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How to read wine labels


Whether your wine bottles have personalised labels, as with our adopt a vine wine experience, or not, they contain lots of information, some of it not always easy to understand! Some of the information is a legal obligation, some is useful to describe and qualify the wine, and other mentions are sometimes purely whimsical. Here’s a short guide to help you decipher a wine label.

Most French wine bottles have two labels. The main label that is on the front of the bottle and a back label. Usually the front label is used for the name of the wine, the branding and the obligatory information. The back label is often used to give more information, notably about its taste, the winery or pairing suggestions. 

It is not set in stone however on which label much of the required information should appear, and so sometimes as little information as possible will appear on the front label, to keep it as uncluttered as possible, leaving more space for the name of the wine and graphics.

The legally required information

Some of the information has to appear on a label. In France there are 8 required mentions for still wines, and for sparkling wines a ninth is added to state the level of sugar.

Obligatory mentions on a French organic wine label

First of all the name of the appellation (AOC / AOP) or the protected geographical indications (PGI), both of which serve to guarantee where a wine was made and the methods used in working in the vineyard and cellar.

Then comes the volume of wine. A classic French wine bottle holds 0.75 l of wine, 1.5 l for a magnum, 3 l for a jeroboam etc. There are however some special cases such as 0.62 l for bottles of “vin jaune” that are put into a distinctive bottle, called a “Clavelin”. (0.62 l represents the amount of wine that is left of 1 l of wine at the end of the 6 year ageing period. The rest is lost to the angels share!).

The alcoholic degree gives an indication to the maturity of the grapes when they were harvested. A ripe grape has more sugar in it, giving a wine with a higher alcoholic degree.

The country where the wine comes from, the name and legal entity of the bottler. The bottler is not necessarily the winemaker, and can be a wine merchant.

A batch number is also attributed to the wine to identify where exactly it came from and how the wine was made. Sometimes this number is printed directly onto the bottle instead of the label.

For health warnings, in addition to the pregnant woman graphic which has been required since 2005, the label is also obliged to say if the wine contains sulphites, and since 2012 if it contains any allergens such as egg or dairy based products which can sometimes be used to clarify or filter the wines. If you’re worried about sulphites, please note that a wine that is completely free of sulphites does not exist. It’s naturally present in the grape, and is indeed needed to help stabilise and keep the wine a minimum amount of time.  Natural wines are wines that have no added sulphites, but there is no certification and hence logo to look out for. Natural wines tend not to travel or keep as long as wines that have had some sulphites added, so it’s good to take into consideration when and where you will likely drink the wine if you see a mention like “sans sulphites ajoutés”, “no added sulphites”, “vin nature”, “natural wine”.

Obligatory mentions on a French organic wine label

In addition to these legal mentions for all wines, some AOP regions impose other requirements for the labels. For example in Burgundy, the name of the wine should not be larger than the name of the appellation. The name of the appellation has to be the tallest and widest in font size of all of the information printed on the labels.

Other information: optional, but regulated

Even if the majority of the remaining information is mainly commercial, the winemaker still has rules to follow. On most bottles, the name of the wine will appear along with the type of wine and obligatory information as decided by the appellation. The winemaker may also include the name of the village or the vineyard where the grapes were picked. In a wide spread and well-known wine growing region such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, this helps to identify different styles of wine.

Pay attention to some specific words such as “Clos”, “Château” and “Cru”, which are reserved for use by AOP or PGI wines that have been made exclusively from grapes coming from the named winery or vineyard.

The vintage, which is always the year that the grapes were harvested, is an important piece of information, because some years are better than others, some wines are better drunk sooner rather than later, and some have a better potential for storing than others. To use the vintage, at least 85 % of the grapes have to have been picked from the mentioned year.

The winemaker may also choose to mention that the wine was estate bottled or “mis en bouteille au domaine / château”. This is reassuring to some customers that the wine was made by the winemaker, and the grapes or wine weren’t bought and made by a wine merchant.

In France, the grape varietal used in making the wine is not always mentioned, and is done so much less frequently than New World wines. This requires some basic knowledge on the part of the customer, for example to know that a Burgundy red wine is made from pinot noir grapes and a Burgundy white wine from Chardonnay. It can be very useful to state the grape varietal to help consumers with little wine knowledge, or to help people when it comes to blended wines. For example if you know that you prefer fruitier wines when choosing a Bordeaux wine, it would be helpful to look for a wine that has a high percentage of Merlot over Cabernet Sauvignon, and vice versa if you prefer a wine that is more robust and has a longer finish.

You will sometime see a phrase similar to “elevé en fût de chêne” or “aged in oak barrels”. This is an optional mention, but is regulated. At least 50% of the wine has had to have spent at least 6 months in an oak barrel. Ageing in oak changes the structure, taste and aromatic characteristics of a wine, so this mention can help you depending on the style of wine that you are looking for.

Other information: optional, but unregulated

This where you have to be a little more careful not to be led astray. Although some of the information may be very helpful in helping you to choose a wine and learn a little more how it tastes, sometimes the information can be a little subjective.

For example, our partner winemaker in Alsace, the Domaine Stentz-Buecher, puts a scale on the back label to show how dry or sweet their different wines are. This is very helpful to the consumer as the different grape varietals of Alsace wines can vary greatly in how dry or sweet they are, and even the same grape varietals from different winemakers or vineyards can vary.

An example of a mention that is much more subjective and can be misleading is “Vielles vignes” or old vines. As vines get older, their roots dig deeper, and they produce better quality grapes. So “vielles vigne” should be a term that indicates a higher quality wine. The problem is at what age does a vine become old? There is no regulation as to the age, and so it is up to the winemaker. For one winemaker a plot of 30 year old vines might be considered vielles vignes, however another winemaker who has 80 year old vines might consider them to be still relatively youthful. It can be helpful when choosing among different wines from the same producer, but should be taken with more caution when comparing wines from different winemakers.

