The first contact with their adopted vines, the first encounter with Jean-François and Yannick, the first questions, and the first work in the vineyard.  To celebrate the month of July, the weather was out in its fullest glory, and the sun radiated around us as we listened to Jean-François explain the secrets of the terroir and the Appellations d'Origines Contrôlées.  In the winery's garden, looking out over the Clos des Cornières vineyard, where our adopted vines grow, we could have stayed there all morning.  But we had some work waiting for us!

We first went to meet our adopted vines and to take a few minutes to take some photos.  We then met back up with Jean-François and Yannick to learn more about the work that has already been carried out in the vineyard this year.

The flowers on the vines had just finished a few days earlier, and we could start to see the tiny grapes start to form under the canopy of leaves.  After the pruning and de-budding earlier in the year, the summer months are kept busy with the final tasks in the vineyard before the harvest, raising the training wires, trimming and treating the vines.  Vines are from the creeper family of plants, and as such, grow incredibly quickly now that the hot and sunny days are finally with us.  It is therefore necessary to raise the training wires to better support the vines, and to separate branches from different vines, and to keep the rows clear for the passing tractors.  It's also the opportunity to remove any superfluous branches that drain energy from the plant.  This work enables the organic treatments used to be sprayed more efficiently on the leaves and grapes.  It might seem like a simple job, but it enables the vines to breath more easily and to concentrate their force on producing sugar in the grapes.  The trimming of the vines then follows to limit the height of the vines.

So it was under beautiful sunshine that we spread out among the rows to put what we had just learnt into practice, and to earn the aperitif which would follow!  Luckily, a steady northerly wind made the task easier by taking off some of the heat.  This ideal weather was also perfect for the vines, because it helps to neutralise some of the illness such as mildew by drying this fungus directly on the leaves before it has a chance to spread further.  Another occasion for Jean-François and Yannick to teach us a thing or two!

A few of us had been worried about the climate, given the lack of sun, the low temperatures and the high rainfall in the preceding months.  However, at Domaine Chapelle, the vines haven't really suffered from this, and apart from being a few weeks behind schedule, there is nothing so far that should impact the quality of the grapes now that the good weather has arrived.

After a few hours in the vineyard, we returned to the winery to enjoy the aperitif in the garden and to taste the Santenay Saint Jean and Meursault white wines from Domaine Chapelle.  We also made the most of the time to ask a few more questions to Jean-François and Yannick, always very generous in their responses.  We ate in the Harvester's refectory and continued the wine tasting with the Santenay Clos des Cornières, Aloxe-Corton, et Santenay La Comme Premier Cru.

We then followed Yannick to the cuverie, where amongst the stainless steel, concrete and wooden vats, we saw the route that the grapes will take at harvest time.

We finished the day with a visit to the cellar, where fortunately no one was lost!

Many thanks to Jean-François, Yannick and Yvette for having shared their knowledge and these beautiful days with us!

Add a comment

Above is a photo of our apprentice winemakers in front of the Rosenberg vineyard, where their adopted pinot gris vines are located.

Add a comment

We started the day in the Clos de la Bonnelière, the vineyard where the adopted vines of the Gourmet Odyssey clients are located. We took a few minutes to find our vines before getting down to more serious matters!

Marc brought us up to date with all of the work that has already been carried out in the vineyard during the winter to protect them from the cold, and to prune them in time for this year's campaign.

The vines are presently about three weeks behind a normal year, so we are still in the process of de-budding and raising the training wires. Marc explained the importance of de-budding to ensure better quality grapes come harvest time by removing the canes that won't produce any fruit or those that will just sap energy from the plant. Then it was time for us to get stuck in!

Marc also showed us how to raise the training wires to better support the vine branches and the weight of the grapes to come. We raised the wires and attached them together using clips.

And for the more courageous, we also used some hoes to remove the weeds from around the feet of the vines that the plough blade couldn't get to. It's a physical job, but helps to open up the taste buds for the wine tasting!

