficient to maintain the vineyards, or do you need to use other tools too?
We choose to let the grass grow fairly high during spring so that a large proportion of the plant extracts can reach maturity or heading, and so can reseed naturally.  We then use a small light tractor mower for the first cut between the rows.  The robots are then used to continue the work between and around the vine stocks.  Once the vineyard has been prepared and levelled after winter, the robots are autonomous to take care of the grass.  The shepherd monitors the progress of the robots and checks that all is in order” adds Adrien.

Learn more about working organically in the vineyard and to get involved in some of the tasks alongside the winemakers at Château Coutet or one of our other partner wineries during a Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience Day.

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The Saint Valentine’s Wine Experience gift starts with the reception of a welcome pack and access to your Customer Portal to read the newsletters from the winemakers to understand how your wine is made, from the work in the vineyard, through the harvest, and the work in the cellar until the wine is ready for bottling.  You can personalise the labels at the end of the experience, and you’ll receive a bottle of wine for each of your adopted vines.   

To go even further, you can add one or more Wine Experience Days to your St Valentine’s vine adoption gift.  These hands-on wine courses are the perfect excuse to get away for a weekend break, meet your adopted vines, and become an apprentice winemaker for the day.

Each day is valid for two people and includes lunch and wine tasting.  The days take place at the weekend, last from 09:30 to 16:00, and are participative, working alongside the winemakers who accompany you all day to share all their secrets.

Gourmet Odyssey offers three types of Wine Experience Day:
•    The Discovery Experience Day is focused on understanding the work in the vineyard to learn how to produce the best organic grapes possible.
•    The Harvest Experience Day gets you involved in picking the grapes and following their journey into the fermentation tank.
•    The Vinification Experience Day concentrates on the work in the cellar and the choices the winemaker takes to age, blend and bottle the wines.

If you are not sure which winery or type of Wine Experience Day to choose to give to your valentine, rest assured that the Wine Experiences are flexible and can be changed.

More information on our Adopt-a-Vine St Valentine’s gifts.

 

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Which wine glass to use?

A crucial choice, which glass for which wine? It’s not a simple question because there are more than 120 different types of wine glass to choose from.  Here are a few tips from Gourmet Odyssey to help you.

•    Which glass for your red wine?

The Bordeaux wine glass (or tulip glass) is a large and fairly tall glass, tapered and more flared at the bottom.  Bordeaux wines are often tannic and powerful, needing time to open up.  The tulip shape of the glass allows the wine to air and soften the tannins.

The Bourgogne wine glass is larger and a little more flared, allowing the wine aromas to become more concentrated, and the wine to be aired less.   Pinot Noir, the grape varietal used for Burgundy red wines, doesn’t generally need much airing, or else it loses some of its character.

As a general rule for red wines, opt for curved glasses with a slightly closed rim that will help to accentuate the aromas.  They will work with most wines and so you won’t need to buy lots of different sets of wine glasses.

•    Which glass for your white wine?

Serve your white wine in a smaller glass than your red wine.  If your glass is too big, lighter and more easy drinking white wines will lose their intensity.  But the glass shouldn’t be too small, or all the aromas won’t be able to be liberated.  The main tip is to choose a conical shape, which will intensify the aromas and reveal the colour of the wine.  More complex and full bodied white wines, like those from Burgundy, need more space to develop.

•    Which glass for your champagne?

The champagne flute is the most common glass for drinking champagne. It’s thin bowl limits the loss of bubbles. 

For tasting a very good champagne or one that is very bubbly, it’s best to choose a tulip shaped champagne glass, which will allow you to better appreciate the aromas and subtleties.

We advise against using a traditional champagne coupe glass, which are flat and wide.  Despite their charm, they don’t give the best tasting experience as the bubbles and aromas quickly dissipate due to the shape.

•    Which is the best glass for all wines?

The INAO glass is the best glass to use if you had to choose just one!  Smaller than a tulip glass, but with the same shape, it is used by wine professionals for tasting sessions.  It is perfect for concentrating the aromas quickly due to its smaller size, and the rim that tightens at the top of the glass.  You can use it to taste white, rosé, red or sparkling wines with no problem. 

 

Last tip for choosing your wine glass:

Pay attention to the thickness of the glass, as it will impact the temperature and the taste.  A glass that is too thick can quickly warm the wine or cause condensation to form.  Thinner glasses also give a nicer feeling on the lips.