Regarding the graphics of the label, there are no rules, and so the winemaker has more freedom to be creative, which can sometimes lead to some very surprising results! When choosing the design, the winemaker is trying to create an identity for the wine, and to make it visually attractive to the target consumer. But the winemaker has to be careful because what might attract one person, might not be to the taste of someone else, and sometimes the visual identity can make finding and reading the rest of the information more difficult.

How to read a label on a French wine bottle

And organic wine labels?

Until 2012, the organic certification for wines only concerned itself with the grapes were grown, and not how the wine was made once the grapes had been picked. French wine labels stated “wine made from organically grown grapes” or “vin issu de raisins de l’agriculture biologique”.

Since then, the winemakers work in the cellar to age and bottle the wine is also controlled to meet organic standards. For example organic wine has to have a level of sulphites less than 100 mg/l for red wines, and 15 mg/l for white wines. Wine can now be called “organic wine”, and this mention now appears of the labels.

There are two logos used in France to identify that a wine is organically certified. Firstly there is the AB logo (Agriculture biologique) and secondly the green leaf European organic logo. On older bottles prior to 2010, you’ll most likely see just the AB logo, but since then, you’ll either see the AB logo together with the European logo, or just the European logo.

French Organic Farming logo
European Orgnaic Farming logo

Biodynamically certified wines can be identified by either the Demeter or Biodyvin logos. Read our article on organic, biodynamic and natural wines for more information.

Biodyvin biodynamic farming label
 
Demeter biodynamic farming label
  

Don’t judge a book by its cover

It’s therefore worth spending a bit of time reading the wine labels when choosing a bottle. But as with reading, it’s best to look inside, and so the surest way to judge the quality of a wine is to open the bottle and taste it!

 

Related articles

Organic, biodynamic and natural wines

What makes French Organic Wine, Organic?

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2018 Wine fairs to taste the wines from our partner vineyards


Wine fairs are a great way for our independent winemakers to showcase their wines, and for you to discover great bottles of wine at good prices. Our winemakers are no exception, and often take to the road. Here is a list of the wine fairs where you can meet them. Don’t hesitate to stop by, say hello, and taste their wines!

  Wine tasting french organic wine fairs

February 2018

Domaine de la Guicharde, Côtes du Rhône Massif d’Uchaux winery located in Mondragon, will be at the Sous les Pavés la Vigne wine fair on the 10th & 11th February, in Bordeaux, Hangar 14. It’s a natural wine fair.

They will also be at the Vinisud professional wine buyers trade fair in Montpellier from the 18th to 20th February 2018, and at the 19th Salon des Vins de Producteurs Kiwanis Club in Saint-Etienne.

Domaine Chapelle from Santenay in Burgundy will be at the Salon des Vins de Neuville sur Saône wine fair, salle Jean Dousset (86) on the 10th and 11th February 2018.

Château Beau Rivage will share their Bordeaux wines with you at the Salon des Vignerons Indépendants wine fair, in Strasbourg, stand D104, from the 16th to 19th February 2018.

March 2018

Château Beau Rivage from Macau en Médoc, will also be present at the Salon des Vignerons Indépendants wine fair, at Bordeaux Lac, stand D32 from the 2nd to 4th  March 2018.

Domaine Chapelle are once again attending the Salon des vins de Paray Le Monial (71).  Come and taste their wines on the 17th and 18th March 2018, and at the Vivre Autrement organic living fair in Paris at the Parc Floral de Vincenne (75) from the 17th to 19th March 2018.

Domaine Allegria will be at the Salon des Vignerons wine fair in Olne, Belgium on the 24th  and 25th March 2018.

May 2018

Domaine Chapelle, will be presenting their organic Burgundy wines at the 29èmes Journées Gourmandes du Grand Morvan gastronomy fair in Saulieu (Hall des Expositions) from the 10th to 13th May.

Domaine Chapelle will also be at Foire Gastronomique de Mailly in Champgane (51) from the 19th to the 21st 2018.

More information about our partner wineries and the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience.

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Original St Valentine’s gift for wine lovers. Adopt some organic vines!


Your other half loves wine? For the perfect Saint Valentine’s present, adopt some organic vines in an award-winning French winery and follow the making of your own personalised bottles of wine. It’s a fantastic way to learn about the art of wine-making and gives you a great excuse to get away and share a weekend break together in one of France’s beautiful wine-growing regions.

Your valentine will love following the progress of his or her adopted vines from the work in the vineyard at one of our organically certified vineyards to the bottling of the personalised wine bottles. The apprentice winemakers will receive newsletters, articles and photos to keep them updated and to learn about all of the hard work and skill that goes into make a quality wine. When you get to taste this unique St Valentine’s wine at the end of the experience, it sure to have a very special taste!

Personnalised bottles of wine for the Valentines Day

And if you’re looking for an original weekend break idea, visit the winery, meet the winemaker and see your adopted vines! You can add one or more wine experience days at the winery. Each day is valid for two, and you have the choice of three themes. The Discovery Experience Day teaches you about all of the work and care that goes into nurturing the vines, and gets you involved in working in the vineyard alongside the winemaker. The Harvest Experience Day enables you to participate in picking the grapes, and to learn about the work in the chai at harvest time. The Vinification Experience Day explores the choices the winemaker takes in the cellar to ferment, age, blend and bottle the wine through a series of interactive workshops.

Wine course in a French vineyard for wine lovers

Each of the wine experience days enable you to learn directly from the winemakers and their teams, and last the whole day from 09:30 to 16:00, the time necessary to get to the know the winemakers more and learn about the complexities of wine-making. You will also taste the wines from the winery and share lunch to sample other local delicacies.

