Antonio Galloni's New Responsibilities at the Wine Advocate
A month ago, Robert Parket sent an email out to his subscribers letting us know about some significant changes in who tastes the wine for several regions. I’d like to share my thoughts and an email from David Schildknecht to help people understand more about this change (and how it might affect my region).
The change that has caught the most press is that Parker is giving up California which he used to taste personally. California wines will now be tasted by Antonio Galloni. This gets a lot of attention because Parker’s tastes have really shaped the direction of California wines and Galloni does not have identical tastes. In the range of 90-100, personal tastes can play a large role in the difference between a 99 and a 100 or a 93 and a 95.
But being a Languedoc-centric wine lover, I’m interested in another aspect of Robert Parker’s email. “Two new areas of responsibility for Antonio will include the red and white Burgundies of the Côte d’Or” Aha! Cote d’Or and Chablis, which used to be reviewed by David Schildknecht, will now be tasted by Galloni. This is interesting to Languedoc-Roussillon wine producers since Schildknecht is the man responsible for Languedoc and Roussillon wines. Schildknecht is super busy as he also tastes Germany, Austria, New York, Beaujolais, Loire, and the rest of Eastern Europe.
With the vast weight of Chablis and Cote d’Or shifting toward Galloni, Parker suggests that “sectors that merit dramatically more attention but have not had sufficient coverage, including Beaujolais and the Mâconnais (now economically as important as the Cote d’Or and Chablis) will be put under a microscope by David Schildknecht.” Intriguing.
So I asked David if he thinks that the Languedoc will benefit get increased attention from this shift. The short answer is “eh…” Actually David says, “In short, collectively there is a lot to be done. And this will involve writing about emerging regions including many that render some of the world’s greatest wines and or best vinous values yet get little journalistic attention.”
I’ve included David’s email below so you can see the full eloquent response. But in short, the Languedoc already receives a full bulletin every two years and an under $20 article every other year while some regions remain drastically undercovered or virtually ignored. While one article per year for the world’s largest wine producing region seems like too little for a Languedoc fanatic like me, I have to admit that the situation is even worse for other regions.
Regions Schildknecht will try to cover more
David mentions several regions where he plans on expanding his coverage including, “the Mâcon, the Southwest [of France], Corsica, Jura, and Savoie. And indeed, the Costières de Nîmes and Provence are also deserving of focused attention that they have not received in the context of my reports on the Languedoc or Bob’s on the Rhône, although that future focus might come from Bob or might come from me – this remains to be seen.”
David also mentions German regions outside of the Riesling Belt like “the Ahr and Baden as well as Württemberg and Franken”… lots of regions he wants to give more time to. Places that deserve the attention too. And he talks a bit about the Americas. “And then there are my many deserving countrymen and Canadian neighbors in the eastern three-quarters of North America, who with the exception of those in New York State have gone unmentioned in The Wine Advocate.” I suppose there are a lot of winemakers that fit into this. Virginia pops into mind. Lots of producers. Not as much as the L-R, but a lot.
Also, David reminds me that the deadline for the next Languedoc article is fast approaching. While I can hope that he will have slightly more time for us in the future, it’s unrealistic to think that the change can affect the upcoming article.
David Schildknecht’s email
Besides my continued inability to adequately (including in a timely manner) cover the wines of so many regions of the world, there were other valid internal reasons for the change in Burgundy coverage, which should free me to do a better job in covering the rest of the wine world that is my remaining “beat.” Yes, this will mean more time can be devoted to certain regions that I am already covering. But before either of us jumps to conclusions about how this will effect coverage of the Languedoc or Roussillon, please bear in mind the following factors:
1) My first priority is to be able to publish reports more rapidly. And it will take most of 2011 to get caught up to where I need to for my readers’ sake be in regard to those regions about which I have been publishing ongoing reports.
2) Since time has already been alloted for visiting in and tasting wines of the Languedoc & Roussillon, I’ll be publishing in the June issue the report on these regions essentially as I already planned. I cannot do more tasting or travel for this report than was already planned because of other commitments I have for later in the year. (I’ll start planning the precise days for my trip at the end of this month. Sooner is impractical as too much can change for the growers to ask them two months or more in advance on which days they will not be available to receive me.)
