Posted
by Dave Kasper
on Nov 23, 2009
in Travel
Harvesting chenin blanc at Domaine de la Roche Fleurie in Chancay.
Our year in France started once again last February with the Salons des Vins de la Loire in Angers. This is a great venue for any wine amateur or professional, to sample new releases and meet with some of the great wine producers in the Loire Valley. Over 600 wine-makers were present, with all appellations represent, big and small.
It was a good year weather wise in Touraine, starting with a decent spring, a typically hot July and August with perhaps a little less moisture than is usual for this area, and most recently September which was picture perfect. In fact, as harvesting got underway in most regions the week of Sept. 27th, a little rain would be welcome by most opinion, but never too much at this time of year of course. Both Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc were plentiful on the vines, and most growers I met with were very pleased with the quality to date. There were some early signs of rot in the vines in Vouvray which they are monitoring of course, but at this point it all looks good. Perhaps some great sweet Moelleux this year?
We have just arrived back in Vancouver following our last week on the ground in Touraine. The weather was spectacular, and with harvest in full swing in all areas our timing was simply perfect. The week was organized for a group that asked us to combine aspects of our History & Wine and our Regional Cuisine & Wine for them. It was a packed week for sure. We ate like Kings and Queens of long ago, soaked up as much history as we could manage and sampled regional wine at every opportunity.
One highlight was our visit to the Chateau Chenenceau, often referred to as the Ladies Chateau due to the many powerful women who lived here in the XVI and XVII centuries, Chenenceau is a wonderful place to visit for those who are interested in Renaissance history. The Chateau which played a vital role in the life of the French Monarchy of this era is still adorned with its original furniture, many great works of art including original tapestries.
We had a foie gras tasting with Edouard Clement at Chateau du Vau in Ballan-Mire. Our good fortune had us arriving to a table laden with home made riette (pork pate) and two varieties of Edouard’s foie gras that we were eager to taste. After a tour of the farm and the kitchens we settled into our tasting accompanied by 2 bottles of Vouvray Moelleux Reserve 2003. Fresh bread, duck and goose foie gras, fleur de sel and sweet Moelleux wine… what a decadent treat.
Domaine Grosbois - Le Pressoir, Cravant les Coteaux, Chinon.
We harvested Grolleau grapes with organic wine-maker Sebastien Brunet at Domaine de la Roche Fleurie in Chancay. All grapes were picked by hand and participants had a great time calling out to Le Hauteur who would run over so that we could dump our basket of just picked grapes into his 80 kilo capacity (175 lbs) bin on his back. The group enjoyed an hour of picking grapes under a picture perfect blue sky. Back breaking work for sure if we had to do it all day, and impressive to see in operation. We headed back to Sebastien’s cellar, which is an enormous cave carved out of the limestone centuries ago and expands approximately 12 kms (7.5 miles) underground. There we saw grapes pressed, tasted the first pressed juice and had lunch with Sebastien and his team of harvesters before they headed back out to the vines. The group will just have to come back next fall to taste their hard earned contribution to the Sparkling Methode Traditionelle Rose of 2009.
The Royal Abbey in Fontevraud is one of the most significant Monastique sites in all of Europe. Dating back over 800 years, the tombs of Kings and Queens of the early Angevin dynasty are there to be seen. Henri Plantagenet (Henri II), Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lion Heart, Henri’s son, are buried side by side in the Abbey. The tombs are in perfect condition even after sitting quietly for 8 centuries. Many years later, the Abbey was turned in to a prison by Napoleon, and was used as such during the World Wars and until the last prisoner left in 1985. The Abbey grounds are impressive and it was well worth a morning visit.
Following Fontevraud, we headed to one of my favorite villages nearby, Chinon. The old city centre is beautiful and our group enjoyed lunch in a local café and a walk-a-bout on the old city streets.
We followed our visit to Chinon with a stop on the bluffs near Cravant les Coteaux and Panzoult. Chinon is arguably home to the finest cabernet franc in the world. My favorites are usually the barrel aged Vielles Vignes that are silky smooth with good fruit aromas and have soft tannins. The harvest teams were hard at work in vines nearby and we enjoyed watching them with a glass of Jacques Grosbois’s 2005 Vielles Vignes Cabernet Franc in our hands. This organic Cab Franc was a gorgeous ruby colour with vivid red berry fruit, a perfect way to end our afternoon before our farewell meal at Au Soleil Levant in Monnaie that evening.