As an aperitif, Marc opened his delicious "Perle Sauvage" sparkling white wine. It's a natural wine with nothing added to it... 100% pure fruit!

During the meal, we continued the tasting with a range of the organic white and red wines that the winery produces, including the "Clos de la Bonnelière", which is the wine selected by Gourmet Odyssey and which won gold medal at the Millésime Bio organic wine fair this year.

After lunch, we headed to the vinification hall, where Marc showed us the fermentation tanks, and introduced us to the work in the chai.

The day finished in the winery's cellar which is located directly underneath the Chinon Fortress. In this magical place, we discovered the barrels used to age the wines, the thousands of bottles that are resting, and the machine used to turn the bottles of sparkling wine.

Many thanks to Marc and to all the clients who shared this happy moment with us.

Add a comment

Over a cup of coffee and a few croissants, Jean-François enlightened us about the notion of Appellations and the importance that the different terroirs in Burgundy play, the roots from which date back to the monks in the nearby village of Citeaux! After an introduction to the winery, and the evolution of the wine making over the past few generations, we made the most of the sun to learn more about the geology and its impact on the wine.

From the garden in front of the chateau, you have a splendid view of the surrounding hills, and Jean-François pointed out the vineyards that are classified as Premier Cru, Village or for general Burgundy wine. The differences can seem rather theoretical and abstract, but when you can see the different plots in front of you, all is much clearer! After some additional explanations on the principal grape varietals, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, that are grown in Burgundy, we headed to the winery building, accompanied by Yannick, the winery's Technical Director.

We followed the route that the grapes and then the wine take from the time of harvest, through the fermentation and ageing stages in making wine. A little teaser for those who are coming back for the Harvest and Vinification Experience Days!

Following the explanations of how the reception hall functions, we turned our attention to the barrels. Where do they come from? What wood is used to make them? What work is done before the bottling takes place? ...

We then ventured outside for the aperitif, and started to taste some of the white wines produced by Domaine Chapelle, the Santenay Saint-Jean and the Meursault. During the meal, we continued the tasting with some of the reds, including the Santenay Clos des Cornières and an Aloxe Corton. Some fine wines to accompany the Burgundy specialities that we savoured during the meal.

We spent the afternoon in the vineyard, first to visit our plot of adopted vines. Pruned and the soil recently tilled, the Clos des Cornières vineyard saw some of us take up some unusual positions and grimaces for those who were tempted to try and win a magnum of wine in the photo competition!

The neighbouring vineyard is planted with Chardonnay, and we crossed the road to take a look. Surprise! The vines were not pruned in the same way. Each grape varietal has its own specificities, and as the ethos at Domaine Chapelle is to concentrate on the work in the vineyard and then to let the wine express itself as naturally as possibly in the cellar, each vineyard plot is worked individually to maximise the potential of the coming harvest.

Yannick showed us how to tidy up the branches and attach them to the training wires. Even at this stage, we are working to control the number of grapes that each vine will produce, and to try and help the future grapes to reach maturity at the same time. We were then each given the chance to have a go ourselves!

Domaine Chapelle is organically certified, so we also took the time to discover what exactly that entails. What products are used? In what doses? What is the difference from conventional farming methods? Yannick answered our questions, and told us about some of the difficulties that they have had to overcome.

Back at the winery, the day finally drew to a close. We loaded the cars up with wine, and said our goodbyes, at least, until the next time!

Add a comment

We were welcomed by Céline and Stéphane Stentz who introduced us to the region and the winery.  Their father Jean-Jacques, officially retired but who continues to work each day, also spent the morning with us.

We then headed off to the Rosenberg vineyard, home to our adopted vines that will produce the grapes for the 2013 vintage.

It's the end of the pruning period at the moment, all of the vines needing to be pruned before the sap rises up in the plants with the arrival of the warmer spring days.  We walked through the vineyards until we reached a plot of Grand Cru vines that still had to be pruned.