3) Relative to the vastness of the region (one it’s really a stretch to refer to it as “a region”), the Loire has come up even shorter in my coverage than has the Languedoc or Roussillon, and I have only tasted – as I wrote to you before – a minority of the wines in situ but have relied on samples for a higher percentage of my tasting than is the case in my coverage of most other regions. So I shall be looking to do a significantly broader as well as deeper report on the Loire during 2012 than I would otherwise have been able.
4) There are a great many worthy regions about which I have been completely unable to write in recent years and shall now get to.
These include, in France, the Mâcon, the Southwest, Corsica, Jura, and Savoie. And indeed, the Costières de Nîmes and Provence are also deserving of focused attention that they have not received in the context of my reports on the Languedoc or Bob’s on the Rhône, although that future focus might come from Bob or might come from me – this remains to be seen.
I have not had chance to write about any wines of Germany outside of the Riesling belt; and even though these are wines with relatively little international availability thus far, there is a lot of recent excitement in places like the Ahr and Baden (especially with Pinot) as well as Württemberg and Franken.
And speaking of great wines but wines with sadly little international distribution, consider Switzerland! I have been wanting to return to Hungary and Slovenia for some years now, and to writing about their wines. And then there are my many deserving countrymen and Canadian neighbors in the eastern three-quarters of North America, who with the exception of those in New York State have gone unmentioned in The Wine Advocate.
In short, collectively there is a lot to be done. And this will involve writing about emerging regions including many that render some of the world’s greatest wines and or best vinous values yet get little journalistic attention.
One way of bringing traffic to the website or the vineyard is to be included in lots of regional directories.
Since the New York Times and Stephen Colbert announced the death of the white pages, it might be a good time to talk about the future of information directories and annuaires online.
So with companies refusing to deliver the white pages, let’s look at online alternatives.
Here are a few links to directories that list O’Vineyards. Notice that they’re all pretty specific. Deligogo only does food and wine. Languedoc Midi Info is obviously based on Languedoc and Midi listings. Best of Carcassonne gets ultra specific and only includes listings around Carcassonne. Some of these directories charge you to be included. Others allow anybody to sign up. I think specific directories like this are cool because (a) they fill the role of the yellow pages so people can find your business and (b) they give you content-specific backlinks which help search engines define and highlight your site.
A recent article in the Revue du Vin de France about the terroirs they believe to be Grands Crus du Languedoc shows disagreement with the CIVL classification. Notably, they include the Cabardes (my appellation and the subject of my book “Wines of Carcassonne“) as a grand cru. It makes me happy that the Cabardes made it onto the VIP list. And while the disagreement between the prestigious wine magazine and the interprofessional organization seems like it could damage the promotional efforts of the “grands crus” system, it will only be noticed by wine nerds like me.
In more detail
So the RVF decided to name their top 11 grands crus. I was excited to see my own appellation named as one of the grand crus of the Languedoc. GO CABARDES! There’s a nice little portrait of one of my neighbors, Clement Mengus and they talk briefly about how we are the westernmost appellation in the Languedoc and we’re doing interesting things.
Now where this gets weird is that the CIVL doesn’t actually consider us a grand cru. And we don’t have the legal right to use the trademarked phrase “grand cru du languedoc” on our labels even though my wines meet all the requirements for the grands crus status. And apparently, experts agree that the Cabardes is a grand cru.
Part of me is a little worried about the mixed messages of this initiative. On the other hand, I should repeat that this worry is silly because only the nerdiest wine geeks will even notice discrepancies like the RVF-CIVL disagreement. The important part of this article is that people will read about my beautiful appellation and may be inspired to try our wines or to read other books about the Cabardes. Just as the important part of the CIVL grands crus initiative is that people will see “grand cru du Languedoc” on a wine label and some people will be inspired to try a bottle of Languedoc thanks to that initiative. That is the important thing. It’s much more important than the nervous rambling I get into when people start asking me serious questions about it.