What temperature to serve your wine at?

The second factor to take into account when tasting a good bottle is the temperature of the wine.  The temperature is very important because it will influence the sensation you feel on your palate, and varies depending on the type of wine.

•    At what temperature should you serve red wine?

If a red wine is served too cold, the tannins will lack smoothness.  Above 20°C, the taste of the alcohol takes over, and the wine becomes unbalanced.

To truly appreciate a red wine, it’s preferable to serve it a little on the cool side, bringing more lightness to the wine.  The right temperature for a red wine is somewhere around 14°C for a light and fresh wine, and 18°C for a more powerful wine.

•    At what temperature should you serve white wine?

If a white wine is served too warm, the acidity will be overemphasized on the palate.  Inversely, if it’s served too cold, we won’t be able to appreciate all its potential.

For white wines, they shouldn’t be served too cold, never below 8°C, or too warm, never above 13°C, so as to keep the acidity of the wine well balanced.

The livelier and drier the wine, it’s better to serve the wine slightly on the colder side, between 8 and 11°C.  For more full bodied white wines, you can serve them between 11 and 13°C.  It’s also worth noting that for white wines, it’s better to fill the glass a maximum of a third full and to serve again if needed to keep the wine cooler.

•    At what temperature should you serve champagne?

The ideal temperature for serving champagne is between 7 and 8°C.  Champagne warms quite quickly in the glass, and so should be drunk between 8 and 10 °C, the ideal temperature for appreciating all of the aromas.

If your champagne is drunk too cold, you won’t be able to detect all of the aromas, and if it’s too warm, the bubbles will seem less lively.

Should you air your wine?

A common misconception is that old wines should be carafed to air them.  In fact, this is better advice for young wines, particularly red wines.  Young white wines could also benefit from being aired.  Airing allows the wines to open up and dissipate unpleasant aromas or tastes.  

However, be careful with older vintage wines, as they are more fragile and should be handled with care.  They should be tasted first to determine if they need a little airing or not.

To air a wine, you have the choice of opening it several hours before drinking, or to pour the wine into a carafe.

You now know a few more tips on how to get the best out of your wines.  Over to you to dazzle your guests! 

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Adopt some organic vines for a wine-making year and your original Christmas gift will see them following the making of their own wine.  At the end of the experience that will receive their own personalised bottles of wine, made using the grapes from their adopted vines.

If you would like to go further, you can also add one or more Wine Experience Days at the winery to meet the wine-maker and get involved in making the wine!

We offer 3 types of Wine Experience Day. The Discovery Experience Day allows you to participate in working in the vineyard and learning about the challenges of cultivating the vines organically.  During the Harvest Experience Day you can pick the grapes and get involved in the harvest!  And if you are more interested in the work in the cellar, sign up for a Vinification Experience Day to understand the choices the wine-maker makes, and to taste wines that are still in the ageing process.

All of the days are participative.  They are valid for two people and include wine tasting and lunch.  The wine-maker will accompany you all day from 09:30 to 16:00. 

To receive the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience Welcome packs in time for Christmas, order them by the 20th December outside of France, and by the 21st December in France.

 

Don’t panic for last minute Christmas gifts! If you order after these dates and before 16:00 on the 24th December French time, we will send you the vine adoption certificate by email to slip under the Christmas tree!

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After the introductions, we headed straight out into the vineyard, climbing the hillside to reach the famed Saint-Emilion limestone plateau, where the best plots are located, including the Peycocut vineyard, home to the Gourmet Odyssey adopted vines.  We took a few minutes to each find our micro-plot of vines, take a few photos and admire the lovely scenery of sloping vineyards, châteaux and the church spire of Saint-Emilion.

We then made our way to the plot of vines to be harvested.  Here we were each given a basket and pair of secateurs and listened to the instructions of which grapes to pick, which ones to leave, and how to cut the bunches safely without cutting our fingers!

 

In pairs, we spread out among the rows, and started to harvest the grapes!  The grapes this year were of excellent quality, so our job was made much easier.  There was very little to sort, and virtually all of the grapes were for picking. 

 

Once our baskets were full, we emptied them into larger crates which were then taken back to the beginning of the row.  It’s important not to squash the grapes at this stage, and the crates ensure that they don’t get crushed from the weight of the grapes above them.