Jean-Jacques and Stéphane explained why we prune and how to do so, and then we each had a go at pruning for ourselves.  Something that's not as easy as you would imagine!

We also learnt more about working the soil, and Jean-Jacques even prepared a couple of vine cuttings to be planted back at home.  You'll have to keep us posted if they take or not!

Back at the winery, we tasted several of the wines produced by the Stentz family, starting with the Pinot Gris Rosenberg, which is the wine chosen by Gourmet Odyssey.  Stéphane explained the differences between the Rieslings, Gewürztraminers and other wines that we tasted.  The tasting continued over the lunch of choucroute and other regional specialties.

In the afternoon, Stéphane took us through the rest of the work that will be accomplished in the vineyard between now and the harvest, and explained how he will choose the optimum time to harvest.   We took a tour of the cellar to see the wine press, the barrels, vats and casks, the oldest of which dates from 1899!  He introduced us to the vinification side of winemaking, and we could even hear the gurgles of the wine that is currently still fermenting.

Many thanks to our clients who shared this first day at the winery with us with such enthusiasm and good humour, and of course to the Stentz family for welcoming us with such passion.  We look forward to coming back for the next day soon!

Add a comment

The aim of the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience is to discover more, not only about wine, but also about the multi-faceted profession of being a winemaker.  During the Discovery Experience Day, we spend most of the time in the vineyard, learning about the work involved in nurturing the vines to produce the best grapes possible come harvest time.

So off we headed to the vineyard, to start the day in the plot where the adopted vines of our clients are located.  We took a few minutes to take some photos with the vines, and to whisper sweet nothings to them.  Some people even started naming them!

Eric spoke to us about the different grape varietals that are planted in the vineyard, and showed us the various pruning methods used.  We're approaching the end of the pruning period at the winery, but Eric and Marie-Pierre had set aside a few rows for us to prune.After a few demonstrations on how to prune, we spread out, a large pair of clippers in hand, to give it a go ourselves.  It's not easy at first, but once we each had a few vines under our belt, we gained in confidence.

We pruned two rows of vines.  We weren't necessarily as quick as the professionals, but it's nevertheless very satisfying.  We had well earned our wine tasting!

The wine tasting began with the two Côtes du Rhône white wines made at the winery, before tasting the red wines.  First up, the AOC Massif D'Uchaux Gabriel, followed by the Chateauneud-du-Pape.

Only local products were on the menu for lunch.  Marie-Pierre had prepared small pieces of toast with truffles found by her dog the day before and drizzled olive oil from the winery's olive trees!  We tasted the wine chosen for Gourmet Odyssey, the Massif d'Uchaux Garance 2011, with the main course, and after some local goat's cheese, we were treated to a lemon desert served with biscuits made using almonds gathered from the tree outside.  Some even left with the recipes!

A digestive walk amongst the vines was most welcome afterwards.  Eric described the work throughout the different seasons, and showed us the difference in vines in the different plots.

Back at the winery, we finished the day in the cellar.  We saw the vats used to ferment and age the wines, something that will be covered in more detail during the Harvest and Vinification Experience Days..

The winery is biodynamically certified by Demeter, and so Eric explained the philosophy behind this environmentally friendly way of working.  We were even treated to smelling some of the fertilizer made using organic cow dung, which will help give more energy and strength to the vines!

Many thanks to our clients who participated in the day and to Marie-Pierre for sharing their passion for what they do with such authenticity and simplicity!

Add a comment

Saturday 2nd March : Vinification Experience Day

On Saturday we concentrated on the ageing and blending of the wine. With Yannick and Yvette we learnt some wine tasting techniques with a series of workshops to develop the sense of smell and taste, and found out how the wine interacts and evolves in the oak barrels.

Far from just be contained in the barrels, the wine is very active, exchanging with the wood and the air, and the winemaker must remain attentive at all times.  With the large part of the work having been done in the vineyard, the room to manoeuver is limited.
A first series of tasting enabled us to discover the different influences that new and old oak can have on the same wine.