Differences between the RVF and CIVL Grands Crus du Languedoc
PS, since people will ask, the RVF’s Grands Crus du Languedoc are:
Aniane-Puechabon (part of the terrasses du larzac)
Terrasses du Larzac
Saint Chinian
Faugeres
Pic Saint Loup
Pezenas
Corbieres Boutenac
Minervois la Liviniere
Fitou
La Clape
Cabardes
Notable differences include the strange specificity of Aniane-Puechabon, a part of the terrasses du larzac. This is especially odd since the terrasses du larzac themselves are just a specific cru within the AOC Coteaux du Languedoc. And so their number 1 grand cru is actually a subset of their number 2 grand cru, neither of which is technically an AOC. It’s also notable that the RVF included ALL of Saint Chinian instead of specifying certain crus within it like the CIVL did (eg roquebrun). Inclusion of Cabardes, as mentioned before, defies the CIVL’s initiative and makes me gleeful because I know we deserve to be a grand cru. The omission of Gres de Montpellier from RVF’s list might shock a few winemakers in the Herault since the Gres have been on the list since the CIVL’s earliest drafts back in the summer of 2010. Limoux’s still wines are also omitted although I’ve seen them on and off the list lots of times.
If somebody has the official CIVL list that got released recently, please send it to me so I can repost. I’m having an absurdly hard time finding the official CIVL list. Here’s an article from December that has a CIVL list that seems very accurate based on what I’ve heard in aoc meetings.
A detailed schedule will come soon. But the important thing is to book your tickets and hotels for this lovely weekend in March. A hundred wine professionals and Internet people will come together at the Chambre de Commerce et de l’Industrie in Carcassonne. There will be a series of round table discussions on Saturday on subjects that will be decided the day of the VinoCamp. Sunday will consist of a visit to the Cité de Carcassonne and at least one vineyard.
Registration and Wiki
VinoCamp registration is free but mandatory as there are a few questions that will help me organize buses, food, etc.
I strongly encourage you to edit the VinoCamp wiki. This will allow you to add your name, email address, and website to the common list that we will all use for reference when writing about the event. Participants in the conference will be able to familiarize themselves with your website before they come to the conference.
What is a VinoCamp? What is a BarCamp?
I’ve written about the nature of barcamps before, but to summarize: VinoCamp is an open conference devoted to wine and the Internet. There is no literal camping involved. Here is a post with some video of a small round table discussion about Oenotourism from VinoCamp Paris
Who comes to a VinoCamp?
Winemakers, wine retailers, wine journalists, and anybody who makes a living online with wine. VinoCamp is a place where wine professionals and techies come together to share ideas about the future of wine online. You’ll get to meet a few Z list local celebrities like me. ;D
Here is my list of the people I met at VinoCamp Paris. The open nature of the VinoCamp allows you to really meet a lot of new people. And since everybody has a chance to talk, you can tell very quickly whether a person is awesome or not.
This is a very exciting award, and I’m so happy to see it moving forward at a healthy pace. One of the coolest parts of the BDWA is that it recognizes individual videos and pieces of writing. That means that the awards can go to busy winemakers who have time to do one cool video or post but who don’t have time to run a blog with great content year round. Furthermore this inaugural year is free. You can submit entries at no charge. And there’s a prize.
Now, I was planning on flooding them with submissions from other Languedoc Roussillon producers, but it turns out you have to submit your own work. So I will have to settle for strongly encouraging you to enter your own work.
I STRONGLY recommend you enter some work. I would absolutely love to see the Languedoc Roussillon take over the shortlist of finalists and even win one of these categories!
You might be thinking it’s weird that I’m encouraging people to compete against me. Well.. on the one hand, I’m weird. On the other hand, through a rather unexpected turn of events, most of my web work doesn’t meet the criteria of eligibility. Most of the Love That Languedoc videos are longer than 10 minutes. My book (Wines of Carcassonne: The Cabardes AOC) is longer than 3000 words. Some of my work like the Complete Map of AOC Cabardes aren’t really text or video, and there’s no category for apps or maps this year. And some of my more popular videos were first released before 2010. So most of what I do can’t even compete.
