At Millesime Bio 2016, which took place at the end of January, we asked Languedoc wine maven Louise Hurren to share some of her experiences from the show. Here’s some of what she saw, with photos by Ken Payton.
Two stars of southern France’s organic firmament. André Leenhardt (Château Cazeneuve) has been making award-winning wines in the Pic St Loup appellation area since 1988: we caught up with him as he tasted with his Quebec importer Sandrine Balthazard.
Meanwhile, the Pugibet family was presenting “orgasmic†wine. Father François and son Vincent are famous in organic wine circles for their pioneering work, producing lower-alcohol wine and growing fungus-resistant grape varieties. They are pictured here with Vincent’s wife Sophie, the driving force behind the creation of their dealcoholized wine, Plume.
Father and daughter Josef and Valerie Mantler dressed to impress, in eye-catching color and traditional Austrian costume.
Some are born into wine, others come to it later in life. We met several wine growers in this category, including Philippe Bordes (Domaine Bordes), a Saint-Chinian grower who was a plumber in a previous life…
…and Eric Prissette (Villa Symposia), a former professional soccer player-turned-vigneron who owns a successful winery with luxury vacation rentals in the Languedoc-Pézenas appellation area.
A number of Millésime Bio exhibitors were displaying Demeter logos, flagging up their affiliation with the France-based international certification body for biodynamic growers. We chatted to Friederike Roll of German producer Gustavshof and tasted orange wine made from 100% Johanniter grapes (a fungus-resistant variety).
