Visit to my Wine Teacher's Vineyard and Winery

Every week on my wine course down here in the South of France, we have a visit to a vineyard to learn a little more about how things work and to get involved ourselves. This week we visited my wine teacher, Aymeric's, vineyard and winery in his home village of Montblanc, which is in the 

Languedoc-Roussillon region of France, close to my school. 

We spent the first part of the day picking Cabernet Franc grapes, which are a red variety with a white centre and they tend to make light red wines. We worked in pairs and then worked our way down the vines collecting grapes in crates ready to pack in to the back of their pick-up truck and take straight to their winery. Quite a few of the grapes were overripe and had noble rot (a little of which can be good as it gives a different taste to the wine, but too much is bad), so we had to select the bunches carefully. 

Here we are being taught about how to select the bunches of grapes and to see which types of rot are good and bad.

The grapes ready to go in to the back of the pick-up truck and then on to the winery.

Below is the wine picking team!

Once we had picked our rows we then went back to their winery which is in the centre of their little village of Montblanc. Their winery is in their old garage which they converted 3 years ago, and is underneath their house. Aymeric told us that his family has lived in Montblanc since the 15th Century, and 3 generations of his family currently all live in the house above the winery - amazing! 

Aymeric's house and winery, inside and out! 

Aymeric showed us how the grape press worked and his brother jumped in to start squashing down the grapes to allow for them all to fit in. The press is then turned on and the ends of the press come in to the centre whilst it is rotating. This then leaves all of the skins, pips and stalks in the middle. The process then starts again and the remaining grape pulp is then pressed for a second time, but the juice is much stronger and contains more tannins, as it is in the skin, pips and stalk that they lie, so it is not pressed for as long as the first press.

During this time the wine is being pumped from the press in to a tank where it will begin fermenting. 

Aymeric and his brother above are putting the grapes in to the press, and below are some of us who helped! 

We then saw the de-stemmer in action, which is a machine that removes the major part of the stem from the bunch. The de-stemmer is used when the grapes have been harvested by machine and therefore more stalk is removed as it is less accurate than harvesting by hand as you can be more selective. 
The de-stemmer works by 2 pieces of metal rotating around each other which pull off the stalks and releases the grapes underneath.

After the hard work we then went on to do some tasting! We tasted some 4 of their fermenting wines at different stages. We tried a white, rose and red wine about 3 weeks in to fermentation and then a merlot which was further along. 

Above Aymeric is giving me some of the fermenting white wine to try. 

Below is a close up of the fermenting white. It had a strong yeast flavour as it was early in the fermenting process, this also meant that it was quite sweet. As you can see it is very cloudy and the clarity will come as it ages.

Below is a rose wine, also about 3 weeks in to fermentation. As you can see the typical rose colour is there, but has a strong orange tinge. This was also quite sweet and yeasty.

Below is a fermenting red wine, also 3 weeks in to fermentation. The colour was almost luminous when held up to the light, with another strong sweetness to it. 

Below was a merlot that we tasted which was much further along in the fermentation process. As you can see, it has a much deeper red colour to it and you could really taste the flavours starting to develop. There was less sweetness and more acidity and tannins.

We then had a chance to try their finished product, which we enjoyed with some Comte cheese and some fresh baguette. Below you can see their label of wine, which is of Aymeric and his brother- a very fun idea! It was the perfect end to a very interesting day! 

xXx

Chateau L'Hospitalet, Gerard Bertrand

I am currently living down in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of the south of France learning about wine. Possibly the biggest winemaker in the region is Gerard Bertrand. He buys grapes from various private vineyards around the region and then makes several wines from all of the grapes. He also has his own grapes. We went to his private estate called Chateau L'Hospitalet, where there is also a hotel and restaurant.

We visited his tasting rooms and tried several Roses and Reds. It was interesting to try a range of wines that also ranged in price quite heavily, and I enjoyed tasting a Rose at a higher price as it is good to see the quality of a more expensive Rose. They had very smart tasting rooms, and we also saw some of the winery and the grapes that had just been pressed. These were going to be sent away to be distilled to make Brandy and other spirits. 

http://www.chateau-hospitalet.com/en/

Below is the hotel part of the estate, which has a rustic French feel to it. I love the pistachio green of the shutters, such a popular colour in the south of France.

These are the pressed grapes that were being sent off to be distilled. It was interesting to see what they looked like once they had been pressed- a little like raisins! 

Below you can see part of the winery and the vats where the wine was fermenting.

This is the main tasting room and where they had all of their different wines on sale. It was interesting to the see the vast array of wines that Bertrand produces. The prices ranged from about €7 to well over €100.

Wines we tasted:

Chateau La Sauvageonne 2012: €16

This is the first Rose that I tried, and it was an unusual Rose as it had been oaked. It has more body than usual Roses, due to there being a few tannins present as well. It would be a good wine to go with cured meats and salads, nothing too overpowering.

