Languedoc Wine

the wine season....


Raisins at 5 weeks

They start much smaller than a pinhead when you first see them on the vine. The vines are still putting on foliage when the first raisins appear. The vines start budding in late March or early April. The fruits start appearing in May. This area, Languedoc-Roussillon, is the largest winegrowing region in the world. More production than Bordeaux, South Africa, Chile and Australia combined. And since 2001, more production than all of America. The total production is over 2 billion bottles per year. The first vines in France were planted by the Greeks probably north of Agde or Narbonne. It was 500 years B.C. A long time before the Romans, although the Romans dramatically improved the wine making process.



Pruning demonstrated

Most of the vigneron’s work is done long before you see any fruit. As early as December, the vigneron is busy trimming the vines and getting them in shape for a new crop. This consists of hand pruning all the old foliage off and selecting a few stems with perfect buds to start the next crop. The work is painstaking and slow and takes until mid March to complete all the vines. When complete, the vines look naked and stripped down to nothing but it is absolutely necessary. Big producers may have hired help, but most prefer this critical step to be done carefully so they do it themselves. In years past, because of the winter cold, small rock houses called mazets, dotted the vineyards and the clippers would warm up, eat, and rest a bit. Most of these mazets are gone now but you still can see quite a few.

In early spring and throughout the summer, the vigneron apply fertilizer and various insecticides to aid production. Any sight of blight is caught quickly and dealt with. Many plant rose bushes at each end of the vines for the purpose of catching blight early. Seems they found out that roses attracted the blight much sooner than the vines so if the roses get affected, there is still time for corrective action. The phylloxera louse in the 19th century severely affected the Languedoc wine industry, killing off many of the higher quality vines that were susceptible to the louse. American rootstocks that were naturally resistant to phylloxera were imported and solved this problem. Most rootstocks came from California and any variety can be grafted to the rootstock so you have French varieties growing on American roots.

The vines are also pruned through the summer. Partly to eliminate unnecessary growth to concentrate all the growth toward the raisins but also to prepare the vines for the pickers that will come at harvest. Some pruning is done with mechanical machines that resemble hedge shears but quite a lot is still done by hand. The vines are also plowed frequently to keep weeds from sapping the scarce moisture. It is curious that we always have heard about the benefits of good sunlight for the vines but in reality the raisins are fairly kept in the shade by the leafy vines.



Just turning colors

The raisins grow and mature right up to harvest. About the end of July, the colors begin to change. First with one raisin in a cluster and tomorrow there are three and the next 9 and so on. They start as a reddish purple (the reds) and darken right up til the vendange. The whites turn more opaque at first before developing a soft golden color near the harvest. In early August, they begin to look ripe so I decided to give it a taste test. Oops! Still not ready. Then about mid August they are developing the true sweetness that will shape the wine. Very tasty. At nearly the same time, the pulp inside has all but vanished. Almost pure juice inside the skin. When you try to pick one raisin off a cluster, it will likely squash between your fingers leaving nothing but juice. It seemed better to take a whole cluster and eat it like corn on the cob or watermelon. Later in August, the reds lose some of their sweetness and pick up some acidity. The vignerons monitor this condition and determine when to start the vendange. It is also this balance that determines the alcohol content.

The vendange started this year on August 20. The pickers were in the vines early and the cave cooperative opened at 3AM. The harvest will continue until a date certain established by the coop when all coop wine must be in. This again goes back to the conditions of sugars and acidity standards that must be adhered to. The cooperative receives, processes and handles the vinification of most of the wine from the region. Each grower contributes his harvest and receives the market price for his crop. If the wines are particularly good and a larger profit is made, he will also share in those proceeds. There are still many independent Domaines in operation. They produce their own wines under their own label and are not subject to the controls established by the cooperatives.  Domaines can pick early or late and get a totally different combination of sugar/acid than that of the cooperative. For example, Domaine Monplezy picks a Grenache crop late in October which is almost pure sugar and makes a beautiful port-like wine.



