9/8

            This morning we were not scheduled to leave till about 1045, so I slept in until about 830. I got up and cooked eggs with sliced turkey and spinach alongside one of the croissants I had bought in Condrieu. Boy had I missed eggs! I ate and we headed out to a winery by the name of Pierre Gaillard in Saint Joseph. We were greeted, and taken on a tour of the winery by Pierre’s daughter Jeanne, who also makes her own wine under the larger label Pierre Gaillard. It was incredible. It was quite a clean winery, fitted with automatic punch-down machines for the tanks as well as roll racks for the reds and the whites. The whites were delivered to barrel by gravity flow and they spent both primary and secondary fermentation in barrel, on the original lees.

The reds spent many different amounts of time in barrel as well as some aged in exclusively stainless steel, which was under Jeannes label. She apparently bought about 15 hectares in Crozes-Hermitage to create wines from a separate appellation as her father and not step on his turf. 

After tasting many of the wines, we made small purchases, and headed for Crozes-Hermitage. Our first stop was in town, at a larger facility by the name of Paul Jaboulet. This company was started in 1834 by Paul’s father, but after he passed, Paul took the reigns. It has since been bought by another family who I believe owns wineries in both Champagne and Burgundy. We spent about an hour in the tasting room, enjoying wines from Cote-Rotie, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Hermitage, and Crozes-Hermitage. It was a wonderful learning experience.

We then walked over to another tasting room by the name of M. Chapoutier. They, alongside Paul Jaboulet, are the larger, and I believe well-respected companies of the area. Many of the wineries have their names painted on the walls built into the vineyard hillsides to prevent erosion.

We tasted many wines. I found out that they produce about 500,000 cases a year. Holy smokes! I am not sure if that is just under the M. Chapoutier label or not because he actually owns wineries all over the world, including the USA (Beaux Freres).

We then left that spot and headed over to the bakery for a quick bite as well as a beer at the bar. Why not? Then we got back in the car and drove to a final winery, Domaine Remiziers. This was a smaller spot and had very good wines. I quite enjoyed the whites. I even will go so far as to say my eyes are being opened to the world of white wines and I hope someday to produce something like I have tasted over here. They are intriguing.

We then left this winery and headed an hour and a half north, back to home. What a long day. I was tired and hungry, so I ate a quick sandwich and passed out at about 9 pm. 

9/7/12

            Apparently Fridays are always half-work days (before harvest actually starts), so I was very excited about what I would do with my first bit of free time. But first, work. We actually went back to the same vineyard as the morning previous, in Saint-Joseph, but this time we worked primarily with Marsanne, a variety which is supposedly less susceptible to disease etc (I think because it is not as tight of a cluster as Roussanne). We went through this vineyard and performed the same task as always, except this time the lot was in much better shape. At about 930, we took our customary break. On this special day, it happened to be one of the workers (Jeremy) birthday. On a side note Jeremy went to school in Beaune France (Burgundy) for enology and viticulture, so I have been able to ask him questions which is a big help. For his birthday he brought out 4 bottles of champagne. We had six people at work.

Needless to say the hour and a half following the break before lunch was very productive and fun. I love the French work ethic. We then headed back to the farm shop to break for the weekend. I ate lunch, took a small siesta, and the Kiwi and I decided to ride bikes to Condrieu and explore a bit. We rode the bike path along the Loire River basically the whole way.

The town is very small but we found the bank as well as a bakery! Before we left I bought three croissants, one baguette, and a cookie at the bakery.

They had some sweet graffiti on the street:

We got back to the house, and Thuise made some traditional Brazilian chicken pie that her mother made when she was a child. Adam fixed risotto with baked squash. It seemed like the first home-cooked meal I had had in a while and I felt good.

Thuise said that her boyfriend was arriving that night and she had scheduled wine tasting for the following day in Saint-Joseph as well as Crozes-Hermitage, so I was very excited!