Adopt-a-vine Valentine gift in a French winery

We are very particular when it comes to choosing our partner winemakers. They are selected not only for the high quality of their wine, but also for their warmth and hospitality in welcoming you to their winery and in explaining their profession. We have also chosen to work exclusively with organically certified wineries, and it’s fascinating to learn about all they do to enhance the quality of the environment around them, and protect the health of their family, employees, neighbours and customers.

We promise you a fun, enlightening, and thought provoking experience to learn more about the world of wine.

More information about the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience.

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Gourmet Odyssey partner winemakers win medals at the Challenge Millésime Bio 2018 organic wine competition



The Challenge Millésime Bio wine competition organised by the Millésime Bio professional organic wine fair took place this week. Once again, the Gourmet Odyssey partner winemakers saw their wines win medals at this prestigious organic wine competition.

 

Gourmet Odyssey's wines are awarded medals at Challenge Millésime Bio

Challenge Millésime Bio is an international wine competition that receives over 1500 organic wines each year to judge.  The jury is made up of wine professionals, and this year the president was Klaus Hermann, Director of the German wine magazine, WEIN+MARKT.

International wine fair and challenge in France

Of the 1516 wine samples presented for tasting during this year’s competion, the jury awarded medals to 434 wines:

  • 136 gold medals
  • 201 silver medals
  • 97 bronze medals
The selection is harsh with just over 400 medals awarded 

Among our partner wineries, four of our winemakers had the pleasure of receiving a medal:

  • Domaine la Cabotte in the Cotes du Rhone wine-growing region received a gold medal for their 2015 Châteauneuf-Du-Pape Vieilles Vignes
  • Château Beau Rivage in Macau-en-Médoc was also awarded a gold medal for their 2015 Clos la Bohème
  • Domaine Chapelle, our partner vineyard in Burgundy, won silver for their 2015 Santenay Premier Cru Beaurepaire
  • Domaine Allegria was also awarded a silver medal for their 2014 Languedoc Mendel Malbec

Congratulations for these well-deserved awards. We look forward to the tasting them at the Millésime Bio organic wine fair!

 

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Raising our glass to 2018


Another exciting year draws to a close and a new one full of promise begins in the world of wine and at Gourmet Odyssey!

For the 2017 vintage, we welcomed Château Coutet in Saint-Emilion to the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience, and Domaine de la Guicharde in the Rhone valley begins the adventure with the 2018 vintage. As with all of our other partner wineries, they are both organically certified and Domaine de la Guicharde is also a biodynamic winery. Discover the magic of these two wineries by adopting some vines and participating in one of the Wine Experience Days in the vineyard and cellar.

In the vineyard, 2017 was finally a good year.  After a few scares and scrapes with frost in April, and then the dryness of the summer months, the 2017 harvest was picked in great weather conditions, and the first impressions are very good, as you might have read in our summary of the 2017 vintage.

We are getting ready to welcome you for the 2018 vintage and are impatient to discover what the year holds in store!  We hope that it is a fine vintage and year, full of great moments shared in the vineyard, and around a bottle of wine.

We wish you all an excellent 2018!

Mark, Marie, Louise, Myriam et Jacqueline

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Last minute Christmas gifts for wine lovers


Christmas is fast approaching! There’s still time to find the perfect Christmas gift idea for your favourite wine lover. The Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience gift packs can be ordered up until the 19th December for most European deliveries and up until the 20th December within France. And for those who wait to buy a very last minute Christmas present, we can send an email copy of the gift certificate for orders received before the midday French time on the 24th December.

 

Wine Christmas gift packs until the last minute

 

Adopting a vine for Christmas is an original personalised gift idea. And with our award-winning organic winemaker partners, you’re sure to find the perfect gift. Your recipient will follow the making of their own organic French wine and will end up with their own personalised bottles of wine when their Wine Experience finishes.

Gift with personalised bottles of wine from adopted vines in France

Your Christmas gift becomes even more special if you include a Wine Experience day at the winery to meet the winemakers. The Discovery Experience Day will teach you all about the work to prepare the vines and nurture the grapes. The Harvest Experience Day will get you involved in picking the grapes, following their journey into the vats, and learning about the first stages of fermentation. The Vinification Experience Day will reveal the choices that the winemaker takes in the cellar to make and age the wines.  These three wine courses last a full day from 09:30 to 16:00, and are designed to be hands-on so that you can learn by participating alongside and interacting with the winemaker. Wine tasting and lunch are included in the package.

Wine gift course in a French winery to meet te winemaker

To have a present to put underneath the Christmas tree, our personalised gift boxes contain a wine cooler bag, drop stop, re-usable glass wine stopper, and a personalised vine adoption certificate. Pull out all the corks this Christmas!

More information about the Christmas delivery schedule for 2017

More information about the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience

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A recap of the 2017 wine vintage so far


Now that the 2017 harvest is well behind us, we took a little tour of the French wine growing regions to ask each of our Wine Experience winery partners to give us their first impressions of this vintage. Not all is finished of course as there is still lots of work to do in the cellar, but we can already take stock of where we are, now that the work in the vineyard has ended.

The frost in the beginning of the year

The beginning of 2017 was fairly cold with regular rainfall to build up good levels of water reserves in the vineyards. Spring however was much harsher on the winemakers, with many of France’s wine-growing regions hit by frost at the end of April.

Our partner wineries in the Languedoc, Bordeaux, Loire Valley, Burgundy and Alsace reported alarming news about vines that had been damaged by frost in their regions, but fortunately they were spared or only lightly impacted thanks to different ways that they work to protect against the frost.

Christmas gift box wine making experience

The end of spring and the beginning of summer were then sunny in most of the regions, allowing the vines to flower without too much coulure and for the vegetation to grow well. By the end of June, most winemakers were already predicting an early harvest such as at Domaine la Cabotte in the Rhone Valley or at Domaine Chapelle in the Côte de Beaune.