Harvester for raisins

Most picking nowadays is by machine. These huge devices manage to extract only the raisin and leave the vine in unruffled condition. In short… A grape harvester is a tall machine that straddles the trellis and uses special fingers (or rods) to shake the grapes off the vine. After the grapes have been shaken off the vine, the fruit lands on a catching tray, is collected by conveyor cups, and then transported to a reservoir that sits high at the rear of the machine. They are then transferred to the vendange wagons and hustled down to the cooperative or Domaine. These wagons work at their top speeds back and forth to get the most done in the shortest time. 

clusters after the picking

 

 

le queue at the cooperative



The schedule at the cave
 

The fermentation process begins when the raisins leave the vine. The fermentation process needs to be done in a controlled temperature environment so the heat of August becomes a problem. So much so that all the whites are picked at night and hustled in by 10 AM. The reds are a little less sensitive to the heat but still are picked and deposited as early in the day as possible.



sauvignon blanc to be

The whites are picked first with the Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat blanc, Viognier and Chardonnays in the first week. This is about 15% of the crop as the reds dominate in this region. Each grower has his time slot for delivery to the cave but there is always a queue early.



Mourvedre for softening the gamey varieties

The reds (rouge) is about 10 days later apparently needing the extra time on the vine and allowing the whites to clear the way. Typical here are Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvdre. There is some Merlot grown but very little Cabernet Sauvignon. These latter vines are grown in great quantities in Bordeaux. Our wines are shipped to Bordeaux by tankers for mixing with the Merlots, etc to make them more drinkable. Bordeaux wines can contain up to 25% of wines from other regions and frequently do.

Stems, leaves and trash



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The raisins are unceremoniously dumped in a large vat and cleaned of leaves, stems and other debris and the grower is paid on the net weight. The stems and trash is captured in a trailer and hauled back to someone’s vacant land and dumped. Later in the process, after pressing, and at the right interval, (when sufficient color is achieved) the skins and seeds meet the same fate. Certain Biodynamic vignerons are collecting skins and stems and returning it to the soil. Biodynamic means there are no commercial fertilizers, insecticides or mechanized equipment used in the production. Horses and ploughs are use to turn the soil.

 

 

Tending 120 year old vines Biodynamically
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pressing seems a bit of a misnomer. The raisins are so soft and liquid that they almost crush themselves in the trailers and holding vats. . By the time they bounce down the road in the trailer, gravity has done a lot of pressing already. The trailers leak grape juice on the roads to the point that Pezenas had put slippery when wet warnings on all the roundabouts. In fact, one domaine we visited doesn’t crush for a particular wine using the gravity approach which extracts a high percentage of the juice.



Busy season

Most of the vineyards (vignoble) are very small, probably between 5 and 20 hectares. Their size probably goes back to the days before cooperatives and mechanical pickers. Everything was a family operation and there were limits on how much could be worked as well as the capacity of the family’s cuvees and winemaking equipment. Our entire village seems to be vignerons. Even the mayor. But they are mostly small individual operators, not folks with large properties, staff or facilities. They are also an aging population and I wonder about the next generation of vigneron.



The mayor and his picker

Facades, Fireworks and Fetes - July 2012

Avant

off with the old

Whew!  what a mess!

spraying on ciment foundation

Reynald and his helper came early with two jackhammers.  They were very efficient and the old façade was off by noon.  As they left for the day he said he would be back in the morning with a large truck.  It would be large enough to carry off the debris.

down to original stone

mixing "ciment"

Ciment for trim around windows and Door

the mixer for crepi & ciment

The next day they were back with a Grand Camion and a very large “mixer”.  For the next two weeks, Reynald and his crew sprayed on the under coat, the trim around the windows and the front doors and finally the finish coat.  They worked together spraying on the various coats of ciment and crepi and smoothing them and molding them to the desired effect. 

ciment undercoat fini

molding ciment into trim around door 

spraying on crepi

smoothing the ciment

Hanging shutters

more sawing and cussin'

They also hung the shutters Jerry has built and put the down spouts up for the gutters.  There was much muttering, cussing, use of the power saw and the wood planer during the installation of the shutters…and I thought it was just Jerry who muttered, cussed, sawed and planed the shutters!  HA!  The front of the Ruin no longer looks like a Ruin (well, except for the front door…that will be the next thing…if  Mr. Ruiz will ever get the panels back to us).  Reynald and his helper are now cleaning the crepi off the windows and the iron work on the ground floor windows. The Ruin looks positively “stately”!  Our neighbors and other villagers have offered up “Tres Jolie” regarding the finished façade…..once again….I hope they are not just being kind.  