Despite my initial disappointment about this discovery, it’s probably a good thing. I honestly don’t know how I would have narrowed down my body of work to choose a submission. These criteria actually narrow it down for me to the dirt tasting and the fruit thief. Which are some of the most visited articles posted on this site in 2010 anyway. I should probably take a hint from that!
People like videos under 10 minutes that have almost nothing to do with wine. 😀
So to summarize, please consider entering your own writing and video! Let’s get some Languedoc Roussillon in the Born Digital Wine Awards.
NO VISIT TO THE SOUTH OF FRANCE would be complete without a trip to the Languedoc-Roussillon region, where you’ll find a combination of hilltop vineyards, Mediterranean beaches, and a panoply of France’s most beautiful medieval villages.
–Ryan O’Connell, Tampa Bay Magazine NOV/DEC 2010 p. 141
Add one more thing to the list of jobs winemakers do when they’re not making wine. I’m now a published travel writer too!
Tampa Bay Magazine has posted a couple of stories about the Languedoc-Roussillon region and one of them was written by me. Although they did edit a bit, insisting on some flattering photo captions and more info about O’Vineyards (and employing an alternate spelling of cassoulet). But the point is that it’s awesome for the region to get its name out there in a positive light, and I can’t wait to write more articles like this. I hope lots of people come across it while planning their next trip.
Read the full articles in PDF format: (warning: big files!)
If there are particular magazines that you think I should submit to, please let me know! They can be lifestyle, airline, travel, food, or whatever! The Languedoc Roussillon is so vast, there’s almost always an excuse to write about it.
Here’s the full text of my wine article if you’re having trouble downloading/opening the PDFs.
WINES OF THE LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON REGION
The Gateway to the Mediterranean
By Ryan O’Connell
Photography by Noraa
NO VISIT TO THE SOUTH OF FRANCE
would be complete without a trip to the
Languedoc-Roussillon region, where you’ll find
a combination of hilltop vineyards, Mediterranean
beaches, and a panoply of France’s most beautiful
medieval villages. The region derives its richness
directly from this great geographical, cultural and
historic diversity. At first glance, this great expanse
of land (over 10,500 square miles) may seem a little
disconnected, as it incorporates the Catalan villages
of the Pyrenees Orientales, the medieval castles of
the Pays Cathare, the rocky foothills of the Massif
Central, and the Roman amphitheaters to the west
of the Rhone River. However, it is this immense
diversity which nurtured the creativity and bravery
of troubadours, monks and knights from once
upon a time in the same way that it fosters daring
winemakers, chefs and travelers today. While Paris
might be the most notable part of France, this softspoken
region to the south has quietly provided
some of France’s richest cultural heritage for over
a millennia.
It is difficult to pick a city that best represents
this area. But if you need a landmark that typifies
the region’s colorful, storied past, as well as its great
present developments, I would choose the medieval
walled city of Carcassonne. This remarkably preserved
castle town exemplifies the Languedoc’s respect for
its past and cultural heritage. Nearly four million
people a year explore the meandering cobbled
roads, within its epic stone walls, that span nearly
two miles.
[photo caption]
Liz, Ryan and Joe O’Connell are at
home at their O’Vineyards Winery in
the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France.
It’s no wonder that every child in France
learns about these ramparts in grade
school, as each and every stone is filled
with character. In the summertime, in a
unique tribute to the past, musicians from
every continent and genre play to a small
audience in the amphitheater behind the
cathedral. This year, Bob Dylan, Charlotte
Gainsbourg, Motorhead, a full rendition
of Carmen and other musical legends
performed there. And, although each of
these musicians is quite different, they all
agreed to return to this place where the
troubadour singers once ruled and their
songs of courtly love were born.
The modern musicians are all seduced
by the stage in Carcassonne, due in part
to the massive preservation efforts that
date back to the 1860s to make the castle
and its surroundings one of the world’s
best-preserved examples of medieval
architecture and defenses. As you look
through the narrow slits of its zig-zagging
ramparts and gaze out across the terra
cotta rooftops of the homes that surround
the castle, the immense weight of history
is palpable to all.