The summer drought

The following summer months were generally very hot and dry, with virtually no rain in most of the regions. A few showers in July in the Loire Valley and in Burgundy, and in the beginning of September in Saint-Emilion enabled the vines to grow and the grapes to mature nicely.

Elsewhere, not only were the days extremely hot, but the nights too, causing hydric stress in the vines from August onwards. This meant that the grapes were small and they quickly saw the sugar concentration levels rise in the south and east of France, indicating an early and small harvest.

Oenology course in France gift idea

The advantage of the hot and dry weather was the very small amount of fungal disease in the vineyards. No mildew or odium of any significance, and so much fewer treatments were needed. Alsace reported some fruit fly, but by picking the grapes earlier, they didn’t have time to affect the quality of the grapes.

The 2017 harvest

The high level of sugar concentration and the small amount of juice, combined with the early véraison when the grapes change colour, meant that the start of the harvest was exceptionally early this year.

Our partners at Domaine Allegria in the Languedoc and at Domaine la Cabotte in the Côtes du Rhône wine-growing regions opened the harvest on the 16th and 25th August respectively.  Just behind them, and much rarer for these regions, were Domaine Stentz-Buecher in Alsace on the 29th August, almost a month earlier than usual, and Burgundy on the 1st and 4th September at Domaine Brocard and Domaine Chapelle. The Loire Valley followed in mid-September, again almost a month earlier, and in Bordeaux where the final ripening of the grapes had slowed down to delay the start of the harvest.

Harvest Experience Day at the winery

We noticed something else at most of our partners. The harvest was also very short, lasting just 3-4 weeks compared to 6 in a more normal year.  Due to the lack of juice and the hot weather which lasted into September, most of the winemakers were worried about there not being enough juice, and therefore not enough wine. They therefore chose to pick the grapes as early as possible to try and make the most of what little juice there was before the grapes dried out further.

In the vineyards that were impacted by the frost earlier in the year, the grape skins were noticeably thicker, which meant that the winemakers had to adapt in a couple of ways. In the vineyard, they had to wait as long as possible to wait for the optimum maturity to be reached, and in the cellar they had to avoid extracting too much tannin and colour from the skins during the maceration period for the red wines.

In the cellar

Generally the winemakers are in agreement that the quality of this year’s vintage is very good due to the near perfect condition of the grapes at harvest time. Their good health and maturity also helped the fermentation to start well, meaning that the musts needed little work. The first tastings seem promising, even if there is still a long way to go.

Vinification experience in France gift idea

So despite a problematic year weather wise throughout France, we can rejoice in the overall quality of the 2017 harvest. Even if there wasn’t as much as we would have liked everywhere, the quality should shine through once the vinification and ageing have finished.  We can’t wait to taste the 2017 wines!

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Adopt a vine this Christmas for the perfect gift experience to put under the tree


Looking to spoil a wine lover with a great Christmas wine gift this year? Adopt some vines with the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience for a present that is sure to please. Your adopted vine owner will get behind the scenes at an organic winery in one of France’s beautiful wine growing regions and follow the making of their own personalised wine vintage. It’s a great way to discover what it’s like to be a winemaker and all of the work and passion that goes into making a good bottle of wine.

Who is this Christmas wine gift good for?

For all wine lovers, enthusiasts and people who enjoy wine, whether a novice or an experienced wine connoisseur, this is a great Christmas gift idea. Through the articles and photos posted in the personalised customer portal and sent by newsletter, your recipient will follow the evolution of their vines and the harvest, and then the work in the cellar. At the end of the Wine Experience, they will end up with one personalised bottle of wine for each adopted vine. The recipient can choose the name that will be used to personalise the wine label for the bottles.

Wine gift box for wine lovers at Christmas

Which Wine Experience gift pack to choose?

There are numerous options for this unique Christmas wine experience gift. First choose between red or white wine, then the wine-growing region and winery. Then select the number of vines to adopt, and so the number of personalised bottles of wine produced.

You can also add to the gift pack by including one to three wine experience days at the winery, each lasting from 09:30 – 16:00 with wine tasting and lunch included, to get away for a weekend break for two, meet the winemaker and get involved in the work at the winery. We offer three different wine courses. The Discovery Experience Day teaches you about the work in the vineyard and your adoptive parent will get the chance to have a go at tasks such as pruning, de-budding or raising the training wires. Or have a go at picking the grapes by getting involved in a Harvest Experience Day and learning about the first stages of fermentation. And finally there is the option of a Vinification Experience Day to discover the work in the cellar to age and blend the wines by participating in wine tasting sessions and practical workshops.

Organic Vineyard tour and oenology courses in France

All of our partner wineries are organically certified and some are also biodynamic. The winemakers are chosen for the quality of their wine and the passion they have for their profession. They are delighted to share their knowledge of wine-making, guaranteeing an unforgettable time and enlightening wine tasting sessions!

So what’s included in the Christmas Wine Experience gift box?

You’ll receive a personalised welcome gift pack at your chosen address that you can slip under the Christmas tree. It contains a few goodies such as a Drop Stop wine pourer, a re-usable glass wine stopper, a wine cooler bag, a personalised vine adoption certificate and guide to explain the gift.

Adopt-a-vine gift box for Christmas

The activation code contained in the gift box will enable the recipient to connect to the customer portal and begin their wine adventure online. There they will find all the information needed about the wine, winemakers and the winery, and they will also receive newsletters to follow the evolution of their vines and wine throughout their vintage.

To learn more about adopting vines for a Christmas gift

Take a look at some of the customer comments that our adoptive vine owners have sent us, and you can also read some of the press articles that have been written about us.

If you would like to order a Wine Experience or to consult our Christmas delivery schedule, please visit our website.