 

Once we had filled all of the crates, we loaded them onto the trailer to be taken back to the winery and placed in the shade.  We followed behind and stopped in the garden in front of the chateau for a well earned glass of wine!

 

We then sat down to a delicious lunch of salade vigneronne, guinea fowl with a morille and foie gras sauce, and chocolate praline dessert, enjoying the 2019 Château Coutet and 2018 Les Demoiselles Saint-Emilion Grand Cru wines at the same time . 

 

In the afternoon, our mission was to put our harvested grapes into a vat.  First we had to separate the grape berries from the stems.  This is normally done by a de-stemming machine, but at Château Coutet, the grapes from the best plots are done by hand, including the ones that we had picked.  In fours, we gathered around some tables and removed each of the grapes by hand, placing them in a separate basket, and throwing the stems away in a bin.  The stems will then be spread in the vineyards to return some nutrients to the soil.  It also gave us the opportunity to remove any dried-up grapes or leaves that might have inadvertently made their way into the baskets.

 

The full baskets of grape berries were then emptied into a large bucket, and we then lightly crushed them using a wooden post to break the skins and release some of the juice.  Theses grapes were then emptied into a vat, where they will begin the fermentation process in a couple of days time once the yeast cells naturally present on the grape skins come to life and start to transform the sugar into alcohol.

 

Alain and Matthieu showed us the de-stemming machine and sorting table used for the majority of the grapes at the winery, explaining how they work and how the grapes are then pumped into one of the vats.
We then learnt about the work during the fermentation and maceration phases to monitor the transformation of sugar into alcohol, and to extract the colour and tannins from the grape skins.  At Château Coutet the extraction is done mainly by drawing the juice from the bottom of the vat and pumping it back into the top to filter down through the cap of skin and pips that has been pushed to the surface by the carbon dioxide released during fermentation.

 

Alain and Matthieu will be kept busy over the next 3 to four weeks tracking and managing each of the vats until the fermentation has finished and the wine is ready to be transferred to the barrels.

 

We look forward to learning more about this work, and the rest of the wine-making process to age, blend, and prepare the wine for bottling during the Vinification Experience Days next year.

 

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After a quick explanation of the winery’s history, the Terrasses du Larzac wine-growing region, a recap of the 2022 vintage so far, and an overview of the day’s agenda, we were equipped with a bucket and pair of secateurs.  We then made our way through the vineyards to a nearby plot of Syrah vines.  It’s important to pick the grapes early in the morning to preserve their full potential.

As we walked to the vines, Clément followed by tractor, pulling a trailer into which we would delicately put our harvest.
We were taught how to pick the precious grapes without damaging them or harming ourselves!  Sometimes we had to remove some of the leaves in front of the bunches to be able to get to the grapes more easily.

The harvest was generous and of great quality this year despite the very hot spring and summer.  The vines were able to adapt to the climate and responded well to the treatment and care of the winemakers throughout the year.  Some of our apprentice winemakers had learnt this first-hand during the Discovery Experience Days earlier in the year.
Once the buckets were full, we emptied them into the trailer.

 In didn’t take us long to realise that it’s a fairly difficult job.  The positions we find ourselves in to pick the grapes can be uncomfortable at times, some rows are more abundant than others, and some harvesters are quicker than others...  But the groups remained supportive of one another and we had lots of fun.  In just over two hours, we had harvested the plot and had become real harvesters!

We had a quick refreshment break until Charlotte informed us that Clément was already ready to put out harvest into the vat.

We didn’t have any time to lose, and so we brought our precious gaped back to the winery to put them into the vat, but we had one last little job to do before then.  We set about cleaning the buckets and secateurs with water so that they were nice and clean for the next day, and once again the team spirit shone through!

  Clément carefully positioned the crates of grapes in front of the chai to then put them into the de-stemming machine.

This is in some ways the first step in making wine, and involves separating the grapes from the stems and any leaves that may have inadvertently fallen into one of the buckets.  This avoids the wine from developing a bitter taste.

Once the grapes are freed from their stems, they are put into a stainless steel vat to start the fermentation process.  
Charlotte then explained the differences in the process for white, red and rosé wines.  For example, the red wines are kept in contact with the skins during the fermentation and maceration phase which lasts around 20 days, whereas the white grapes are immediately pressed before the fermentation phase starts to separate them from their skins.   