However, the castle is not just a reminder
of the past. It is also a place filled with
countless quiet moments, where you
can enjoy the present, as cool winds flow
through charming patios and gardens.
The Hotel de la Cité, a five star hotel in the
heart of the castle, was a former abbey and
is managed with a charm and eccentricity
appropriate to the site. You can savor lunch
or dinner at one of its restaurants, Chez
Saskia, a narrow brasserie that protrudes
into an intersection of cobbled streets. The
building feels as if it had grown there
as an offshoot of the abbey, when the
castle population expanded in the early
part of the last millennium. The meals
there showcase the huge variety of fresh
ingredients available in the region. On the
patio behind the hotel, you can enjoy
Blanquette de Limoux, a sparkling wine
from the region that historians believe
to be older than the more well-known
champagne. This gives the region a claim
to the invention of sparkling white wines,
preceding Dom Perignon, the monk who
made a splash in the Champagne region
with his eponymous fizz. It is probably
no coincidence that Dom Perignon was
stationed in a cloister in the Languedoc
before he moved to the monastery in the
Champagne region of France. Records
show that a few bottles of white wine in the
cellar had a surprising amount of bubbles
in them in 1531, when this discovery led the
monks of Limoux to perfect the process
of making their centuries-old sparkling
wine.
While certain microclimates like Limoux
are perfect for growing the white grapes
that go into Blanquette de Limoux, the
Languedoc-Roussillon region is best known
for its rich red wines, such as the ones
produced at O’Vineyards, an estate near
Carcassonne in the foothills of la Montagne
Noire, which my parents, Liz and Joe, own
and operate with me. Due to the vineyard’s
unique position in the region’s Atlantic
Corridor, we have been able to create bold,
fresh wines with varietals like Merlot
and Cabernet Sauvignon, which are
traditionally found in wine regions with
cooler climates, such as Bordeaux.
[photo caption]
The vineyards in the Languedoc-
Roussillon region enjoy winds from the
Mediterranean to the east and cool
breezes from the Atlantic to the west.
[photo caption]
The tasting room at O’Vineyards
has a relaxed, hospitable feeling
that allows guests to linger and
savor the winery’s offerings.
From the tasting room at O’Vineyards,
you will want to travel west along the
Canal du Midi, a 17th Century canal, that
allowed French boats to travel from the
Atlantic to the Mediterranean without
the dangerous month-long voyage on
the pirate-infested waters of the Iberian
Peninsula. The 150-mile-long canal is filled
with small vacation boats that peacefully
float along its length and through its
locks.
Other outstanding wines in the region
are made from varietals more typical to the
Mediterranean, such as a Grenache Gris
from l’Oustal Blanc and Grenache Noir
from Château le Bouïs in the Corbieres. In
the beautiful village of Gruissan, that sits
on the Mediterranean shore, you can
enjoy tasting Château le Bouïs’ Romeo
and Juliet wines, that are alike in dignity
and showcase the well-paired elegance
and fruit of Languedoc wines. It’s easy to
taste the Mediterranean sunshine in
these rich and delicate wines.
The great beauty of this region is also
derived from its impressive diversity.
You can ski in the morning and go to the
beach in the afternoon. The Languedoc-
Roussillon has long been a meeting point
between the cultures of the ancient
Occitan and Catalan worlds that merge
on the borders of France and Spain,
giving the region its wonderful reputation
for wine and cuisine. The Languedoc-
Roussillon region, which once served as a
gateway for Crusaders, is today home to
some of the finest wines in the world.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ryan O’Connell grew up
in Tampa and moved to France with his parents
after his graduation from college to create
their O’Vineyards Winery. Since then, he has
become an ambassador for the Languedoc-
Roussillon region and has created a video blog,
www.lovethatlanguedoc.com, and a Twitter
site, “languedocjetaim.”He is a noted speaker
on both the wines of France and the affect of
the internet on wineries, with particular
emphasis on the Mobile Web. If you are in the
South of France, he would love to give you a
personal tour of his family’s winery, while his
mom Liz whips up a few of her spectacular
specialties in the kitchen for you to enjoy in
their tasting room. Ryan can be contacted at
www.ovineyards.com.