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Harvesting the cabernet franc vines in the Loire Valley


The Harvest Experience Days at Château de la Bonnelière in the Loire Valley took place last weekend under a wonderful blue sky. The cabernet franc grapes had been soaking up the sun and increasing their sugar levels whilst waiting impatiently for our apprentice harvesters.

  Wine gift Harvest Day in the Loire Valley France

Marc Plouzeau, the winemaker and owner of the family winery, welcomed the adoptive vine owners with a coffee to make sure everyone was on top form to start this full harvest day.

After a quick history of the winery and an update on the 2017 vintage, which looks as though it will be a very good year, we headed out to the plot of vines that we were to harvest, accompanied by Noémie, who heads up the vineyard team. The vineyard we stopped at is on the left bank of the Vienne river, as are all of Marc’s different vineyards.

Grapes Harvest Day gift box in Chinon France

The objective of the morning was to harvest a plot of vines that Marc had set aside for us, by hand and with no cuts if possible! And of course to only pick the ripe and healthy grapes. Once we had received our instructions, each pair took a row of vines, and a few courageous volunteers took the hopper baskets to wear on their backs and collect the full buckets of grapes from the other harvesters.

Oenology gift box Chinon France

The atmosphere was great and the challenge overcome by our teams. The trailer quickly filled with our precious harvest, and once we had achieved the first part of our mission, we headed back to the winery to discover what happens to next to separate the grapes from the stems and to put them into the vats.

Harvest course day at the winery in Chinon France

The bunches of grapes enter a de-stemming machine to remove the woody stems and then the whole berries are put directly into the vats using a forklift truck. The grapes aren’t pressed, a process that is different from making white wine. Marc handles the grapes as gently as possible, using gravity as much as possible to avoid using a pump which would cause the grapes to burst and release their juice before being safely in the vat.

The method allows him to delay the start of the fermentation for the red wines and gives the harvest the time to develop some of the aromatic qualities that better express their terroir.

Harvest day lunch and tasting at the winery in France

By this time, we were ready for some lunch, and we sat down to enjoy a meal that had been prepared by Mme Plouzeau, accompanied of course with some of Marc’s wines. It was difficult not to give into the siesta’s call by the end of the meal!

Fortunately we had a date with our adopted vines. Having taken some pictures for the “My Vine” photo competition, we returned to the chai to learn from Marc what else goes on during harvest time during the maceration and fermentation process.

Fermentation and harvest day at the winery in Chinon France

We ended the day by tasting some of the sweet grape juice from the grapes that we had picked. A great way to end this day that had been full of learning, action and discovery. We’ll be back next year for the Vinification Experience Days to see how the wine is evolving!

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Harvesting the grapes in the Rhone Valley


As we were setting up on Saturday for the Harvest Experience Day with Marie-Pierre and Eric, the winemakers at Domaine la Cabotte, we looked out at the surrounding vineyards and noted how dry the soil was and how warm it was despite the early hour. The team of harvesters were already at work. With the heat of the summer, the harvest started earlier than usual, and the winery is trying to get the grapes in more quickly to try and keep as much juice as possible for this harvest that will be small in quantity. The Gourmet Odyssey apprentice harvesters were therefore very welcome to lend a helping hand!

Over a coffee and croissant, we listened to Eric quickly introduce us to the winery. We then headed into the vineyard just below the winery building to harvest the clairette grapes before the rain arrived, which was forecast for the end of the morning.

harvest wine box in the rhone valley france

As Eric explained, normally that white grapes such as the viognier and clairette are picked first, then the red grapes such as the syrah, moruvèdre or grenache. This year, the high temperatures in July and August meant that the harvest started on the 25th August, some 2 weeks earlier than a typical year, and with the red grapes.

The night time temperatures have also not been cooling as much as they would normally in September, meaning that the maturity is progressing very quickly. The harvest usually spans over almost a month, but all will be finished by Monday the 11th September, meaning that the whole harvest will have taken just two and a half weeks. If we wait any longer, the heat will have dried the grapes out, meaning less juice, and therefore less wine.

All of the red grapes have now been harvested and there is just the clairette left, which has been allotted to us. The clairette that we picked is not used for the usual white wine, but for a wine that will be made and aged in a large clay amphora, something that the winery has been experimenting with for a couple of years now. For making wine this way, we’re looking for a more ripe grape that has less acidity than for a classic white wine where you need more freshness. That’s why these grapes had been left to the end.

meet the winemaker at a harvest experience day in france

It was therefore up to us to pick a good harvest for Marie-Pierre and Eric, both of whom are particularly passionate about this wine. The secateurs were distributed, and then we split up among the vine rows.

harvest experience day at the winery in the cotes du rhone france

The grapes were of a very good quality, making our work that much easier. We didn’t need to sort the grapes whilst picking, as all the grape bunches were in good condition. However we had to take our time as the colour of the grapes were camouflaged with the leaves.  We therefore first stripped away the leaves to make it easier to see the grapes and cut the stems.

oenology course in the rhone valley vineyard france

The buckets quickly filled up, and as Eric and a few courageous volunteers emptied them into the trailer, the conversations abounded regarding the grape varietals, weather and the early harvest. Before we knew it, we had reached the end of the row, and just in time, as the rain started to fall. Along with the team of harvesters next to us, we had enough grapes to fill the press.

harvest experience wine box gift in france

We followed the tractor and trailer full of the precious harvest back to the shelter of the chai. Here we saw how the grapes were emptied into the press. Eric then gently rotated the press to ensure that the grapes were evenly spread in the press and to make place for the rest of the grapes. Once it was full, Eric set a gentle programme during an hour and a half to extract the juice as gently as possible which helps preserve the aromas.

winery tasting and vineyard visit in france

We had earned our aperitif and enjoyed it with the hum of the press in the background. Marie-Pierre brought out some homemade savoury cake to accompany the Colline, a very lively white wine. We also tasted a previous vintage of the white wine that is made in the amphora to see how the grapes that we had harvested in the morning might end up.

harvester meal and wine tasting for the harvest in a french vineyard

We tasted the red wines from the winery over lunch, prepared by a local restaurant, Au Temps de Vivre in Uchaux. We talked with Eric, Marie-Pierre and Jacqueline about the 2017 vintage which will be small, but should be of a good quality. We’ll be able to see for ourselves during the Vinification Experience Days early next year!