We headed to Juno Beach in Normandy, where Canadian forces landed on D-Day, as well as the Juno Beach Centre. I was also able to arrange a quick meeting with friends Alain Berthelot, the Mayor of Larre, a little village in Normandy, and his wife Catherine. Alain, a local Military Historian, is forever greatful to the Allies who liberated this part of France and in particular a group of young Canadian and British aviators who crashed in a farmer’s field in his town. A monument has been erected in memorial of these soldiers, where we met Alain for a brief ceremony. It was a quick stop but very moving for us Canadians to experience the reverence in which our soldiers are held by local citizens in this part of France.
The Juno Beach Centre, coupled with a stop at the Canadian Military Cemetery in Beny-sur-Mer, were very emotional to visit. Speaking for the group, we were all very pleased to have had the opportunity to visit this area of Normandy. Words can not do it justice.
Whether we are visiting a 500 year old Renaissance Chateau, tasting wine with wine-makers who have been in Touraine for generations, savouring the local cuisine, or even experiencing the D-Day landing beaches in not too far off Normandy, the local history, culture and traditions that are the fabric of daily life in the Loire are all around to discover and enjoy.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on May 20, 2008
in Travel
La Botte Piccola is a small Italian travel company specializing in tours with a focus on natural winemaking and gourmet pleasures. Currently they are offering a tour of six winemakers in Tuscany and a gastronmic experience in Alto Adige with Michelin star chef Alessandro Gilmozzi from El Molin in Cavalese.
Visit www.labottepiccola.net to find out more.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 19, 2008
in Travel
DISCOVER ORGANIC WINEMAKING FROM THE MASTERS
Organic wines are the new superstars of the wine world, and for the first time these pioneering winemakers will open their doors, and their cellars, for an unforgettable five-day trip in the heart of beautiful Sonoma, California. Guided by the legendary Tony Coturri, the Organic Winemaking Adventure will offer 10 guests an intimate and authentic look into the philosophies, challenges and pleasures behind this delicious movement.
This tour begins where other wine tours end. Guests will go past the tasting room and through to the winery to work alongside Tony Coturri as well as other acclaimed winemakers at Benziger Family Winery and Grebennifoff Vineyards as they craft their world-famous vintages. They’ll learn about biodynamics from “farmer to the stars” Bob Cannard and harvest grapes with Phil Coturri, Sonoma’s leading organic viticulturist, taking advantage of the beauty and bounty of the season.
After spending days in the stunning countryside and cellars, guests will dine with the winemakers and farmers themselves. They’ll feast on meals from delicious local foods, superb organic and biodynamic wines and stimulating conversation with the men and women who made them.
The Organic Winemaking Adventure is scheduled for October 24-28 and is limited to 10 people. The trip includes lodging, transportation to and from all activities, breakfast, lunch, dinner, wine and intimate access to leading winemakers and viticulturists. Travelers can register for the trip at www.OrganicWineJournal.com in coming weeks.
Tony Coturri has pioneered organic winemaking in Sonoma Valley for over 25 years. His acclaimed wines are crafted without the use of sulfites, yeast cultures, concentrates, water, acids or other manipulations, thus fully expressing the grapes and their terroir. Robert Parker has called his wines “some of the most intriguing wines I’ve ever reviewed.”
For more information, email travel@organicwinejournal.com.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 17, 2008
in Travel
Visiting Crèmerie should be high up on your to-do list when in Paris; somewhere between the Musée d’Orsay and searching for Amélie in the hilly streets of Montmartre. Located in St. Germain, in what the French call a bo-bo neighborhood (for bourgeois-bohemian), Crèmerie’s letters stand ubiquitously on the century-old façade. One glimpse through the window will reassure the lactose-intolerant; there’s no crème nor fromage to be found. Inside, it’s all about wine, or rather vin naturel as the owner, Pierre Jancou, likes to call his special collection of 280 organic wines.