Apres

Fun with Friends

Friday 13 July was the start of Bastille Day celebrations here in France (at least in our area). Our Valros friends invited us to the Village Fete…..Fireworks and the Mayor’s sausage…..how could we refuse to go! It was great fun with a live band, what would be called a drill team in America was part of the entertainment, the sausage was delish and the fireworks were beautiful. Jerry and I staggered home about midnight.

waiting on the Mayor's Sausage

entertainment

fireworks!

More Friends

Alignan's new bar owner

villagers celebrating

Saturday 14 July was Bastille Day. Alignan Du Vent hosted a village fete, bal and feu d‘artifice and the bar opened under new management with a wonderful dinner (4 courses plus wine for 13,00 euros). 17 of our Tourbes and Alignan buddies came to the Ruin for aperos before we all wandered down to the town square for dinner. The music was blasting away as we ate and after dinner several of us took advantage to “shake a tail feather”and burn off some of the wine and Cuisse de Canard dinner. The dances in the villages are family affairs. There are mothers, fathers, little kids, medium sized kids, teenagers, grandmas and grandpas…..and they all dance. I like to see some of the older residents dance…the music here has a definite Spanish flavor and those folks can tango and samba like nobody’s business. The fireworks started about 11:00 and were set off in front of the church. They were spectacular! When the fireworks ended most of the villagers went back to the square for more dancing and wine. Several of our merrymakers went for drinks at a new friend’s house here in Alignan. Mark and Louise have a beautiful old maison with a Garden to die for. It was great to see inside another old home here in the village. After drinks we all tottered back towards the square so our Tourbes friends could locate their cars and make the short trip to their homes. As we passed the square plenty of villagers were dancing to the music that was still blasting away and it was midnight (at least). When Jerry and I arrived home and finally went to bed I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep “Thank Goodness we have double paned windows and shutters….we don’t hear a thing!” July 21-24 is the Grand Village Fete…..Boy! Can’t wait to see what that is all about!!! A Bientot!

More Fireworks!

Vive La France!!

May and June Updates

27 Mai 2012

Let’s see….what did we do in May?  Well, there was Mother’s Day, of course, and we celebrated with friends at Domaine l'Adrienne in Coulobres, then there was a village Fete in Alignan, dinner at The Tourbes Cave Cooperative, another Friend had a birthday, there were Vide Greniers, brocante sales, cold weather for May, random dinners with friends, a Ladies Lunch with my friend Jenny,  and Jake finally walking off leash with me.

The lunch at the Domaine on the 13^th was very nice. It was held in the courtyard of the domaine and was sheltered from the sun by leafy trees. A cooling breeze and perfect weather made it a fabulous setting. Ken and Alison offered one of the best meals we have had with them yet. It started with aperos, wine, champagne, pastis and whiskey while everyone arrived and found their places. This is largely an English speaking event as news has spread among the Brits and they come in hoards. Probably 80 people in all. We had 12 at our table and another table of our friends. The menu was Yogurt-Marinated and Grilled Lamb; Two-Day Brined and Grilled Pork Chop; Slow-Roasted Salmon with Tamarind and Ginger; Potatoes with Lavender and Rosemary; Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper Strata; Haricots Verts with Harissa Vinaigrette, Dried Ham, and Spiced Almonds; legumes du jour; served buffet style. This was followed with a choice of 6 desserts and the fromage course. Then coffee if you still had any room. Did I mention all the rouge, blanc, or rose you could drink. (Peter kept them hopping to keep our pichets full.)  All  this for €23 each.

On the 16^th, we had 18 of our friends over for aperos and then adjourned to the village Café de Place in Alignan’s square for an evening of music and dancing. Richard and Nadine, the bar owners, were pleased that we brought such a large crowd. They served a great paella meal followed by dessert and coffee for €13. Did I mention all the rouge, blanc, or rose you could drink. What was advertised as an orchestra turned out to be a couple of vocalists singing to canned music. No matter, the locals were first to start the dancing but were quickly followed by our group. We danced until about 11 when we, “more mature” people started to go home.