I’m a member of a group of winemakers known as The Outsiders, our forces marshaled by Louise Hurren. And in anticipation for our London tasting on November 10th, this article is an exploration of what being an outsider even means.
What the heck is an outsider?
There are people in this world who just always end up in weird situations. Outsiders will regularly surprise you. Not with contrived novelty. Not by jumping from behind a corner and shouting “Boo!” But by being genuinely and irrepressibly strange.
Am I an outsider?
Being a winemaker at a highly technical web conference gave me several glimpses of that priceless moment of surprise. Somebody says, “I’m a front end UX designer.” Somebody else says, “I’m a coder working on the W3C”. I say, “I’m a winemaker.” [small double take] In that moment, the true definition of outsider emerges. Somebody who is so unusual in the milieu, that they can contribute real insight. It might not always be great insight, but it’ll be original.
But if being a winemaker makes me an outsider to the tech world, doesn’t that mean I’m an insider in the wine world. Well, honestly, if you know anything about me, you know that’s not true. I’m a first generation winemaker with no training, certifications, or degrees. I was born and raised in a part of the US where award winning wine production is dominated by fermented fruit concentrate with flavors added (no joke, definitely a link worth clicking). I just love wine and I’m pretty good at making it.
People ask why
People also ask how. But all these questions are very hard to answer. I don’t have a rule book or manifesto that guides my decision making. I guess that’s also part of being a natural-born outsider. Who knows why we do the crazy things we do? But when you look at our amazing lives, our beautiful countrysides, our delicious wines, et cetera. . . don’t your questions fade away?
Sharing the Outsider Experience
I hope the Outsiders Tasting in London this November 10th will give a lot of people a glimpse of true weirdness. Not that the wines will be over the top, heavy-handed efforts to surprise you. They’ll just be effortlessly surprising. Because we’re all genuinely strange people. And we can’t help but make interesting wines.
Who exactly are the Outsiders?
At the London tasting, we will be many. In no particular order:
After seeing all the interest in how Chateau Margaux brings in the harvest, it occurred to me that I haven’t really talked about our own harvest intake. So without further ado, this is how we harvest at O’Vineyards … plus all done with pictures taken by a friendly tourist during our 2010 harvest!
It starts with grapes ready for harvest:
Then somebody picks those grapes and puts them in a bucket. And eventually that bucket gets dumped into a fruit crate.
Those fruite cases are brought back to the winery where my dad slowly feeds the fruit into a destemmer.
The destemmer consists of a large cylinder with a vice in its center. The cylinder has holes that let grapes through but generally don’t let stems through. The vice has arms that turn and pop the grapes off their stems.
Then the destemmer drops the grapes onto a vibrating sorting table. The grapes bounce down the table where my mom, our brave tourists, and I pick out any snails, stems or leaves that made it into the fruit crates.
At the end of the sorting table, the grapes drop off into a conveyor belt that lifts them to the top of the fermentation tanks.
The grapes start their maceration and fermentation in the tank. There are a lot of whole berries and a lot of berries are slightly crushed by the fall into the tank and the weight of the grapes above them.
Big thanks for these awesome photos. They were all taken by Jeremy and his friends who showed up unannounced on our first day of harvest so it is super authentic. No Hollywood mock ups or mise en scene. We were very happy to kick of harvest with them and I hope you enjoy a blow-by-blow photo journey through an O’Vineyards harvest in the south of France.
A Russian wine lover is running a series of updates from me on his website, WhyWhyWine. It’s always fun to see yourself translated into a language you can’t read.
It’s even more fun using Google Translator’s limited engine to decipher what’s being said. There’s an odd sort of poetry in the computer generated translation: “These weeds are not any terrible pest, but if they become too high or grow too thickly, they begin to overshadow the fruit.”
But when you get bored of the Google translation, here is the English version, an update describing the end of August at O’Vineyards.