 

 We tasted some of the grape musts that had been fermenting for 10 days, and Charlotte suggested that we put our ears to the vats to listen to the effervescence of the fermentation.

It was then time for lunch, and so we made our way back into the shade of the courtyard to taste 5 of the winery’s organic wines over lunch which had been prepared by a local caterer.  We took the opportunity to ask the winemakers lots of questions about a wide range of topics such as their way of life, their philosophy of being organic, and the differences between the wine that we had tasted.

  After lunch, we went to visit our adopted vines.  After a short walk through the village of Jonquières, we arrived at the vineyard where our vines are located, and spent a few minutes metting our vines, and taking some photos of them.

We then returned to the chateau to bring the day to a conclusion, and collect a few bottles of wine to take home with us and share with friends and family.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the winery next year for one of the Vinification Experience Days!

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After the introduction to the day by Mark, the founder of Gourmet Odyssey, and Céline, the winemaker at Domaine Stentz-Buecher, we made our way to the Steingrubler grand cru vineyard with Céline, her father, Jean-Jacques, and a few of the winery’s harvest team.  Céline handed us each a pair of secateurs and a bucket, and explained which grapes to pick, and gave us some useful tips on how to avoid cutting our fingers!

In two or fours, we were then assigned a row, and started the harvest.  The grapes we were picking were of the Gewurztraminer variety, were in perfect condition, and tasted delicious!  There were very few bad grapes to sort, so our buckets quickly filled up.

When the buckets were full, we passed them under the rows until they reached the central row of the porter.  Here, we took it in turns for two people to carry a hop on their back, which we then filled up with the buckets of grapes.  It’s surprising how heavy grapes can be, and when full the hopper can weigh between 40 and 50 kg.

The porters then carried their load to the nearby trailer, climbed a ladder, and tipped the grapes in.  You have to tip them over your shoulder, something which is a little difficult the first time, but our team of apprentice harvesters quickly got the hang of it!

When we got to the top of the row, we then took another row and came back down.  The slope made it a little harder to walk up and down, but also made it easier to pick the grapes because we could position ourselves to have the grapes higher up.

Once we had finished harvesting the plot of vines, we gathered around the trailer to admire our work, wash the sticky grape juice from our hands, and have a drink.

We then headed to the Rosenberg vineyard to meet our adopted vines.  The grapes had been picked earlier that week because they had already reached optimum maturity.  We took a few minutes to take some pictures and admire the view across the vineyards and of the nearby châteaux.

Back at the winery, we met up with Stéphane, Céline’s brother and fellow wine-maker.  We helped our harvested grapes into the press by raking them out of the trailer and into the press below.

Stéphane explained how the press works, and how the cellar had been designed to use the force of gravity, as opposed to pumps, to get the juice into the vats.  The first vat is a holding vat, where the juice will rest for between 24 and 48 hours during the “débourbage” process as the small solid particles of skin, pips, and stems that managed to get through the press, settle on the bottom of the vat and the juice becomes clearer.

We then headed back out into the courtyard where Céline had prepared a well earned wine tasting session for us, starting with a delicious naturally sparkling Crémant d’Alsace.  For each of the following wines, we had to say what aromas and tastes we could identify, and try to guess which of the Alsace grape varietals it was.  An easy task for Céline, but not quite so easy for the rest of us!

Céline first served us the 2019 Pinot Gris Rosenberg, the wine chosen for the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience, followed by the 2018 Sylvaner Vielles Vignes, the 2017 Riesling Steingrubler Grand Cru, and finishing with the 2019 Gewurztraminer Hengst Grand Cru.

We then continued the tasting over the harvesters lunch with the 2019 Pinot Blanc, 2020 Pinot Noir, and 2019 Gewurztraminer Rosenberg to accompany the local charcuterie, cheeses and apple pie.

After lunch, we returned to the cellar, where Stéphane showed us the fermentation hall where the white wines start the process of transforming the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol.  Stéphane explained how he monitors the progress of these wines through the process, as we listened to the vats and casks gargle away.

The Pinot Noir grapes don’t go into the press straight away.  Stéphane explained how the berries are separated from the stems, and are then put into vats.  The juice is clear in Pinot Noir grapes, the colour being found in the skin.  Therefore to make red wine, the juice needs to be kept in contact with the skins to be able to extract the colour.  Tannins are also found in the skin which adds body to the wine.  During the fermentation phase carbon dioxide is released which pushes the skin to the surface, forming a solid cap.  This cap needs to be broken and pushed down into the juice for the extraction of the colour and tannins to take place.  At Domaine Stentz-Buecher this is done using the pigeage method.