By the time we had finished our meal, the press had finished, and so we saw how the pressed juice is pumped into the vat. It will stay there for a couple of days to allow the solid particles to settle in the bottom of the vats, before the clarified wine is pumped into another vat where it will start the two week fermentation process. The skin, pips and stalks that remained in the press were removed and will be sent to the distillery to make liqueur.

wine-making and grapes picking course in france

While the press was being cleaned, we made the most of a dry patch, and went to the vineyard where our adopted vines are located to see how they had fared since the last Discovery Experience Day. After taking a few photos, we returned to see if the vat had been filled with the juice from our harvest.

Eric explained what happens during the first days of fermentation and how the grape juice transforms into wine. We then finished the day answering many questions about biodynamics, a way of making wine that Marie-Pierre and Eric are expert in and passionate about.

wine-making experience in a biodynamic vineyard in france

We could stay listening to Eric talk about his terroir and vines for hours, but all good things must come to an end.  At least a few bottles, taken home in the boot of the car, will allow the pleasure to last a little longer!

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The perfect wine gift for Father’s Day


If you’re looking for a Father’s Day gift that goes further than a bottle of wine or a wine-tasting course, we have a great gift idea for you.  Original, completely personalised, and fun, the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience is the ideal Father’s Day gift. Adopt some vines for your wine-loving Dad, and turn him into a wine-maker!

For a wine-making year, by adopting some vines for your Dad, he’ll follow the making of his own organic wine from the vine to the bottle at one of our partner wineries in France.

Personalised bottles of wine for the Fathers'Day


Through our Wine Experience gift box, he’ll keep up to date with the progress of his wine via the newsletters and photos. At the end of the wine-making year, he’ll receive a bottle of wine for each adopted vine. He can even choose the name of his wine and we’ll personalise his wine labels!

Oenology course in a French Vineyard for the Fathers' Day

And to make the experience even more memorable, include one or more wine experience days at the winery to meet his adopted vines, and to work alongside the wine-maker in the vineyard, harvest the grapes or discover what goes on in the cellar.

Vineyard tour and wine tasting as a wine gift box
Each day with the wine-maker lasts from 09:30 to 16:00 and includes lunch and wine tasting. The day is valid for two people, so is also a gift that can be shared with another wine lover!

All of our partner wineries have been chosen for the enthusiasm and passion of the wine-makers. They are all organically or biodynamically certified and produce excellent wines that are often acclaimed in the major wine competitions and in the wine press.
Wine gift box for the Fathers'Day

And to have a gift box to give on Father’s Day, the Wine Experience welcome gift pack includes a wine cooler bag, a re-usable glass wine stopper, a DropStop and a vine adoption certificate. Standard delivery is two working days for mainland France, and between 3 and 6 days for the rest of Europe. And for last minute Father’s Day gifts, we can send the certificate by email, and send the welcome pack by express delivery.

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How can you protect vines from frost?


Vines are very hardy plants and can withstand much adversity; drought, wind, storms, and cold for the most part. But with the latest cold spell and frosts that recently touched most of France’s wine-growing regions, we are once again reminded that the winemaker remains at nature’s mercy. Why does frost harm the vines and what can a winemaker do to protect their vines from it?

Conditions for frost to damage the vines

The most sensitive part of the vine is the bud which, when newly exposed, can’t survive at temperatures less than -2/-3°C. The bud is also the most important part of the vine as it from where the fruit and harvest for the new year will grow. That’s why the frosts that cause the most damage are the late spring ones, because it is at this stage that the buds have started to flourish and are more vulnerable.

The vineyards most at risk from frost are those situated at the bottom of the hillsides, in hollows, or on the valley plains, because that is where the cold air gathers. Plots that have grass between the rows are also more at risk because the vegetation holds humidity and cold. And if the vine varietal or the year is early in exposing the buds, the risk of damage from spring frosts is greater.

Oenology course on vine tending in a French vineyard

It’s worth noting that an early autumn frost before the leaves have fallen, or a prolonged winter freeze below -15°C can also harm the vines.

How does the vine freeze in spring?

As the temperature rises in spring, the sap starts to rise in the vine, and we can see the “vine tears” form from the wood exposed during pruning. The buds appear, burst and then the first leaves unfurl. The buds and the first leaves are rich in water.

When it freezes, this water cools so much that it destroys or burns the cells in the bud or the leaves. There are two types of frost. The white frost burns the moist vegetative matter through the sun rays, and the black frost which occurs when the temperature drops below -7°C in dry and windy conditions.

What is the impact from frost?

Damage caused by spring frosts is more frequent but less serious for the longevity of the vines compared to the autumn and winter frosts. Even if there is a direct result on the year’s harvest, they don’t cause the vine to completely die.

Frost damage at a winemaker experience day in the Loire Valley, France

If the primary buds are burnt, there is always the hope that the secondary buds will appear after the frost has passed. These buds burst later, but are also fruit-bearing. Months of working and caring for the vines can be ruined in just a few hours due to frost.

Protecting the vines from frost?

