All Hands on Deck
October 15th 2008, by GQ
We’re bringing in all the merlot this week, so everyone’s helping out on the sorting table. Most of the time we’re removing any unwanted leaves or green bits, as we just want the fresh, ripe grapes going into the fermentation tanks.
So the children can cope just as well, as can Ronan, the former head sommelier from Gordon Ramsay’s, below.
White Fermenting in Tank and Barrel
October 8th 2008, by GQ
While we prepare for harvesting the majority of the red, we’re busy in the chai with vinifying the white wine. Now that all the grapes have been pressed and the juice has settled, we’ve kicked off the fermentation. The old semillon from Les Trois Hectares has gone into French oak barrels, whereas most of the sauvignon blanc is fermenting in a chilled stainless steel tank. We’ve also got some sauvignon blanc in barrels too.
Making White: Don’t Try This at Home
October 1st 2008, by GQ
I’m glad the Inspecteur du Travail wasn’t here yesterday morning. I’m not sure he would have appreciated the children being around so much dangerous kit.
We have now finished harvesting the white. How we make it is pretty straightforward but there’s lots to be done. Most of the work has taken place in the vineyard, including cutting out, by hand, any bunches that are tainted by rot, but attention to detail is needed now at every stage.
White: Grateful for Small Merci’s
September 30th 2008, by GQ
It’s the latest harvest for the sauvignon blanc that I can recall, although we did start with that parcel of early-maturing young vines – the plot we now call Dagueneau – on 17th September. The fruit is in lovely condition, and we’re able to machine pick it early in the morning as we have ditched any rot damaged bunches by hand. The fine weather over the last last fortnight has given us the chance to pass by every single white vine to check for rot. Not one of our neighbours is anywhere near as anal.