Clos Romain

The Vigneron’s Wife (or his daughter, as the case may be…)

Guilhem Barré

Pech d’Andre

Mas de l’Ecriture

Rives Blanques

Women have played a huge role in the winemaking of the Languedoc Roussillon since the very beginning. They’re finally taking some of the credit.  And as a lot of the pictures show, there’s a generation of little winemakers in the making who will be just as talented as their mommies and daddies!

• Winemaker Blogs in the Languedoc Roussillon
• Winemaker Twitter accounts in the Languedoc Roussillon

Lots of winemakers have been added to the list of Tweeting winemakers:

• Chantovent - groupe Jean d’Alibert
• Sarabande - Paul Gordon, Australian in Faugeres
• Combebelle - Catherine in St Chinian
• Castan - Cazouls les Beziers
• Villa Tempora - Serge Schwartz in Pezenas
• Karantes - La Clape
• Jean Guizard - a caviste, but also a vigneron, montpellier
• Reine et Pape - vines near Carcassonne
• Begude - James Kinglake in Limoux
• Castelmaure - Small, artful corbieres cooperative
• Vincent Pousson – not strictly a wine producer?  In many ways, the voice of Castelmaure.
• Outsiders – not strictly a winemaker, but a group of winemakers

A few winemaker blogs worth adding too:

• Pour le Vin, Cotes Catalanes – Michel Smith doesn’t blog much about his wines, but he is a winemaker now so there you have it.
• Domaine de Cadables, Gabian – Met Bernard Isarn at the Matinale du CIVL / BUCE event in Narbonne.
• Sieur d’Arques, Limoux – A bit embarassed that I hadn’t seen this one sooner.  But there it is now!  :)

Then a few blogs that fall into some grey areas:

• The Outsiders - strictly speaking, this is a blog for a group of winemakers.  But the winemakers don’t handle the blogging ourselves.  But a lot of the text is written by us.
• Idées Liquides et Solides - I don’t think Vincent Pousson is a winemaker, strictly speaking (although I might be wrong!)  I know he designs the labels and aesthetics for Castelmaure and is very heavily implicated in their communication strategy.  Anyway, he blogs under his own name, but I can’t help thinking of it as an extension of the Castelmaure cooperative (even though it’s explicitly not that).
• 20 de Corbieres - This is a website hosted by the AOC Corbieres / CIVL (an interprofessional group) and it hosts a blog that any winemaker in the Corbieres can post on.  This is a brilliant idea.  The Corbieres is massive and having a joint winemaker blog accessible to all its producers can generate a huge amount of quality first-person content with just a little bit of effort from each winemaker.  Awesome initiative.  The posts are still often CIVL-ish or AOC-ish because some of them are posted by the syndicat Corbieres, so it’s not totally a winemaker blog.  But it’s getting very very close.  Or maybe even it’s better than a winemaker blog?

This is one of those lists. And since all the producers also Love That Languedoc, I thought I’d go ahead and put them on this site instead of the O’Vineyards blog.

The Outsiders

I belong to The Outsiders, a group of winemakers in the region who all originate from elsewhere.  A lot of us are presenting at ViniSud.  We’re doing an event together at the Pavilion 2.0 on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.  So those are great opportunities to taste our wines in one place.

More about the Pavilion 2.0 tastings on Monday and Tuesday.  RSVP on Facebook

And if you miss those events or just want to delve deeper into one of our members in particular, here’s a list with stand numbers and a wine they’ll be showcasing, explained by the winemakers themselves.  Enjoy!

Pinacle Syrah 2002 – Domaine de Sainte Rose
Cotes de Thongue – Hall 1, stand A8
Ten years ago, we moved to France, bought a vineyard, set up two businesses and started a family all at the same time!  To remind ourselves never to try and do that again all at once we have released a rather special wine from that first, rather stressful vintage!  Come and visit us at Vinisud and you can try the very exclusive, bottle aged 2002 Pinacle Syrah.  It is a huge wine, made with our real blood, sweat and tears and it is a living testimony that Languedoc wines can and do age well!

Occitania 2010,  the only 100% barrel-vinified Mauzac in the Limoux appellation.   We are particularly partial to this wine, maybe because we drank up the whole of the first vintage ourselves – nobody else would even taste it, let alone buy it.  Happy to say, the wine now sells out every year.   Mauzac is an old, traditional grape variety that has been growing in Limoux for over 600 years, used for Blanquette, the region’s famous fizz.   We have set aside two (organic) hectares of uncloned 50-year old vines for Occitania, and we’ll have a bottle of the latest vintage with us on at 9A70.

