11/8/12

For the last three days we have been in the vineyard again, pre-pruning, taking out vineyard sections, and burning more wood in the vineyard. On Tuesday afternoon we had this sweet rain mixed with sunshine…big rainbow!

Yesterday (the 7^th) I actually got to do some real pruning which was super cool because there are definitely different theories and ways the French go about their pruning. We also harvested a bit more late harvest Syrah. I cant believe its still coming! However last night was one of the best nights so far. I had my family send over a case of Carhartt wines to do a big tasting with the crew. I know, a bit nerve-racking especially dealing with French winemakers, but I decided to take the challenge anyways. I was anxious to see what they would think because I generally consider my moms style to be more European than American winemaking. We tasted Grenache Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Mourvedre, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Fourplay, and Merlot. Good news, they were surprised and impressed. Although I didn’t understand everything, the word “finesse” was used quite frequently. I think they assumed all American wines would be over-extracted with high alcohol…wrong! Nice work Mom and Dad, you made me so proud!!!

Today I am on the train to Burgundy. I got a sweet invitation to stay at the Chateau of Francois Freres with some barrel reps that we purchase from in the States. I am so lucky! 

11/10/12

So the last three days have basically been a dream come true. I arrived in Burgundy at about noon on Thursday. Julie and Moke, two barrel reps who work for Mel Knox Barrel Broker, picked me up from the train station. We quickly drove over to the Hospice de Beaune to taste some futures wines.

We then headed over to Jean and Noelle Francois’s house for a light lunch. First a little background. Jean and Noelle Francois are the owners of Tonnelleire Francois Frerer, a very well known barrel cooperage in Burgundy/France/the world. They basically host Mel Knox and his team when they come over to France. Mel Knox Barrel Broker is the largest importer of French oak in the United States. Anyways, we had lunch then rolled over to the cooperage for all of them to have a meeting while I got a private tour of the facility!! Check it out:

After the meeting finished, we got the unique opportunity to taste at one of the most sought-after wineries in all of Burgundy: J.F. Coche Dury. Wow. This place is one of the most modest set-ups I have ever seen, including Jean Francois Coche Dury himself.

We tasted through all of his new wines and then a couple older vintages including this 1996!

We then went back into the town of Beaune, screwed around for a bit, then headed back to Jean and Noelle’s for a little din din. Great food, incredible wines, obviously.

We headed back to the house after and hit the sack.

The next morning I awoke to a glorious day in Burgundy.

This is a picture of the backyard/infinity pool looking over the canyon…

After a little breakfast, we headed out for an appointment with Jean-Marc Pillot. We tasted through many of his wines and got a tour of the facilities.

After we had some time to kill so we cruised out to the Montrachet region of Grand Cru Burgundy to walk through some of the vineyards.

After leaving here we headed back into town and had lunch with Jean and Noelle and others at the Chateau de Pommard. Very upper-crust. They had works of art all over the place, including Salvador Dali, Picasso, Andy Warhol etc. It was nuts.

After lunch we went to Domaine Faiveley, one of the larger producers of Premier and Grand Cru Burgundy in all of France. What an underground cave!

We tasted a lot of their Premier Cru wines…

And even more of the Grand Cru…

After that we putted around Beaune again, got a coffee etc. That night we went out to dinner with Max, the Francois Frerer director, to some fancy shmancy place, but I wont bore you with the details….

The next day we went to basically their version of farmers market in the square. I picked up some goodies for back home, amongst doing a little cheese tasting!

We then went to yet another lunch with the Francois before they took off for their vacation. A very good meal obviously, complete with this massive cheese cart at the end where we got to choose our own cheese plate…

Here’s a picture of me and the Francois’s before they took off…

That night we had dinner with another winemaker, tasted through his wines, and then we went to bed, to get a good sleep for the drive back the next morning.

11/14/12

So tonight is my last night in the Rhone. I leave tomorrow for Utrecht, Holland to visit a friend for a week, then I am going over to Berlin to meet up with Evan from the tasting room! We will travel in Berlin, then to Prague, then to Budapest, then Madrid, Granada, and finally Lisbon...should be sweet. I am not sure how much I will be blogging about it, maybe when I get back home. Anyways, thanks to all who read this and were interested in my studies over here. I look forward to seeing everyone when I get home. A plus tard and One Love.

Chase