We headed out into the vineyard after lunch to visit the adopted vines, and gave us the opportunity to see the work that had been carried out since our last visit.  The pruning has now been done, and the contrast with the luxurious green from September is striking. 

Back at the winery, we tasted a few glasses of the 2012 vintage.  It's still in the process of ageing, and will soften considerably by the time it is bottled later in the year.  We concluded the day by comparing wines from the different areas of the Clos des Cornières vineyard, which are from three different ages of vines.

Sunday 3 March: Discovery Experience Day

On Sunday morning, our new winemakers launched the new cycle of the Wine Experience for the 2013 vintage.  Delighted to reveal the secrets of his profession (or at least some of them!), Jean-François welcomed us to Domaine Chapelle, happily noting that at the start of the 4th year working with Gourmet Odyssey, he still had as much to say and to teach his guests.

Jean-François recounted the history of the winery, from the beginnings with the great great uncle, the local history of the Côte de Beaune region and the influence of the Cîteaux monks, the relationship between the commercial and agricultural sides of the business, the choice of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy, and the introduction of the appellation Contrôlée in 1935...  This overview enabled us to become acquainted with the region, and to learn that winemakers don't necessarily work in the same way from Bordeaux, Mondragon or Santenay!

We started to discuss the issues and choices that a winemaker is faced with.  The decision to work organically, the fruit of a personal decision concerning the wine and its impact on the surrounding environment, has consequences that you can immediately see in the vineyard.

The rest of the morning was spent in the vineyard.  We visited several plots of vines to see the difference in pruning methods.   Which branches to cut and leave?  We don't necessarily prune the same way in all the vineyards or for Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.

We then headed to meet our adopted vines.  Once again out came the cameras!

Then back to the winery to taste the wines from Domaine Chapelle and for lunch.

In the afternoon, we visited the fermentation hall and the cellars.  It was an introduction to the winemaking side of things, quiet now, but frenetic at harvest time!  Reception of the grapes, following of the fermentation, blending before bottling...  Despite appearances, this room is rarely truly quiet.

We then descended into the labyrinth of cellars under the winery buildings to discover the hidden treasures.  A nice way to end the day before returning for the harvest!

Add a comment

We started the day in the Clos de la Bonnelière vineyard, where the adopted vines are located.  Once we had taken a few minutes for everyone to find their vines and takes a few photos, we followed Marc Plouzeau, the winemaker at the winery to the other side of the vineyard.

At this time of year, it's pruning season.  It's a very important step in controlling the growth of the wines and in assuring the quality of the harvest to come.  Marc showed us which branches to cut and which to keep.  In theory it's fairly simple, but you quickly understand that each vine isn't necessarily identical, and that there are many exceptions to the rule!

Once we had had a go at pruning ourselves, Marc then explained the rest of the work that will be done in the vineyard between now and the harvest.  We also visited the shed where he keeps all of the machinery and tools used in working the vines and the soil.

After a visit to the fermentation hall, we headed off to the winery's magnificent cellar, located directly underneath the Chinon Fortress.

The wine tasting had been well earnt!  The Perle Sauvage naturally sparkling wine to start with, followed by the winery's Chenin Blanc.

In the middle of the cellar and surrounded by the oak barrels, we continued the tasting of the red wines over lunch, including the Clos de la Bonnelière and the Chapelle wines that have both recently won medals at the Millésime Bio organic wine fair.

In the afternoon, Marc took us on a tour of the cellar, explaining its history and how the stone was extracted from the galleries to build the fortress overhead.

Marc introduced us to the ageing side of wine making by showing us the oak casks and barrels, and also demonstrated the rotating machine used in making the sparkling wine.

Many thanks to all who participated in this jovial and interesting day.

Add a comment

Short of gift ideas for an original St Valentine's present?  Give an unexpected gift to the special man or woman in your life that lets them discover the fascinating world of organic wine making.