The 18^th, the Cave Cooperative in Tourbes put on a do that included aperos, entrees volonte followed by all the moule marinere you could take. They showcased some of their wine but I don’t think they sold much. We had 10 at our table and reacquainted ourselves with some of the locals such as the current and prior mayors; the committee de fetes folks and some artisans that we had met.

The 19^th we had dinner with Robert and Dorothy at an old convent near Beziers. The setting was great but the service lagged even by French standards and was a little pricey at €28 for the meal.   The wine was bouteille only and quite expensive.

On the 22^nd, Francoise celebrated her big birthday at her home with Champagne aperos. I think there were only 14 as some of our friends were out of town. We followed that with pizza at the Tourbes bar on Wednesday and Friday aperos in Alignan

Oh!  Wait!  What have we done on the Ruin!  Well, Jerry finished and hung the second set of Shutters, Hannie and Bert hall was painted (sort of), all the iron was removed from the barn and the rest of the debris was swept up and taken from the barn, the salon was sanded and the painting has started, the trim boards were added to the door facings into the bedrooms and they were painted as well as the entry to the bedrooms.  Doors were painted and hung (with door knobs) in the Master bathroom and brown chamber, and a friend and a professional were consulted about the renovation of the barn to terrace.

The second set of Shutters gave Jerry as much trouble as the first set.  There was measuring, gluing, and attaching the hardware ……. then there was the muttering, vigorous use of the wood planer, cussing, more use of the wood planer.  Then he decided some cement needed to be applied to one of the hinges on the exterior wall.  That done we waited a day or so and then the muttering, cussing and hammering began because the hinge was literally 1/8 of an inch off some way or the other.  Finally, Jerry got the shutter to slip onto the hinge, and then he was back to muttering, cussing and vigorous use of the wood planer.  I think he also had to redo a set of hardware on one of the shutters to make sure they fit together properly.  Shutters are hard work!

A young man stopped by asking if we had any iron he could haul off.  Jerry told him yes and proceeded to take him up to the barn …. It was full of farm equipment, iron bars, and other items of iron that we hadn’t had the time or energy to haul down the stairs, out the back of the garage and load up to take to the dump.  This young man proceeded to dump the entire lot out the barn loft window and into the street below!  Cars just drove around the entire mess until he went downstairs and loaded it up.  Then he was back upstairs throwing stuff out again!  He also collected the bits and pieces that were left over in the garage.

When Jerry asked him if he was going to pay him a little something for the iron the fella said “Non”, then he asked Jerry for a job painting.  Jerry negotiated the painting of what we call Hannie and Bert Hall and the sanding of the salon.  He finished the hall (sort of) in one day and the sanding of the salon took two days.  The hall will have to be sanded smooth in some places and repainted and he didn’t do a good job up around the beams…that will have to be redone, but at least when we look up the hallway we don’t see dirt, ugly old wallpaper paste marks and 200 year old cob webs hanging from the beams!  At first glance it looks clean and fresh painted.  I can live with that right now!  LOL  I think we made a good trade!

The entryway into each bedroom was a problem area because the rubble walls were separating from the trim.  Some of the trim is plaster and some is wood.  We were told to MAP it which I didn’t want to do because it is just like concrete and it is messy to work with.  Someone else said to put up wall board, I didn’t want to do that because I didn’t want to hide the wall.  So, Jerry cut some trim boards and attached them around the problem areas…Voila!  Ugly hidden and it looks very finished now.  I painted the trim the same color as the doors and trim in each bedroom and the wall portion of the entry is painted the same color as the bedrooms.  I must say it is very colorful on that second landing!  LOL

The terrace space has continued to be a brainteaser for Jerry. We had John and Wendy offer their insights on Thursday as to how to arrange stairs from the ground level o the terrace level. Good advice but it is still a problem. We have spent about a week in removing the debris and accumulated dust up there. So far there have been 4 trips to the decheterie with heavy bags of dirt and rock ….. about 500 pounds of fine dust and another 500 pounds of misc lumber and wood. Once we could actually see the floor, we found more wood rot and floor boards that must be replaced. A nagging question is whether to strip it all off and start new or patch the rot and then resurface over the existing floor.