Gris Blanc, 2012: €7

This is a very pale Rose, with a similar taste to a White wine. It is a little thin on the palate though. It is one of the most popular Roses on sale in France now, due to its price and easy availability. I think it would be good as an aperitif with a few canapes, as it is more of a palate cleanser before drinking a stronger wine with a meal. 

Cigalus, 2011: €28

This Rose is an IGP wine (Indication Geographique Protegee), which means that the grapes used to make the wine have to come from one particular geographic region, and the producers have to submit their wine for analysis and tasting before selling it. It has a complex taste on the palate, it was oaked and more similar to a white wine than a Rose. It has a mineral taste with a slight saltiness, but a long and crisp finish. The more expensive taste comes from a low yield of grapes used to make the wine.

Domaine de L'Aigle, Pinot Noir, 2011

This is a fresh tasting red wine, quite light on the palate with not much body. It would be a good wine as an aperitif with some canapes before having a fuller bodied wine with a meal.

Chateau Laville Bertrou, 2010: €11

This is a wonderful dark red wine with a jammy flavour of dark fruits and a heavy oak. It is a full bodied and tannic wine. As it is a powerful wine it really needs to be paired with a red meat and sauce so that the flavours match. I was really impressed with this wine and I therefore bought a bottle!

Domaine de Villemajou, 2011: €11.50

This is another fantastic red wine at a reasonable price. This wine is from Gerard Bertrand's Fathers vineyard, which he took over, so it has a family connection. It has an earthy, almost dusty taste to it, with the smell and taste on the palate of a forest floor. It is spicy with a hint of earthy mushroom. It is a medium bodied Red wine, that would pair very well with an earthy dish. Such as something with mushrooms, Game and a creamy sauce. 

Chateau La Sauvageonne, 2011: €25

This is a fruity wine with slight vegetal hints, it has a strong blackcurrant and dark fruit flavour with some sweet notes. It is a fresh Red wine that would be good as an aperitif or alongside a dish like risotto or something creamy as it would act as a contrast to cut through the creamy consistency. 

Gerard Bertrand, Aigle Royal, 2011: €43

This is a more special wine as the grapes are grown at 500m above sea level. It is a very ripe tasting wine and therefore has a sweeter note. It has a spicy and fruity taste, along with notes of leather and black pepper. This would be a good wine alongside an earthy flavoured meat dish.

Gerard Bertrand, L'Hospitalitas, 2011: €43

This is a spicy wine with a definite heat to it. It has earthy notes and I think that it would go well with something like risotto, polenta or a creamy pasta dish as it would give a good contrast in flavour and consistency. 

Cigalus Rouge, 2011: around €30

This is a complex tasting wine with lots of different flavour hints, this is because it is made from several different grape varieties. It is a very dark wine with a subtle smell of liquorice, and on the palate there is a vegetal, almost mouldy hint. It would go well with a sweet savoury dish, something like Pork with prunes or dates.

Here I am tasting some of the wine!

And below you can see some of the wine caves, where you can see the barrels. 

It is certainly an impressive estate that has made the most of its grounds with a hotel, restaurant and various art displays around the estate. It is definitely worth a visit if you happen to be down in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France! 

xXx

Domaine De La Croix

I have just had a weeks holiday in St Tropez in the sunny Cote d'Azur before moving West along the coast to the Languedoc-Roussillon region. While I was there I visited some local vineyards, where they are particularly focused on producing Rosé wine. 

Our favourite vineyard in the area is called Domaine de la Croix, near to La Croix Valmer. It has wonderful light, crisp Rosés, but also Whites and Reds. Unfortunately having travelled by air it is hard to bring back many wines so we had to consume the wines before we left... such a hard life! 

This is their website- have a look! 

http://www.domainedelacroix.com/en/?age_legal=true

We tasted some reds but we went for the Rosé in the end as it is the perfect wine for the South of France. 

These are their very smart tasting rooms where they not only have their wine for sale, but also things like aprons, wine books, cork screws, ice buckets and many other things. Its a great idea as it broadens their market and makes it in to more of a shop.

Below is one of their Rosé wines from the Vineyard Bastide Blanche. The vineyard is not at their site, but further toward Frejus. The vineyard was Domaine de la Croix's current owners first vineyard- so they have it available there as well.

I loved this idea of filling a large glass vase with old corks!

We also had a tour of their winery and we got to see the vats where the wine ferments. We also got to taste fresh grape juice straight from the tank before it began fermentation- it was a pink, cloudy colour and very sweet.

This is the very attractive exterior of the Domaine de la Croix. They have very well presented grounds which all add to the visit. 

These are some of their extensive vineyards before the vendage, which is the harvesting season which usually starts in late September.

And below is where we got to enjoy their wonderful Rosé!

More to come soon!

xXx