Stéphane explained pigeage and showed us how to use the large plungers to break the solid cap of skin and pips.  We took it in turns to have a go, and realised that it is a very difficult job, and the cap is actually very hard to push down!  The job gets easier as the fermentation progresses, but it’s still something that has to be done once or twice a day for each vat!

Before we knew it, the day had come to an end.  We look forward to returning next year for the Vinification Experience Days, and learning about all of the work after the harvest to age the wines and prepare them for bottling.

Many thanks to all for making it such a great day.

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After an introduction to the day and the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience, and of Domaine Chapelle’s history, we walked to the “Clos des Cornières” and “Les Crays” vineyards, where the adopted pinot noir and chardonnay vines are to be found.  

 

 

We took a few minutes to say hello to our adopted vines, and take some photos for the “My Vine” photo competition.  A magnum of Santenay wine is up for grabs!

After this fun start, it was time to get down to the more serious business of harvesting, and so we gathered in the Clos des Cornières vineyard where the beautiful bunches of grapes from this exceptional vintage were waiting.

 

 

Climate-wise, the last couple of years have been challenging, and so we were delighted that the 2022 vintage had produced such good quality grapes, and of a normal quantity!

Jean-François and Simon gave us each a pair of secateurs and explained how to pick the grapes, which ones to harvest and which to leave on the vine.  The ripe grapes are located at the bottom of the vine and, as we quickly noticed, the vines in Burgundy are very low to the ground!

In pairs, we each took a row and started the harvest.  First we removed the leaves around the grapes to see them better.  This makes it much easier to cut the bunches without taking our fingers with them!

 

 

We put the cut grapes into crates, which is the best way to harvest pinot noir due to their delicate skin.  The crates avoid the grapes being squashed by the weight of other grapes above them, ensuring that they arrive in the cellar in the best possible condition. 

Harvesting is a physically demanding job as our backs and legs could testify!  But it’s also very rewarding and satisfying to see the rates full of delicious grapes!  And to arrive at the end of the row!

 

 

Once the crates were full, we brought them back to the beginning of the row to be taken back to the winery in the van.

After the effort, our reward was a lovely glass of chilled 2020 Santenay Villages white wine which we enjoyed in the garden, accompanied by the famous  Burgundy gougères.

 

 

We then sat down to enjoy lunch.  Poached egg on a bed of mushrooms, veal risotto and potatoes, and a framboisier to finish.  The courses were accompanied by a Burgundy Aligoté, a 2019 Santenay Clos des Cornières, and a 2016 Santenay Les Gravières Premier Cru.  All delicious!

In the afternoon, we made our way to the sorting table to participate in the process involved in putting the grapes into the vat.

 

 

We learnt how the work is organised around the sorting table and we got involved.  The quality was so good this year that we didn’t have a very stressful job!  We did however have to remove some of the grapes that had been scorched and had dried out due to the drought, but fortunately there weren’t very many.

We then went down into the fermentation hall, one floor below. The grapes that had been separated from their stalks by the de-stemming machine fall into a trolley using the power of gravity.  Once the trolley is full, it is pushed next to the vat to be filled, and the grapes poured into a vertical conveyor belt, known as the giraffe, which carries the grapes up into the vat without the need for a pump.

 

 

This method of putting the grapes into the vat treats the grapes very gently, keeping each individual berry as intact as possible to start the maceration phase before fermentation starts.

For three days, the harvested grapes are kept cold during the initial maceration stage, and then the temperature is warmed to allow the fermentation to begin.  This will last for approximately 10 days.  At the same time, the maceration continues and the tannins and colours are extracted by pigeage and pumping over.  The maceration phase lasts for around three weeks.

Then comes the time to separate the wine from the solid matter, and to put the wine in the oak barrels to start the ageing process which will last for around one year.  We’ll learn more about the rest of the work in the cellar after the harvest and up until bottling during the Vinification Experience Days in spring next year.

And so the day drew to a close and having collected some bottles of wine for the most part, we parted company, promising to come back soon to discover more of the Burgundy terroir in Santenay!

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