An architect’s assistant came by and offered some ideas but I’m not sure any will work. He suggested taking off the old boards but I am not as sure as the existing floor (after repairing the rotted boards) is still quite serviceable. He also was concerned that we get permission to have a terrace put in prior to spending any major money.  In France you must have permission from Batiment du France to make any renovation to the outside of your old house.  If you don’t get permission you can be fined or you can be forbidden to sell the property until the house is put back to its original state.  Either one is a problem for the property owner.  Paul Philippe said the powers that be do not like to see the roof pierced so we may have a problem getting the ok for the terrace even though our neighbors right next door to us, across the street directly in front of us and cornerwise across the street from us have a totally opened terrace. Their house is as old, or possibly older, than ours and they all “fall within the shadow of the church”.  Until we figure out what we want to do we can’t even ask permission to do anything!  We will have to submit the proper paperwork and some sort of drawing to show them the final look.  At any rate, the terrace is still just an idea in our mind.  Hopefully, before long it will become more than an idea.  After a few days and a little more thinking it over and speaking with another architect and the mayor, Jerry decided how to tell them what we wanted to do.  All the papers have been completed and turned into the Marie along with a computer generated plan for what it will look like "plus ou moins".  Now we wait..... 

Jean Louis came today to begin repairs on the roof.  We have had a significent leak in the garage next to the back wall of the house and we have  had a slight leak around the new stove top exhaust.
As with EVERYTHING else the roof repair did not go as planned.  The exhaust was vented thru an old chimney......we thought we could just get the flashing redone, but....the chimney was "KAPUT"....those were Jean Louis' exact words!  So, the chimney was demolished and a stove pipe and "chapeau" was installed.  They had trouble demolishing the chimney because they didn't want all the debris to fall into the kitchen exhaust. However, the roof is repaired, no leaks anywhere and the little chimney stove pipe with it's "chapeau" looks great.

We also got two devis on the Facade renovation.  Unfortunately, David's was high, so Jerry searched out another artisan who does only facade renovation.  Reynald has done work in the village and it looks wonderful.  He is extremely friendly (as they all are) and he is ready to get started the first part of July.  According to Reynald it will take two weeks to strip off the old, repair and put on the new.  Looks like my 4th of July party will have to be pushed to maybe Bastille Day, 16 July.  Except for the War of 1812 the French and Americans have been Allies.....right?

looking from barn into house

looking from house towards the barn

I finally got the salon painted and cleaned up.  All the furniture I have for up there (with the exception of the TV and computer desk) has been moved up.  The bedrooms look a lot bigger without the extra furniture, but the salon looks smaller than I thought it would!  Anyway, we have some arranging work to do in the salon as far as furniture goes, but at least it is clean and "finished".  The little French doors are off right now because Jerry is preparing them for painting. Hopefully they will be installed in a couple of weeks and the threshold repaired as well.  We also have pictures for the wall and a rug for the floor but until we are sure where the TV is going and after we are finished with the tramping in and out of the barn conversion the pictures and rug will just have to wait!

Dorothy as the Queen

There was a big Queen's Jubilee celebrations and all I can say I hope the Queen had as much fun as we did!  The first celebration was held at a friend's home in Tourbes.  Jenny outdid herself with the refreshments...finger sandwiches, scones, fairy cakes and Pimms!  Pimms is GOOD! 
The first part of June we had a big Aperos night here at the Ruin.  We invited our French neighbors and friends, English folks from the village we have met, our contractors and their wives and the friends who have had a hand in helping us so far.  We wanted to thank them and let them see what all the fuss, noise, dust, and inconvenience was about.  Thirty three people showed up.  Everyone seemed to have a good time.  In fact, one of our French Friends said, "Usually, aperos are a very short time at a person's home".  I laughed and said "Welcome to one of my parties!" 