9/6/12

            Today we went again to the vineyard, but this time, south of Chavanay to the growing region Saint-Joseph. Just to put everything in perspective:

Basically the Northern Rhone, where I am located, is very well known for its Syrah, Viogner, Marsanne, and Roussanne. However those varieties are only grown in certain areas within the larger Northern Rhone. Cote-Rotie is primarily known for its Syrah, but planted alongside of it, sometimes in rows, sometimes in single plants, is Viogner. Cotie-Rotie is always a red, Syrah dominated wine, but it can be blended with up to 15% Viogner, as long as it is harvested at the same time, and co-fermented with the Syrah. Condrieu is exclusively white, Viogner. Saint Joseph is known for its red Syrah, and its two whites, Marsanne and Roussanne. If it is a red wine, it will be 100% Syrah. If it is white, it could be 100% Marsanne or Roussanne, as well as a blend of the two.  

So we arrived in the hills of Saint Joseph. Apparently, part of the parcel of vineyards that we went to on this day is notoriously known for its rot issues as well as powderey mildew. The powderey mildew is referred to as “oidium,” and the rot, which was more minimal, was botrytis. We basically went through certain sections of the vineyard, which were mostly Roussanne, opening up the canopy to the sun, but mainly eliminating the poor clusters, which in some rows was up to 95%! 

After lunch, we headed north again to Cote-Rotie. The first section of vineyard we came to had the steepest plantings I had ever experienced. It was all Syrah, but planted in a column or tower style, which I believe is referred to in French as “les echalats.”

It was amazing, and definitely a hike! We cleaned up those vines, and went to the upper section, which was planted in rows. After finishing there, we came to this old structure in the middle of the vineyard, which apparently was used originally as a sort of pump house. Basically it had a large basin built into the base of the house that was used to catch water, then gathered and used to prepare treatments for the vines, like spraying for disease.

We left the vineyard and headed for the vans. We were about to load up when Pipette halted everyone. We then sat on the street and waited for about 10 minutes. Adam told me that we did not have time to go to another vineyard, but it would look bad if we showed up to the farm house 10 minutes early, so we were waiting to give the illusion of working till the last second. I love the French.

9/5/12

Ding Dong Ding Dong Ding Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong. Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong.

7 am. The clock tower directly next to the winery/my sleeping quarters let me know…time to get up! It wasn’t the best sleep I had ever had, but I must say I was a bit anxious to get up and experience the new world around me. I got up, threw some water on my face, suited up in my Carhartt get-up (from socks to shirt I may add), and headed down the winery stairs to the kitchen.  By the way, I literally live inside the winery. And by inside, I mean I basically have to walk inside the lab, up a flight of steel stairs to a catwalk, pass the press, back to these two lofts where the Kiwi and I reside. My bathroom window looks out over the fermenting tanks!

Anyways, I walked down and made breakfast, buttered bread, two yogurts, and some OJ. We left the winery around 750 and walked across and down the street to the farm shop where we all meet for work to start at 8. I met some of the other guys, including Pipette, the vineyard manager, and we got inside the vans and set off for…wherever. Turns out today’s first stop was a some small parcels in the hills of Cote-Rotie. Quel magnifique! Probably one of the most amazing mornings ever. We basically hiked all over the vineyard, exposing the canopy on one side to the morning sun by pulling leaves as well as trimming bad fruit.

We pretty much worked for about an hour, then took a break at 930. Turns out breaks are very important to the French. We sat around, drank water, coffee, at a snack, and I watched as about 80% of the group smoked their second or third grit (cigarette) of the morning. No, I have not started to smoke yet. We chilled for about a half hour while I listened with little reward to the French conversation. We then got up, drove to another section of vineyard, and continued with the same task.

We finished up at about 1145 and drove back to the farm shop to break for lunch. Turns out lunch is the most important meal of the day for the French. Can you say an hour and a half lunch break? I can’t, especially during harvest, but I guess it will be like this all season long, so I will have to learn I guess.

I live in the larger town of Chavanay, but in the specific hamlet of Verlieu. This is a picture of the background of where I live (right next to the church tower).