The most common solution is to light candles or torches to protect the vines using smoke. The winegrowers place them every few metres in the vineyard, which is enough to rise the temperature by 2-3°C, and often avoid frost from forming. In the past they also burned wood or fuel in old oil drums, but that gave off lots of carbon dioxide, so now large blocks of paraffin are preferred. The smoke that they emit stops the early morning sun rays burning the buds that have been thinly covered in frost.

Wine-making Experience Vineyard tour in Chinon France

Another solution, but more costly, is to spray the vines with water. An ice cocoon forms around the buds which stops the water inside the buds from freezing. The vines are sprayed frequently until the temperature rises above freezing to avoid the ice from melting too fast, thus protecting the buds from the sun rays. This method is generally reserved for vine plots that are most at risk because the installation of the water pipes and sprinklers is very expensive.

Wine course in Burgundy, France as a gift box

More and more often now, you can also find wind turbines being used nowadays in the vineyards. These small turbines cause the air to circulate and the warm air to come back down and warm up the vines. A few degrees gained can often be enough to avoid the buds from freezing.

Heated wires which run along the training wires have also started to appear in the past few years. Of course, this can only be used in vineyards where the vines are trellised. Apparently this system has proved to be very effective in the plots that it has been tested in, and can be set to automatically activate below a set temperature. Running costs are fairly reasonable, but the purchase and installation costs are high given the kilometres of vine rows that have to be equipped, so explaining the small take-up for the moment.

Some winemakers even call in helicopters to fly low level over the vines and circulate the air as the turbines do. It’s fairly dangerous as the pilot must fly very low, most of the time at dawn when the light is not necessarily the best, and the pilot perhaps not the most awake!  It’s fairly expensive, but is worth the cost for some of the better quality vineyard plots.

Vine protection course in a French Vineyard in Chablis, Burgundy

And then sometimes, as our partner winemakers at Château Coutet reminded us, it’s simply nature that offers protection. Having dense vegetation or trees around the vineyards can help stop the temperature form dropping too far and can protect the vines from wind and the morning sun rays which can be so fatal for the frost covered buds.

Vine tending course in Saint-Emilion, France
The winegrowers are becoming better equipped at protecting the vines from frost, and the weather forecasts are becoming more refined, but over the past couple of years the frost attacks and other sources of weather damage are seeming to become more and more frequent, reminding us that winegrowing is still at the mercy of nature’s whim!

  

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Working in the vineyard during a Wine Experience Day in the Loire Valley


We had a sunny weekend in the Loire Valley last weekend to welcome the participants of the Discovery Experience week-end at Château de la Bonnelière.

  Vine-Adoption and winery visit in Chinon, France

It was the first visit to the winery for this new season of apprentice wine-makers, and so Marc Plouzeau, the owner and wine-maker at Château de la Bonnelière told us about the history of the winery, and introduced us to the characteristics of the Chinon wine appellation, particularly the Left Bank wines, where all of the 30 hectares of Marc’s vineyards are located.

One of the principal aims of the Discovery Experience Day is to participate in the life at the winery and to help work in the vineyard. The plan was to help out with the de-budding during the week-end to remove some of the unwanted shoots, which in turn will help control the amount of fruit produced. In Chinon, the appellation charter stipulates that there should be no more than 14 grape bunches per vine.

Oenology and wine-making course at the winery, Loire, France

Unfortunately Mother Nature hadn’t been very kind to the Loire Valley wine-makers for the second consecutive year.  The château’s vineyards had been hit by two frosts in April.

The first was a “black frost” where the temperatures fell to as low as -7°C during the night in some areas of the Chinon appellation. In Marc’s vineyards, the temperatures didn’t fall as low as in other parts, but a second frost hit the following week, this time being a “white frost”. Here the cold temperatures see frost form around the vines, creating a magnifying glass effect for the early morning sunrays that then scorch the moist buds and leaves.

Wine lover perfect gift vine-adoption in the Loire Valley, France

Despite trying to protect the vines by lighting paraffin candles in the vineyards to raise the temperature by a few degrees, the frost still impacted some of Marc’s plots of vines.  But fortunately the vines are fairly hardy plants, and there were some good surprises, notably in the Clos de la Bonnelière vineyard where the vines resisted well.

As the number of shoots had already been reduced from the impact of the frost, we decided to get involved in another activity, less glamorous, but essential nonetheless; hoeing! It’s a physical activity and gave us a good work out as we removed the weeds and grass growing around the vines that the plough had difficulty in reaching.

Get involved in the making of your own wine in Loire, France

Marc answered our many questions regarding the different aspects of working in the vineyard, and took us on a tour of the chai.

Wien-tasting at Château de la Bonnelière, Chinon, France

By this time, we had earned our aperitif and lunch, which was accompanied by a tasting of the different wines from the winery, including the two new Chinon white wines.

Vineyard tour and winery visit in the Loire Valley, France

In the afternoon, we took a walk in the vineyard, and visited the chenin blanc vines which are used in the Chinon white wine and which are pruned using a different technique. We also visited a plot of cabernet franc vines dating back to 1929, which are used in the “Vindoux” red wine, a name which hides the strength if this cuvée!

The day finished with the sun still shining brightly. We look forward to returning to see the ripe grapes at harvest time

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From Vine to Wine. An unforgettable Mother’s Day gift.


Mother’s Day is nearly here again, and so the search begins to find a creative way to say thanks Mum. Replace the bouquet of flowers with some vines if your Mum loves her wine, and give her an original Mother’s Day wine gift by adopting some organic vines in France for her. She’ll follow their progress in the vineyard, learn how the grapes are transformed into wine, and she’ll end up with her own personalised bottles of organic wine.

This unique Mother’s Day present is much more than a wine course or wine tasting gift.  With the Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience, your mum will follow all of the key stages in making wine through newsletters and photos from the winemaker.