At the counter, a regular customer browses through Le Monde with a glass of red wine, while some Americans are chatting at a table. Christophe, the garçon, moves about the small boutique wearing a brown beret and a smile. The golden light and high ceiling make the wine bottles, and the elixirs they contain, look ever so enticing. Pierre asks what I would like to drink, and when I reply “coffee” the walls disapprove with their hundreds of red and yellow liquorish eyes. I thought we’d get to the wine a little later, but Pierre thinks it’s time for me to dive into vin naturel now. “Once you start drinking wines like these, you can’t go back,” he says. “You can’t take the sulfites and chemicals of traditional wines.”
By vin naturel, Pierre means wines that are organic and beyond; particularly biodynamic wine, which relies on natural forces such as moon cycles and aromatherapy to produce sustainable vines. These wines often contain live matters and differ more widely in taste, color, and texture than conventional wine, which is often made with packaged yeasts for flavor and sulfites for preservation. While grapes naturally contain a small amount of sulfur, the additional amounts added by winemakers may lead to headaches for the consumer. It’s one thing to have a hangover, and another to be hungover from cheap industrial high-sulfited wine. According to Pierre, if sulfites stabilize a wine, they also kill it. There is a trade-off, though; the delicate vin naturel can better represent its terroir, but it doesn’t age well. And they are not suited for travel. Unlike your Amélie DVD, you can’t buy most of these wines outside of France.
Pierre Jancou grew fond of biodynamic foods when he worked as a chef and maintained this philosophy when he opened Crèmerie, three years ago. He appreciates “the everyday world” of wine, particularly in Burgundy. “People are working on three or four hectares, sometimes using horse power and eking out a living.” And because they use no chemicals, it takes a lot more labor to keep the vines free from insects and disease. They need to sell their wines at a little higher prices.
French organic wine, commonly labeled AB (Agriculture Biologique), does not always guarantee a better-quality bottle. “AB means that no pesticides are used on the vine, but when making the wine, one can pretty much do whatever, like add tons of chemicals. This just doesn’t work for us.” For this reason he prefers the “Demeter” label, which guarantees both environmentally friendly practices and little to no additives.
Tall, in his mid-thirties, Pierre looks like the vampire Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So when he suddenly rises from the table, I’m glad it’s only to grab another bottle from the shelf. “This is a radical one,” he tells me while swinging the bottle so that I can fully appreciate a vin naturel alive; the reddish-brown liquid is strongly clouded. Growing up as a French farm girl, I’ve seen similar-looking beverages before, but never in a store. I can’t help but think its unattractive look and potentially formidable taste would go great with stinky cheese. And peeking over at the Americans at the other table, I think how utterly unfit this wine would be for cowboys raised on Pop Tarts and Pamela Anderson.
“Americans react well to organic wine,” Pierre answers my silent query. “But with a wine like this, you obviously can’t put a bottle in anyone’s hand without explaining it.” It belongs to another wine culture, and sometimes goes back into fermentation after it’s bottled. “It’s like going back in time. It’s what our grandparents’ grandparents used to drink.”
Some in the wine industry consider Jules Chauvet, the father of vin naturel, a heretic. A radical enologist and trained chemist, Chauvet didn’t use yeast or sulfites and invented the macération carbonique; a method that uses carbon dioxide in the last stage of fermentation to stabilize the wine. Philipe Pacalet (Côte de Beaune) uses this technique to make Pommard and Meursault Grand Cru, which, according to Pierre, keeps very well when maintained under a temperature of 14˚ C (57˚ F).
In the small world of vin naturel, Grand Crus are an oddity. In fact, most do not fit into the French appellation system, so they are often given creative names instead. On the shelf before me is a Pinot Noir playfully renamed “Pinoir de Soif” (soif means thirst). On the counter is another bottle named “Quartz.”. My eyes linger on this yellow wine, so color-saturated that I have to ask Pierre for a glass. “I don’t sell radical wines only,” he smiles. “But mainly I do.” Quartz tastes like no other wine I’ve had. It’s sweet, yet not too sweet. There are both citrus and woodsy flavors and a slight buttery texture. I turn and watch the nighttime snowfall from the window of this lovely boutique, slowly sipping la crème des vins.
Crèmerie Wine Bar and Store (métro Odéon)
9, rue des Quatre Vents
75006 Paris
Tel: 01 43 54 99 30
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