Much more than the usual wine tasting gift or oenology course, Gourmet Odyssey offers you a much more authentic idea - adopt your own organic vines in an award-winning French vineyard!

The Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience enables you to rent your own micro-plot of vines in a leading winery, located in one of France's main wine producing regions (Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Languedoc, the Loire and Rhone Valleys).  By following each of the key steps in making your organic wine, you will become an apprentice wine maker for the wine making year.

The Wine Experience days are a great excuse to plan a romantic weekend break in France.  These hands-on and practical wine courses create a bond with the winemakers, let you discover their great wines, share their knowledge and passion for their profession, and enable you to explore the local area and cuisine.

You will receive the welcome pack to give as a gift on St Valentine's day.  Your loved one will follow the evolution of his vines and the making of his wine by newsletter.  At the end of the Wine Experience, he can choose the name of his wine, and will receive a personalise bottle of wine for each adopted vine.

The Wine Experience is the ideal gift for St Valentine's day for any wine lover, and is a present that is sure to be remembered for many years to come.
Follow this link for more information and to order your St Valentine's Wine Experience Gift.

Add a comment

The day started down in the cellar where one of the walls has been left bare.  Here you can clearly see the strata of kimmeridgian soil and rock that help to give Chablis wines their unique taste.

We then headed outside and followed the same path as the grapes take during the harvest to arrive at the fermentation hall.  Pierre showed us the presses that are used to extract the juice from the grapes, and explained how the juice in transferred to the vats, and the sugar turned into alcohol.

The wine that is made from the Boissonneuse vineyard, the plot chosen by Gourmet Odyssey, is vinified in 3 different vats.  We stopped at each one to taste the 2012 vintage to see how it has been getting on since we harvested the grapes in October.  It's interesting to see how each vat has evolved differently, with one being much further behind than the other two.

In the next door hall, Pierre showed us the machines and the line that is used to bottle the wine.  After the wine is bottled, it is then passed through the labelling machine before being put into the cases and dispatched to the four corners of the globe.

Back at the winery, we started the first of the workshops.  Often, one of the most difficult things when tasting wine is to find the right words to describe the sensations that you are feeling.  We set up an exercise using flasks containing different smells to help us identify the variety of aromas that can be found in white wine.

The tongue also helps us when tasting, and different zones are sensitive to different tastes.  During the second workshop we tasted five different types of water; a control test, and one each that had had an acidic, bitter, sweet and salty flavour added to it.

By this stage, we had earned our right to start tasting some finished wines!  Pierre had prepared a few different series of wines to help us appreciate different characteristics.  We started with a blind tasting of the three different white grape varieties used at the winery, Aligoté, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

We tasted others series of wines to identify wines aged in stainless steel vats and in wooden casks, and how to identify a corked wine.

We continued the tasting over lunch with a Boissonneuse 2010 and 2003 to get an idea of how a wine ages, and we also tasted a magnum of one of the red wines made by the winery, the Irancy "Les Mazelots".

Some fresh air was in order after lunch, so we headed over to the Boissonneuse vineyard where the adopted vines are located.

We finished the day with a visit of the old fermentation hall where some of the more prestigious wines are aged in oak casks and barrels.  We also had one last tasting in store - that of two lots of the Boissonneuse 2011 which will very shortly be blended and bottled.  We tasted each wine separately before blending the two together in a measuring cylinder.

So lots of discussion and lots of tasting!  We hope that the day taught gave a little more insight into the life of a winemaker and the important choices to be made during the winemaking process.

Add a comment

The days started with an introduction to the château and the winemaker, Chrsitine Nadalié, before heading straight out into the vineyard.

Before getting down to the real work of harvesting, we paid a visit to the part of the vineyard where the adopted vines are located!

Then secateurs in hand, and having received our instructions on how to harvest, we spread out between the rows to start picking the grapes.

On Saturday we harvested using porters with baskets on their backs to carry the grapes between the harvesters and the awaiting trailer.