Wine Gift Box for the Mothers' Day

You can also add one or more wine experience days at the winery for your mum to visit her vines, meet the winemaker and get involved in working in the vineyard or cellar.  It’s a good excuse to get away for a weekend break in France, and a fun way to learn about the secrets behind organic winemaking whilst exploring some of France’s great wine growing regions.

Vineyard and winery tour in France as a wine box

Each day is a full programme from 9:30 to 16:00 spent learning from the winemaker and their teams, tasting wines from the winery and enjoying a lunch of regional delicacies.  The day is valid for two people, so you might to get to go along too!

Wine-Making experience in a French Winery

At the end of the Wine Experience, your Mum will choose the name of her wine and will end up with one personalised bottle of her own organic wine for each adopted vine.  As she opens them over the coming years, she’ll be sure to remember this unusual Mother’s Day gift!

Read some of the feedback from our clients

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Vinification and blending of wines in the Languedoc


The sun was awaiting the participants at Domaine Allegria for the Vinification Experience Day, the last of the wine experience days for the adoptive vine parents of the 2016 vintage.  The aim of the day was to discover what happens in the cellar after the grapes have been picked at harvest time up until the wine is ready for being bottled.

  Wine gift box to adopt vines in a Languedoc vineyard, France

We started the day with a quick visit to the vineyard to see our adopted vines, where we took a few souvenir photos.  We also learnt about what has been happening in the vineyard at the moment, what work has been done since last year’s harvest, and how the vines have come back to life in the spring.

Vineyard tour at Domaine Allegria Languedoc France

We learnt how the vines had been pruned, a long task that had finished three weeks earlier. The cut branches had then been pulled from the vines and left between the rows to be crushed.

Vine-adoption as a wine gift box in France

When we returned from the vineyard, we visited the cellar from top to bottom.  The questions flowed.  What is a wine without sulphites, why do you use selected yeasts, and many more such topics.  We talked in detail about the different processes between making red and white wine.

We then tested our sense of smell with the help of 12 bottles containing different aromas.  This exercise would help us find some of the words to describe the wines that we were to taste later. 

Lunch was served in the sun on the terrace.  The winery’s rosé Dolce Vita 2016 wine was served in a jeroboam for the aperitif.  We tasted different wines, paired with local charcuterie and a lentil salad; the Cinsault Abuelo 2015, a Carignan Gourmand 2015, and the Cousu Main 2013 in a magnum.  With the goat’s cheese from the nearby Mas Roland, we tasted the Tribu d’A white 2015, which goes perfectly with cheese.  We finished the meal with the Grande Cuvée La Belle Histoire 2015, a great vintage for Languedoc wines.  With the delicious almond cake and profiteroles, we enjoyed a coffee.

Wine-tasting at the winery, Pézenas, Languedoc, France

After lunch, we returned to the cellar to taste three of the wines from the 2016 vintage that are still in the ageing process.  Each of the wines was of a different grape varietal, enabling us to learn the different characteristics of Cinsalut, Syrah and Mourvèdre.  The wines are still young, and full of carbon dioxide following the fermentation.  But they were also very soft considering the stage that they are at, and already enjoyable to drink.

Having tasted these different wines, the next exercise was to have a go at blending them together.  We learnt that blending the different grape varietals together gives a deeper and more complex final wine.
By the end of the day, we had learnt many new things about wine, and will have a few stories to recount when we open the next bottle!

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Getting involved in the work in the vineyard


The 26th March saw the new season’s adoptive parents arrive at the winery to start work on the 2017 vintage of the Clos de la Bonnelière. And despite the change of clocks, everyone arrived on time, eager to start the day!

Over coffee, Marc Plouzeau, the winemaker and owner, explained the history of the winery which was brought back to life by his father in 1980.  In 1989, a great vintage for the Loire Valley, the first Château de la Bonnelière wine for over 60 years was born.

Winery touring wine gift in the Loire Valley, France

Marc took over the running of the winery in 2000, and has gradually grown the winery over the years and as the opportunities arose.  Today the winery has 30 hectares of vines, all of which are situated on the left back of the Vienne river.

It was then time to get to the heart of the day’s matter, and find out what happens in the vineyard to nurture the vines. The pruning season has just finished, and it is now time to get ready for the vines future growth and to work the soil, which has been resting since the last harvest.

We had a double mission for the day.  First of all to pull away the cut branches that had been left behind after pruning, and then to attach the remaining branches to the training wires.

Adopt-a-vine gift box for wine lover in France

We worked in the Clos de la Bonnelière vineyard, where our adopted vines are located.  So before getting stuck in, we took a few minutes to meet our vines and take a few pictures for the My Vine photo competition, some of which were very acrobatic!

Work in the vineyard course with the winemaker in France

But enough larking around, it was high time to do some work!  Pulling away the cut branches is a fairly physical task as the tendrils from last year grip tightly to the training wires, but one which we soon got to grips with, leaving the dead wood in the middle of the rows to be crushed, allowing some of the nutrients to return to the soil.

Oenology course at the winery in France as a wine gift

The next task to fold the branches and attach them to the training wires was a little more difficult.  The fruit-bearing branch which will carry this year’s grapes needs to be supported by the wire, and the branches folded without breaking them.  You need to be careful, and the sound that they make when being bent causes you to worry at first.  But you soon get the hang of it, and we made a good job of it!

By this time, we had built up a good appetite, and we enjoyed lunch, accompanied by some of Marc’s different red and white wines.

Wine tasting during a discovery day at the winery, Chinon, France

We resisted the urge for a siesta in the afternoon sun, and listened intently as Marc explained the work involved in being an organic winegrower, and how the work differs in some of his other vine plots.

The day then drew to a close, and we each headed off in our separate directions having learned more about the work that goes on behind the scenes in making quality wine.  We look forward to learning more when we come back for the Harvest and Vinification Experience days.

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The Gourmet Odyssey Wine Experience

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

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