Every year the producers of Chateauneuf du Pape have a blind tasting of their new vintage and they vote on who has the best cuvée of the year.  This St Marc competition results in a spectacular gala dinner where people get awards all night long and I could hardly hear all the speeches and thank [...]

In September 2011, we did a special harvest and micro vinification with part of the Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah. It was a natural, extended whole cluster carbonic maceration. The experimental fermentation Natural means nothing added.  We counted on wild yeasts and used no sulfites. Extended means that I let the maceration run for about six [...]

In September 2011, we did a special harvest and micro vinification with part of the Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah. Two of the WWOOFers (volunteers learning about farming) staying at O’Vineyards spent a couple days hand-harvesting grapes for a small project of mine. Harvesting O’Blivion We brought the harvest in and did a natural, whole-cluster extended [...]

Normally, this is the time of year when the whole vineyard goes dormant.  The leaves change color and fall off as the green vines turn into wood.  But this year we’re seeing a lot of unusual behavior in the Syrah vines where many plants are actually growing new leaves! How vines usually behave This is [...]

2011 has been a very peculiar year.  Throughout the year, virtually all of France’s wine regions were reporting very advanced vine growth and early harvests (Bordeaux, Loire, Languedoc among others), and some of those predictions came true while other areas are now reporting perfectly normal harvest dates. Some people are harvesting early Some readers never [...]

I managed to take some pictures yesterday.  Lots of photos of the Syrah and Cabernet finishing veraison.  That’s the period when the plant turns the grapes purple. I also found some baby birds newly hatched in the Syrah! For more pictures of grapes turning purple, check out this Love That Languedoc post about veraison in [...]

Harvest is right around the corner at O’Vineyards.  I mean that literally.  If you walk past the corners of our property, you’ll be surrounded by harvesters. We aren’t harvesting yet.  The grapes just aren’t ready here.  In several days, they will be.  But not today. Why are the nearby neighbors harvesting?  Different philosophies.  Waiting for [...]

“La qualité des terrains se communique aux végétaux qui y sont placés ; elle forme ce qu’on nomme goût de terroir” [Fourcroy, Conn. chim. t. VIII, p. 276] Enfin, pourquoi nous cassons nous la tête pour faire du vin représentatif d’un terroir?  On peut simplement mettre du terroir dans une bouteille. J’ai sauté quelques étapes [...]

My friends at Domaine Revelh (Wake Up!) in the Roussillon made a beautiful post about vine buds and flowers. The text is in French so it might be tough for some of you, but the photos need no words.  A truly beautiful post!! To achieve this, they brought some cuttings back from the field in [...]

It’s snowing in May. WTF.