—
It’s a beautiful time of year in the rolling, sun-drenched hills of the Languedoc. The vines are hard at work, soaking in the Mediterranean sunshine all day. And at night, the cool breezes of the Atlantic Ocean sweep in from the west and bring freshness to our grapes. But this poetic and beautiful weather is HARD to work in. It is perfect for vines, but it is HOT for humans.
That’s why we try to work as much as possible in the morning when the sun is still gentle. Because the earth is tilted slightly in relationship to the sun, the rising sun in the northern hemisphere is much gentler than the afternoon sun. The morning is far from cold, but it is cool enough to work in. The afternoon however is sweltering so we stay in to enjoy big French lunches with fresh local ingredients. Then we have la sieste, a well-deserved nap. And around 3 or 4, we can get back to work. On cooler evenings, we can head back into the vines, or we can decide it’s still too hot and stay in to welcome tourists visiting the winery.
We have just passed veraison, the season when grapes change color from green to dark purple. The first part of the year, before veraison, the plant devotes almost all of its energy to growing new vegetation. Long stems and vines that reach up toward the sun and form a great canopy to receive the sun’s light. Once the grapes change color, the plant shifts gears and begins to put most of its energy toward maturing the fruit. Putting lots of sugar in those delicious grapes and allowing phenolics and acids to present interesting flavors and aromas in the skins and seeds.
This is a time of year when many winemakers take a vacation, but we use this time to do a few extra tasks. It’s those little jobs that aren’t entirely necessary but make the difference between a good wine and a magnificent wine.
Some weeds have come up in the Syrah, so my dad goes out to remove them manually. We avoid passing with the tractor because we don’t want to compact the soil and use up lots of gasoline for a job that is feasible by hand. The weeds aren’t terribly harmful to the vines, but if they grow too tall or too dense, they can begin to cover the grapes. We would rather have our grapes exposed to a bit of the warm Mediterranean sun which will allow them to ripen over the course of the entire summer. Sunlight is good! So we slowly make our way through the vines to pull out the weeds.
Normally, the weeds are not so active this time of year, but 2010 has been a very strange year. We had an unusually high amount of snow in the south of France last winter and snow fixes nitrogen in the soil. That nitrogen allows for a lot of growth the next year. But don’t worry. It doesn’t just mean weeds; nitrogen also helps the vines grow! In fact, we have unusually large foliage this year. Some of the vines stretch more than three meters into the air before curving back down under their own weight. This means we have lots of leaves to soak in the sunlight and feed the plant to get good, mature grapes. Perfect for the big wines we make in this region!
Also, the fig trees and blackberries that grow in the brush around the vines are now fruiting. We can pick the seasonal fruit and enjoy lavish dinners made from local, organic ingredients.
This time of year, we get to sit back at the end of the day and enjoy the new life we’ve chosen. Being a winemaker can be a lot of hard work, but it’s also a beautiful life full of delicious food and wine. The vineyard provides for us in many ways as long as we are there to nurture it and take care of it.
When people come to visit the sprawling 45 acres of vines and 15 acres of local wildlife, they are in awe at the work we have done. The magic of the south of France rubs off on everybody who visits Domaine O’Vineyards.
I went camping at the Vinolodge set up in Virgile Joly’s vineyard. Always accused of Blair Witch Style, hand-held camerawork, I was really looking forward to using the camp atmosphere to do a Blair Witch parody. . . But it was actually pretty hard to pretend to be scared or uncomfortable in any way. The tents are simply outfitted, but the gorgeous open space and chic furnishing make it feel pretty posh. And reliance on renewable energy doesn’t prevent the tents from feeling blinged out from time to time with the LED mood lighting and fully-stocked wine bar.
So, enjoy my Blair Witch moment. Even if its pretty chimeric. It was just too hard to feel scared or uncomfortable in such a nice tent.
While the tents are really well integrated into the surrounding vines and local wildlife, you really have all the amenities of traditional eco-tourism projects. I was pretty impressed with how much space we have especially. This tent is bigger than a lot of hotel rooms in France. And it has its own porch, foyer, bathroom, etc. almost entirely powered by the solar cells and windmill outside the tent.
