The Process

Today my writing drifts away from food and into the realm of wine, and the process thereof.

As many of you know, I spent two weeks in the south of France close to Avignon at the end of September and into October working on the harvest team at Domaine Rouge Bleu. A long time dream of my own to work a harvest and learn the process of wine, the importance of terroir, work needed to produce a bottle or vintage of wine, and generally be surrounded by vineyards for a few weeks. With the networking help of Julia Battaglini, my former boss at Secco Wine Bar, and now mentor-friend, and the contact of Nicolas Mestre at Williams Corner wine distributors, my dream was made reality.

I don't know that I could have landed at a better vineyard, with such a hospitable and great group of people. Two weeks of hard work, but an incredible time was had with much learned about wine and the processing required. I hadn't any idea when arriving what to expect. How do we pick the grapes? Are there bad grapes? What does a vine look like? What will they taste like? What happens after picking? Millions of thoughts racing through my brain, I arrived and learned bushels upon bushels of knowledge, furthering my deep passion for fine wine.

The man himself! Picking Lunatique.

Jean-Marc Espinasse, Vigneron of Rouge Bleu, produces wines that are made in the fields and not in the cave. What does that mean? He produces wines with the littlest human interaction possible. No herbicides sprayed in the fields, little to no sulfur in the tanks, and with wild herbs and weeds growing amongst the 80+ year old vines. Perhaps one of the most incredible experiences of the weeks was tasting his top wine, Lunatique 2009, and in the aroma finding layer upon layer of eucalyptus, mint, thyme, and wild arugula. Then whilst picking the 13 rows of vines in the old river bed in one afternoon to produce the whole production of 120 cases of the wine, in the mistral or breeze of the Rhone valley comes distinct aromas identical to that found in the wine earlier the in the week. Time and place, the truest expression of the land, is omnipresent in his wines. Brilliant, remarkable, mind blowing, beautiful. 

So picking from the vines, what do we take? Everything. From the snails found on the clusters in Chateaunuef-du-Pape, to the Botrytis-ridden raisins aka gold as Jean Marc calls them. Even the raisins on the ground, and if someone were to miss them and Chief Grape saw, he would become very irritated. The raisins don't bring any juice to the wine, but bring great concentrated sugars and aromas. Not wanted in coop wines, but gold to a small all natural producer. Perhaps what sets him apart? The only grapes that were left behind were the clusters that were reminiscent of vinegar, indicating spoilage(found in tiny minuscule amounts in my experience).

Our best friends for two weeks,
Secatateurs

How do we pick? Simple, really, with our Secateurs, or clippers. Clipping as close to the cluster as possible, and putting into our handy buckets that need to be dumped often to the tractor. With smaller clusters or the Carignan grapes, we could forgo the Secateurs and easily pick with our hands, pulling directly from the vine with little harm to the clusters or vines.

The day is done, the grapes have been picked and transported back to the Cuvée. At the cave, with the help of multiple people, the grapes are gently transported from the trailer to the cement fermentation tank via a rotating screw and hose connecting the trailer to tank. The screw in the bottom of the hopper is powered by the tractor. No de-stemming, no washing, minimal crushing, au natural. Chief Grape believes deeply in the stems providing body and tannins that help the wine age and provide structure at years later. A belief that newer generation Bordeaux wines lack in age-ability due to the de-stemming and desire from producer for their wines to be drinkable at a young age. The cement tanks being also unique, provide pores and a bit more aeration occurring during primary and secondary fermentations. (This process of transferring the grapes is viewable in the below video.)

Before pumping the grapes into the tank, an all-natural "filter" is put just in front of the valve that is used to release the juice from the tanks. What did we use? Rocks, and bundles of asparagus ferns found all around the vineyard.

From that point juice is pumped over the must daily in order to have fermentation happen throughout. The juice is tasted daily, with the *Brix or percent of sugar content in the juice is taken. From the percent sugar of the juice, the likely final alcohol content can be calculated. Primary fermentation before filtering and pressing is decided by taste and *Brix, but normally is between two and three weeks.

The Press

When Mr. Espinasse decides he is happy with primary fermentation, the juice is filtered and immediately pumped into a second tank. Then, the marc, or remaining grape solids are pumped to a press. Not an easy task in the least, with the eventual person being in the fermentation tank shoveling alcohol fuming marc into the pump to be pumped the press. Grape stained clothes, hands, and legs occur here! The press could be described as a cylinder with closing sides on each end, with trough, hose, and pump connecting it to the tank with the already filtered juices. A majority of the tannin, flavor, and colour comes from these pressings. If I am not mistaken, Chief Grape presses the marc twice before refusing of the now dry stems and skins.

Oak Barrels

Depending on the wine, but most likely six more months in the cement fermentation tanks, and the wine is then transferred to oak barrels to undergo six more months of aging and fermentation. A process known as racking is undergone during both transfers, leaving the bottom portion of the tank behind undisturbed as it contains sediment that has dropped off from the liquid over time.

Bottling. Over a year after the grapes have been picked and processed, the now wine is ready to be bottled. Done in one or two days, a sort of mobile bottling truck as I understand comes to the cave, and it is all corked and set on its side. Officially unfiltered, drinking the wine you can expect to find

Storage of unlabeled bottles, Domaine du Banneret,
Chateauneuf-du-Pape

 a bit of sediment in the bottom of the bottles. Bottled, but unlabeled, for if it were labeled the taxes are due at that point. Hand labeled as it is sold, and sent to the United States, all across Europe, Australia, and perhaps a future in Japan.

Domaine Rouge Bleu

The first day, tragedy struck.

Full buckets.

80 year old vines.

Fermentation

Hopper with screw

Hatch on cement fermentation tanks.

Old school press used at Domaine du Banneret. 

Morning dew covers grapes.

The field of Lunatique, one afternoons work. 

On the final day we picked in the morning hours of 6-9,
and that evening from 6-9. Here is the sunrise, with
a beautiful cluster of Grenache.

From vine to bottle, Jean Marc shows ingenuity, passion for natural wines, and the process thereof. I urge you to search out a shop or distributor close to you and drink something that I am certainly proud to have been a part of, and Jean Marc surely is as well. Information on his wines, vineyard, and places to purchase is all located on his website, http://www.rouge-bleu.com/. A perfect wine to pair with your holiday meals, that is for sure!