On Sunday the weather forecast was for some showers, so we harvested the grapes into some crates to give us more flexibility.  And luckily we did too, because shortly after we started harvesting the second plot of vines, we had to rush back to take shelter in the chai!

We stopped at lunchtime to taste the wines from Château Beau Rivage and to eat the harvesters' meal.  After the morning's effort, it was most welcome!

During the days, we also participated in putting our harvest into the fermentation tanks.  On Saturday, the bunches were pushed from the trailer into the de-stemming machine to separate the grapes from the stalks.  Then, gathered around the sorting table, we removed any unripe or rotten berries before they were pumped into the vats.

We worked a little differently on Sunday, emptying the crates into the de-stemming machine which then placed the grapes directly onto an escalator to be put into the vats.

And we also had a few helpful volunteers who got stuck into cleaning the material afterwards!

In the chai, Christine explained how the grape juice will be transformed into wine during the fermentation stage.  We also saw how the juice is drawn from the bottom of the vats and pumped back into the top, a process which helps oxygenate the wine and extract more tannin from the grape skins.

 

We then went into the barrel room for an introduction into the vinification and ageing side of wine making.

The day finished with the tasting of a grape juice that has just started to ferment.  Very sweet and a little effervescent, but the first taste of the wine to come!

Add a comment

Ghislain d'Aboville, Allegria's owner and winemaker, welcomed us and recounted the journey that he and his family took before finally settling in this tranquil and idyllic Mediterranean setting.

The main purpose of the Discovery Experience Day is to learn about the work undertaken in the vineyard.  We therefore started with a little tour of the vine plots where Ghislain explained and showed us the different soils, grape varieties and pruning methods used, as well as describing how he cultivates his vines organically.  Watch the short video.

At the other side of the vineyard we arrived at the plot where the adopted vines of our clients are located, a small chalkboard indicating each micro-plot.  It didn't take long for the cameras to come out, especially once the opportunity to win a magnum of wine in the "My Vine" photo competition was announced!

It's currently the time of year when the vines start to develop rapidly, and they can grow several centimetres a day.  Without any intervention, the vine will try to grow as much and as far as possible to the detriment of the quality of grapes.  It's therefore important over the coming months to keep on top of the vines to control their growth.  The work to be done at the moment is debudding.

Debudding consists of removing the excess buds and shoots which will drain the vine's energy.  And so with so many pairs of hands available, Ghislain welcomed our help with this manual task!  Most of the time, it's fairly easy to see what needs to be removed and what should stay, but there are always a few exceptions to make the job more intellectually stimulating!

Working under the sun at 30°C makes you thirsty, so luckily a chilled magnum of rosé was waiting for us in the shade of the mazet.

Back at the winery, we continued the wine tasting session during the meal, trying the various white and red wines produced by Allegria, including the Tribu d'A Côteaux du Languedoc Pézenas red wine chosen by Gourmet Odyssey.

In the afternoon, we visited the fermentation hall and cellar.  Here Ghislain introduced us to the vinification side of wine making, something that we will go into much more detail with during the Harvest and Vinification Experience Days.

Many thanks to Ghislain for sharing his passion for winemaking with us!

Add a comment

We're approaching the end of the cold months, and so at this time of year in the Loire valley, we start to slowly work the soil again.  To protect the vines from the freezing winter temperatures, the winemakers heap soil around the vines stocks in a process called "cavaillonnage".  At the end of winter, this extra soil is removed again during the "décavaillonnage".  And this was what was in store for us today!

Marc Plouzeau, the winemaker and owner, joined us in the vineyard with his tractor.  With the help of some of our clients, he had attached a mechanical "décavaillonneuse" (a special type of plough) behind the tractor.  The décavaillonneuse has a fairly flat blade on either side which tills the soil between the vine stocks, and removes the extra soil from around each vine, returning the soil to the centre of each row.