To take the two photos below, I just had to turn around. I hope that conveys how closely juxtaposed luxury and nature are in these tents. You really just have a nice hotel room in the middle of a bunch of trees and vines and shrub and pheasants and everything else the Terrasses du Larzac has to offer.
Why this project is important
I’ve talked a bit about how comfortable it is. What a nice vacation it would make… but with all that advertising fluff aside, I’m most impressed by the long term implications of the vinolodge project. The potential applications for winemakers and nature-lovers in general are pretty astounding, largely due to the ZERO impact promise of the lodge.
Beyond being one more way to go glamping (glam camping), the Vinolodge offers an innovative way to drop a tent into the middle of any natural environment without impacting the place permanently. Even dirty hippies in sleeping bags have SOME impact on nature. Experienced campers will know that this is referred to as “low-impact” camping. But low impact is not as cool as NO impact. How can a big tent structure have a smaller impact than a hippie in a sleeping bag? I feel like I’m going to have to explain this … and there’s just no avoiding the one big example. Oh boy. I guess it was only a matter of time before I start talking about poop on my vineyard’s blog.
A camper creates waste. And even the old “dig a hole and bury your business” solution has an impact. It’s low impact, and you can wipe with leaves and a variety of other gross stuff to lower your impact more, but you’re still leaving a lasting mark on the environs. But the vinolodge tent has its own waste processing and storage. Whenever they want, they can decide to break down the tents and within a couple days the whole camp has disappeared leaving NO permanent mark on the environment. Not even poop buried everywhere around the tent.
This means that the tents allow for campers to go where even hardcore low-impact types weren’t allowed before. Like my vineyard. Or a well-protected national park. Or remote locations after natural disasters. The vinolodge (frequently referred to as a geolodge) quickly inspires a lot of important big picture ideas. It goes far beyond the long list of novelty eco tourism that ranges from cramped tree houses to glorified camping car parking lots.
What does it mean specifically for vineyards and the Languedoc?
I think that it offers an unprecedented access to the terroir that we like to brag about so often. A wine drinker who stays in one of the vinolodge tents becomes familiar with the local flaura and fauna in a way that is simply extraordinary. You can hear things at night, you can smell things in the morning, that you just don’t get access to unless you live on a vineyard. Heck, a lot of winemakers would benefit from staying in their own vines once or twice as many of us live quite a ways away from our vineyards.
Imagine having 10-12 of these lodges set up throughout the Languedoc Roussillon. A person could choose to stay at a series of vineyards and really discover the nuances between the microclimates, soil topography, what goes bump in the night, etc. I think that people who really are keen on learning the difference between one terroir and another will appreciate this first-hand access and experience. And I wouldn’t really be comfortable taking regular campers in year round… but the vinolodge makes it feasible and even attractive.
How to find us
Domaine O’Vineyards, located in the North Arrondissement of Carcassonne, is just minutes from the Carcassonne train station, the Medieval City, and the Carcassonne Airport.
GPS coordinates: 43.259622, 2.340387
O’Vineyards
Wine, Dine, Relax at our Boutique Vineyard
Unique thing to do in Carcassonne
Wine Cellar. Winery Visits. Wine Tasting.
Wine & Food Pairing
North Arrondissement of Carcassonne
885 Avenue de la Montagne Noire
11620 Villemoustaussou, France
Tel: +33(0) 630 189 910
Best by GPS.
Follow the signs to Mazamet/ Villemoustaussou using the D118. At the end of the last straight part of D118, you will come to a roundabout with the Dyneff gas station.
Take the exit towards Pennautier. Continue 500m to a small roundabout and go straight over.
Look out for the second road on your right, Avenue des Cévennes which curves up hill (about 1km) to Avenue de la Montagne Noire on the left.
At the last juction, bear left. the road sign “Ave de la Montagne Noire” (confusing as it seems to show a right turn)
After another 500m you will see our red brick color building in the middle of the vines.
So the RVF decided to name their top 11 grands crus. I was excited to see my own appellation named as one of the grand crus of the Languedoc. GO CABARDES! There’s a nice little portrait of one of my neighbors, Clement Mengus and they talk briefly about how we are the westernmost appellation in the Languedoc and we’re doing interesting things.
