Wines for every occasion

So many people ask me what is my favourite wine and for me there is no simple answer to this question. There is a wine for every occasion and for all different food types. 

I do have wines that I like for special celebrations, I buy wines for every day drinking and I also lay bottles down.

Our tours include wines that we have sampled, enjoyed and celebrated with ourselves. 

Here are some from Cairanne.

Discovery

We love adding new discoveries to our tours. This was a great wine that we tasted today!

Baron Le Roy

 Baron Le Roy

Pierre Le Roy de Boiseaumarie the founder of 'Le Syndicat des Vignerons des Cotes du Rhone'. Born in Normandy the 5th April 1890 and lived to June 1967. He was involved in significant roles within French Viticulture right up until his death. 

He moved to Languedoc in 1907 during an uprising of the winemakers of Le Midi and he was involved in demonstrations. The winemakers asked for his help as they had been suffering form a drop in wine sales and also from fraud.

He worked to defend them on the condition that they worked hard to produce quality wine an that they worked honestly.

In 1923 he founded 'Le Syndicat des Vignerons' and battled hard for 10 years to obtain recognition of the Apellation of Chateauneuf Du Pape.

A bust dedicated to him can be found in the village of St Cecile Les Vignes. 

Harvest Time

Once again the harvest is upon us, the Vignerons have been very busy, caring for their vines.

Now the grapes have changed colour, they wait for the correct sugar levels; which require the right amount of sunshine. This year has been particularly dry and we are told a good year!

The picking has commenced with white grapes and red for rosés; they will pick the grapes from now until the the end of the month maybe even later dependent on the what they desire in the juice.....flavour, sugar, alcohol level.

















We will be posting pictures of the harvesting process very soon.

From growing to harvesting

The vigneron works throughout the summer months, cutting, treating and tending the vines. They must ensure that they get the required results to achieve their final objective.

The grapes grow week on week, and so does the vine, this needs to be kept cut so that it does not interfere with the growth of the grape; the foliage has protective qualities and shelters the grapes too! They must decide on the best methods to control pests and weeds, others may see these and as part of nature.

We  must not ignore the vast area that they must cover. Some work by hand and others use machinery but this is still no small task....

A little break from vines to enjoying the grape....

An invite to Domaine Autrand in Vinsobres was met with great delight as they offered some amazing award winning wines together with some pairing food. It was all held in their Cave with their tall stainless steel vats dominating the scene.

Concrete Vats

 A marquee with tables and benches was laid on where you could sit and enjoy the wines with some cold meats. We were soon ordering some wine for ourselves and will certainly be putting this cave on our list to visit again.

We would recommend this cave for its outstanding Viognier and Rosé together with the Côtes du Rhône and Vinsobres Reds.

Selection of their finest

Grapevine continued..............

And so the fruit appears...........it has been just over a week and now you can see that the flowers have been fertilised so we see the first sign of fruit. Not all of the grapes and/ or grape varieties. It all depends on the variety, positon and of course the weather.........

The Grape Vine continued....

The vignerons have been busy in the vineyards spraying the crops against pests.

I  must also mention here the importance of position and soil types,as these all have a place in the final taste and quality of the wine.

The three key soil types here are slopes of clay and calcereous, 'les garrigues' stony plateaus and sandy calcaeous soils.

Pebbly

The large stones help the vines to withstand heat and drought.








And a week on from seeing the flowers on the grape; they have started flowering another key part that mother nature has to play ! The flowers lose their flower cap 'calyptra' and then pollen is released from the five stamen. The fertilisation process can take place when the pollen lands on the pistils of other plants.

The flowering 

The Grape Vine

We want  to take a look at
a year in the life of a Grape Vine.

Les Souches

So we start with the trunk and cordon, also known as "Les Souches".

In the early part of the year, the Souche produces buds and even now the vigneron must control what they want from the vine and may remove some.

Then in Spring life "Springs Forth"

The speed with which the vine grows is amazing and can be seen in front of your eyes on a day to day basis.

The growth is so fast that sometimes even this has to be controlled as too much foliage can hinder later growth.

Day 1

Day 3

Day 2

 Then we see the first glimses of the fruit which starts with the bunches of seeds, which will flower.

The first sign of fruit

And as the time is now May, we have to wait for the next development.........which will appear here on our Blog soon.

The Independent Vigneron

The Independent Vigneron Charter that I came across really does say it all...

Not only do they respect their terroir, cultivate their vineyard, harvest the grapes, vinify their wine, produce brandy, botttle their own wine, sell their wine, perpetuate tradition and welcome visitors,

They own their own business, and as a result have to wear so many hats.

I cannot put into words the respect that I have for these individuals, and of course those that are the cooperatives too.

The France Show 2016

Here we are again at The France Show it has been a busy 2 days, we are now waiting for the doors to open for the last day of 2016. It has been a busy show with lots of visitors. We have enjoyed sharing our passion, and have enjoyed wine tastings with our prospective clients with some wines from Domaine des Favards.