The machine has a semi-automated mechanism that enables it to plough around each vine.  Most of the time it works fine all by itself, but every now and then needs a little helping hand!   We took turns guiding it to ensure that the vines weren't dug up in the process!  You can better see how it works in the short video.

Some clients also had the chance to drive the tractor - a few childhood dreams becoming reality!

Despite the efforts of the décavaillonneuse, a few heaps of soil and some grass remained around the vines.  For the more energetic, the hoes enabled us to finish the job properly!

Throughout the morning, Marc explained to us all of the steps taken and to be taken in the vineyard to ensure the best possible grapes come harvest time.    The vineyard is organically certified, so we also spent time discussing the differences between organic, biodynamic and conventional farming methods.

A Wine Experience day isn't complete without a visit to the vineyard plot where the adopted vines are located.  As usual, out came the cameras to take a few snaps, and we have already received a few photos for the "My Vine" photo competition.

Our hard work in the morning was rewarded with some wine tasting back at the château, starting with the winery's Sauvignon Blanc and Chinon rosé.

Lunch was served in the barn, where we continued our tasting with some of the red wines, including the Château de la Bonnelière Chinon red, which is the cuvée chosen by Gourmet Odyssey.

We started the afternoon in the fermentation hall to see where the grapes are received during the harvest, and where the juice is turned into wine.  We will spend more time here during the Harvest Experience Day.

The day finished in the magnificent cellar which is found in the centre of Chinon, directly beneath the Chinon castle.  It's a magical and impressive place, even more so when we learnt that the huge galleries where dug by hand!

It's here in the cellar that the barrels quietly rest, and the bottles are stocked before being dispatched to be enjoyed near and far.

As always, many thanks to Marc for welcoming us so warmly and giving us a tiny glimpse of what it's like to be a winemaker.

Add a comment

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. 

After the morning spent in the vineyard, the aperitif was most welcome!  We tasted a couple of the winery's white wines before lunch.  During the meal we continued the wine tasting with some of the red wines to compare different vintages and terroir.

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.

 

Add a comment

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.

Add a comment

Wrapped up from head to toe, we started the day in the vineyard so that everyone could (re)visit their adopted vines.

At this time of the year, the principal activity in the vineyard is pruning.  Christine and David from Château Beau Rivage explained why pruning is so important and showed us how to do so.  When you see the number of vines to prune, and realise that each is pruned manually, you have a much better understanding of the huge and manually intensive task that it is for the winery.

 

Next stop, the fermentation hall and barrel room where the wine is fermented and aged, to learn more about the vinification and wine making stages.

 

We then headed to the warmth of the kitchen to delve into the heart of the day's topic with a wine tasting lesson and some exercises to put our sense of smell to work.  We passed around some small jars containing the main aromas to be found in red Bordeaux wines, and we had to identify which aroma each flask contained.  It's not as easy as it at first appears!

 

Our tasting senses awakened, it was then time to start the wine tasting.  First up, three different wines were chosen to better understand the effect that wood has on the wine.  Each wine was 100% merlot from 2010, but each had been aged separately in a different type of barrel.  The first had matured in an old French oak barrel, the second in new French oak, and the third in new American oak.  The result, three wines with completely different aromas, structure and taste.  The marked difference between the three is really quite astonishing!

We then continued the wine tasting during the meal with some of the winery's finished wines to compare different vintages and blends.
In the afternoon, we concentrated on the different grape varietals grown in the vineyard to better understand what characteristics each brings to a blended wine.  Chrsitine had prepared samples of Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot from the 2011 harvest.  We tasted each one by one, and discussed their differences.

 

In small groups, we then mixed our own blends to learn how the different grape varietals and their percentages change the wine.  

We finished the day by tasting the blend that Château Beau Rivage had presented at the Millésime Bio organic wine fair the week before.

It's impossible to learn everything in a day, and as Christine remarked, she studied oenology for 4 years, but we each left with a better appreciation of the choices that the winemaker faces to create very different wines depending on the grape varietals, percentages and barrels used.

Add a comment