I got back to the kitchen, made a jambon et fromage sandwich on a baguette, and pounded water. I then went back up to the room and took a 30 minute siesta. We got back to the farm shop by 130 and headed back out to the vineyard. This time we drove north again to another vineyard in Cote-Rotie and performed basically the same task as earlier in the day.

We finished work around 515 and slowly made our way back to the farm shop. We finish work everyday at 530. We got back home and the Kiwi and I went to the market to get some food for the next couple of days. French markets are weird and not designed well. There is everything from toilet seats, to vacuums, to stationary, to TV’s, to non-refrigerated eggs, to powdered milk, to half-beers. Half-beers? Really? Now I have to drink two just to get my fix. Anyways we grabbed some stuff and headed home. And by headed home I mean walked a half mile with a 12 pack and a bunch of groceries because we don’t have a vehicle. Pskndjnfbfb!! We got back and I made dinner, basic pasta, with some of the left over salad from the night before. Oh and I had 1 and a half beers since we were tricked into buying the small guys. Next thing you know it is bedtime and my first day on the job is over.

9/4/12

The trek over here was longer than I expected. I left from Santa Barbara, took a flight to San Francisco, then SF to London (Heathrow), then Heathrow to Paris (Charles de Gaulle). That whole expedition took about 14 hrs in total with layovers etc. Once I arrived in Paris I had to figure out how to catch a train from Paris to Lyon and Lyon to Saint Claire du Rhone, which is near the city where I am staying. After a bit of conversation in very broken French and English with the ticket attendant, I had one ticket to my destination. After getting the ticket I paid for 15 minutes of wifi in the station to email the manager of the winery and let him know when I would be arriving in St. Claire du Rhone. I eventually got on the train and headed for Lyon. This train trip took about 2 hrs, most of which I slept since I got very little sleep on the plane ride over (turns out I was on a new United Airlines plane which had personal TV’s with movies and shows—How I met Your Mother, Tommy Boy, and Dinner with Shmucks were my choices). Thankfully I woke up just before arriving in Lyon and I asked a kid next to me if I was supposed to get a different train to St. Claire du Rhone. He said yes. I got off, asked my way to the other train, found it, got on, and it left within 30 seconds. Needless to say I was very lucky to find the next train so quickly. This train was about 45 mins. When I got off, I was lucky to find Yann (the manager) waiting for me. He told me that he had received the email 15 mins before I arrived and rushed over to pick me up. Lucky again! We took the van back to town, he showed me around a bit, and then gave me the keys to my room.

That afternoon/evening I met the other interns. An Englishman by the name of Adam (he has been living and working in France for three yrs.-speaks fluently), a Brazilian girl by the name of Thuise (she has been living, working, and going to school in France for 2yrs-speaks fluently), and a Kiwi by the name of Tom (it is his first time in France-speaks no French). I like all of them, and it helps to have two who speak both English and French to do a little translating haha. It is nice that Tom doesn’t speak however because it makes me feel better about being such a rookie. I literally put my things in the room, came down to the kitchen, and went to the market to get a couple of things with Adam and Thuise for dinner that night. We got to the market and I grabbed a couple of items for breakfast and lunch the next day and we headed back to the winery.



That night we had a little BBQ across the street at a building that was part of the winery where another intern/student Louise is staying. A bunch of workers from the winery ended up coming as well as some other interns from a winery up the road from us-two Slovakians who spoke little French, and one Argentinean from Mendoza who also spoke very little French. We communicated in Spanish! First things first, wine. We drank some white and Rose.

It was very good after a long day. Then we ate very simply. BBQ sausage, with bread, and a salad consisting of sliced cucumber and tomato. It was not the largest meal I have ever had, but it was substance after a long day and a half of traveling, so I was happy to eat.

Surprisingly, I stayed up until 11pm there, and finally crashed at midnight. I was extremely tired, especially given the fact that France is 9 hrs ahead of the states so that would have put me at about 3 pm back home, about 32 hrs since I awoke in California on the 3^rd to go to the airport. I slept soundly for about 4 hrs, awoke and 4 am and couldn’t go back to sleep until about 530 am, knowing I had my first day of work that day, starting at 8 am.