Jerry decided the end of May we were going on Vacation ... to Germany.  We had been to Germany before and enjoyed every moment.  This trip we were going to see parts of the country we had never seen before.  And to make it even more fun....we were going on the TRAIN!  I love the train!  We were gone 11 days and saw Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Weimar, Erfurt, Lepzig, Dresden, Berlin, Hannover and back to Dusseldorf.  We traveled on a German Rail pass. you are allowed to use the trains as you wish for a set amount of days. We took advantage of this and had 3-4 hour stopovers in Frankfurt, Erfurt and Hannover. Jerry and I packed for summer weather and ended up buying sweatshirts.  We had each taken only one pair of long pants and they were worn more than once I can tell you! Despite the weather we enjoyed seeing Germany in the throes of Euro Cup Frenzy.  The closest thing we have in the States is maybe the World Series or Super Bowl playoffs.  I don't think they rise to the Frenzy as the Euro Cup playoffs however.  Anyway, when we returned to La Belle France the weather was a balmy 85 or so degrees and lots and lots of sunshine!!

We got back to Alignan to find correspondence from OFII (Office of French Immigration and Interrigation).  We had an appointment the very next day!  In France you have to have a medical exam and a "sticker" issued for your passport for you to remain in France and for your visa to be renewed.  I was worried about passing their physical, what would they check for, how would we talk to the Doctors if they don't speak English and what happens if one or both of us fail the physical?  Jerry and I made it to the OFII office well in advance of our 13:30  appointment.....only to be left standing in a darkened Foyer waiting for the OFII to open after lunch.  I kept thinking to myself...Jerry's blood pressure is probably rising by the minute and so is mine.  By 13:30 about 30 people made a mad dash for the stairs and elevator to reach the OFII first....we were about 10th in line when the dust settled.   We were signed in and told to wait until we were called.  As the others started coming and going I was thinking "they can't be doing a very thorough exam....nobody is gone more than 5 minutes".  Finally it was my turn.  The Doctor showed me into the exam room, told me to take off my shoes and she weighed me....in kilos of course.  She asked me if that was about right and I told her I didn't have a clue cause... we use pounds and I couldn't make the conversion.  She gave a typical French shrug and said she couldn't either.  We then sat down and she pricked my finger for a drop of blood to check for "Blood Sugar".  She immediately became alarmed by what she saw and I then got a little nervious .....  until she said very sternly "You have no sugar.....are you eating?"  I then reminded her she had just weighed me and I asked her "what do you think".  We both had a good laugh!  She asked me a few more questions....any existing conditions, any medications..that sort of thing.  She stood and said "Bon!  Go back to the waiting room and wait for the other doctor".  The other doctor called me in about 10 minutes later and told me I was about to get a "chest xray for my breath"  and to "please strip to the waist and come back into the xray room."  I was not offered a little paper cape like we get in the states.  So I "brazenly" stripped to the waist, she made the xray and I apparently had breath and nothing else. I was told to dress and go back to the waiting room with my Xray in hand.  After about 10 minutes Jerry and I were both called into the first Doctors office and she looked at the xrays and said we both were fine.  She reprimanded Jerry about smoking, told him to stop, said were were now in the French system and if we needed medical care just go to the DR tell him we don't have much money and they will treat us!  And that my friends was the extent of our medical exam.  We were then led into what I would call "the administrator's office".  There we were given our carte de Sejours and a paper that verified we had passed our medical exam. We were told to go back to the Sous Prefecture in Beziers and complete the process for renewing our Visa. The next day we were back to Beziers to give the paper we were issued and a copy of the carte de sejour to the Sous prefecture.  Our dossiers were the top two on her desk..and when I say her desk looks worse than mine ever did when I was working....well, friends who know me are groaning at that visual.  We were issued an visa extension and told we should get our renewed visa in about 6 weeks....well before the extension expires...She directed us to the front lobby and was telling us which line to get in when we came back for the visa...The Etranger line...then she laughed and said "Well, you two aren't strangers here anymore!"  It is good to have a laugh with a French Government Official!

Reynald

scaffolding up

The facade man came today and I was awakened by the sound of scaffolding being put together.  It took him and his one helper about 2 hours to set up the scaffolding.  As he was leaving, he said "see you Lundi with my jackhammer"  or something close to that!  It will take about two weeks for the facade to be demolished then rebuilt but according to Reynald..."Il sera tres beau" when finished.  All I can think about is the noise and dust! I know my neighbors will be pulling their hair out too.....  even though the neighbor across the street gave Reynald a French shrug and "so, I will close my windows"!  Hope closing MY windows helps keep the dust out of here!!

This puzzle piece goes here!!

Jerry thinking Thank God I don't have to get up there!!