We have also enjoyed the display of cooking by Guy Wolley and Franck Raymond and Christine Vidal; with wine pairings from Susy Atkins.

It has been fantastic.

Thank you to everyone who has taken part!

La Table du Mas

We are delighted to recommend this amazing restaurant in Violes. Benoit Hertzog is known for his creativity and imagination using fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced locally. This menu is particulary interesting because each course comes with a different wine. If you are thinking of staying in this area of Provence, then staying at the Mas de Bouvau where the restaurant is stiuated is a must, and we at Raisin' your glass, can extend your excitement with a Wine Tasting Tour aswell!


The menu:
Alliances entre
La Table du Mas, Le Grand Retour et la Famille Aubert Pour une Dégustation entre mets et vins 

Apéritif : foie gras poêlé aux coings confits Volaille marinée à la fleur d’automne
Vin : Fleur d’Automne 2014, Viognier surmûris
-----
Velouté de courge muscade et crème de cèpes 
Vin : Le Devoy rosé 2014, Grignan-Les-Adhémar (grenache, syrah)
-----
Œuf cocotte aux champignons sauvages
Vin : Le Devoy blanc 2014, Grignan-Les-Adhémar (Grenache blanc, clairette, bourboulenc et viognier)
-----
Moelleux au crabe surmonté de noix de Saint Jacques, Velouté de crustacés et spaghettis de légumes 
Vin : Chardonnay 2014 « méditerranée »
-----
Filet de pigeon au foie gras, sauce au raisiné 
Vin : Plan de Dieu 2012
-----
Emincé de chevreuil rôti, sauce au poivre de Sichuan monté au foie gras et airelles 
Vin : Visan rouge 2013, (grenache, syrah)
-----
Dégustation de Fromages
Vin : Plan de Dieu 2011
-----
Tuile façon mendiant, mascarpone vanille et fruits rouges 
Vin : Fleur d’Automne 2014, Viognier sur mûris

Tarif available at:
www.latabledumas.com

Olive Picking

I am not one for waste; so now we have our own olive tree (note the singular!)

I have a handful of olives that I picked from our tree, and this weekend I have washed them and scored their skins. I am starting with a water curing which I plan to do for a week. They are submerged in cold water by use of a plastic bag filled with water to keep them there. I need to change the water daily….The next step will be a brine curing for which I will use sea salt.

Let’s see what happens…

Celebration of our marriage and a birthday

We do love the restaurant Les Troubadors in Visan so we popped in to book for the evening which is fortunate as this beautiful cave was fully booked as all the covers were taken.

A toast with the house cocktail and a choice from the menu…

Foie Gras with fig confiture and toasted brioche dressed with fruit coulis.

***

Sea Bass in Pistou and olive oil from Nyons

Or

Duck Breast in Rasteau Vin Doux and honey served with courgette carrot and a Duchesse potato.

***

And for desert we both chose the Crème Brulee

All washed down with some local Visan wine, and then home for coffee.

Les Vendanges

Today our neighbour starts the vendanges of his vielles vignes. Although we have seen grape picking a number of times, it is even more amazing when you can watch from your bedroom window.

We were given some bunches so we could taste them; sweet and intense. When they were finished picking all the grapes were taken away to the local cooperative.

We have had some storms just like a large part of France, so today the sun has come out and it is time…

All the vineyard owners have to decide when the right time is for them. There are tractors and trailers full of grapes on the roads and the beautiful smell of ripe fruit in the warm air.

Poetic that I should be writing this as the village church bells chime!

We were also invited to help with the vendanges in the local village of Tulette by our new friends Michel & Helene. We were advised to wear old clothes and maybe some gloves; we did not think we would need the gloves as we were only helping!

They had all been picking since 6am, we joined them at 3pm. There were four friendly Chinese girls, the four of us, Michel, Helene and another of our neighbours, Thierri. We were given buckets and handed secateurs and advised to leave the smaller bunches. The vines were stripped one by one, and the buckets filled very quickly. The bunches were so big and tightly packed, and the bunches grew in every direction including upwards; you could barely see where to cut as the grapes seemed to take up every space between the vines, they even wrapped themselves around everything nearby.

The buckets were so heavy that I was unable to empty mine into the trailer myself.

As you picked the grapes they would let out their juice, it was becoming very sticky. We were soon addicted to our metier and suddenly we found ourselves at the end of the first set of vines.

The tractor then took the trailer full of freshly picked fruit to a waiting vehicle so that they could be taken back to the domain.

We managed two hours, as our backs were now aching. We had only helped with two rows, so we did feel that maybe we were cheating as we left the others to carry on until 7pm or 8pm.

As one drives away one can see the enormity of the task ahead with 12.5 hectares to complete in approximately 3 weeks!