Domaine Jones Blanc 2010 by Domaine Jones
Roussillon – Hall 11, Aisle D, Stand 64 (Tuesday only!!)

The new vintage of Jones blanc 2011 has been desperate to get out and show itself off to the world.  Up Until now I have kept it back to mature and mellow just that little bit longer but on Tuesday the 21 st February I can hold it no longer and the Jones blanc Grenache Gris 2011 will be revealed to the world (or at least visitors to Vinisud).

Cuvée Henri 2008 by Château de Combebelle
Saint Chinian – Hall 9, Stand 9C18

For the first time, we will be presenting a magnum of 2008 “Cuvée Henri” (only like 150 produced). Made exclusively from a single vineyard on the estate and aged in 500l barrels for 2 years, this wine reflects our intensity and passion!  The bottle commemorates the birth of Henri into our family and a further addition to the family named Hugo may also be present (depending on its drinkability at the time!)  That is another single vineyard wine made exclusively from 70 year old Grenache.

Andrew Jeffords explains the pleasure of discovery and adventure in the Languedoc:

“One of the reasons why I wanted to live in this area was discovery.  Sure, we could have moved to Dijon and I could have biked down to Vosne every Sunday and worshipped at the walls of Romanée-Conti, saving up for a bottle per decade, but where’s the pleasure in that?  Languedoc, by contrast, is a giant funfair complete with eye-popping rides and weird sideshows, flashing lights and duck shoots and test-your-strength bells. Some of its wines are impolite, barely house-trained; others are exciting enough to make your hair stand on end. I love it.”

After Jeffords’ brilliant introduction, Rosemary George digs into the meat of the Languedoc.  A blow by blow analysis of Faugeres, La Clape, Terrasses du Larzac, Limoux, Minervois la Liviniere, Cabardes, and Pic Saint Loup (and Pezenas gets its own feature later in the magazine, p 114).  Each area description tries to explain what makes it so special and I think she George does a great job creating an image of each appellation.  She also gets a couple namedrops in for each area so you can get a feel for some of the movers and shakers.

No ink about me this time, but that’s actually pretty encouraging!  This article is about how vibrant and unexpected the region is.  And in a way, I’m old news.  Since I started Love That Languedoc (years ago!?) dozens of new wineries have started up and dozens of wines have come to new levels of prominence.  This region is a vast sea and we’re seeing a rising tide that I hope will change the wine world forever.

Why people love the Languedoc

If you’d like to read the full article, another winemaker in Limoux has already uploaded it.

While the Universite de la Vigne et du Vin tries to bring challenging speakers to the area to make presentations in a somewhat academic format, the organizers also host follow-up events in a more casual format called “Buvons un coup ensemble”.  Two events with the BUCE format are coming up this Friday, one for the Corbieres and one for the Minervois.

The theme is:

« Communiquer, vendre et réussir sur le Net
Concret, efficace et pas cher !!»

So, communication and online sales.  I’ll try to keep my opinions entertaining and short.  And the other speaker noted in the invitations is Francois Druel

The date is Friday January 20, 2012

The time is 9h30-13h30 for Corbieres at the CIVL in Narbonne

The time is 18h00-20h30 for Minervois at the Château St Jacques d’Albas in Laure-Minervois

Corbieres BUCE details

Minervois BUCE details

I’ll be there with bells on.  If you’re reading this, then you’re already involved with the Internet to some degree and I highly encourage you to come to one of these events.

The short version

A lot of the visitors to this site are skimming or looking for very specific information (pairing suggestions, tasting notes, etc.) so I have to put this up at the top of the page for the sake of clarity.  This post is a story about getting to know Gerard Bertrand.  It might get a little long winded, and the subject is complex.  If you don’t want to read the whole thing, here’s the short version:

Gerard Bertrand is a complicated cookie. It’s easy to criticize him (his organization is so big that it makes a bigger target), but he’s actually a stand up guy.  I had a relatively negative impression of him when I first came to the region, but I have really come around despite my prejudice against big business, economies of scale, and government subsidies. I still don’t know him very well, but I think he’s good people.

Now that’s a super simplified version.  I really hope that readers will take a few minutes to read this whole article.  Because regions like the Languedoc Roussillon are being shaped every day by a handful of people like Bertrand.

Obviously, it takes the communal work of every grape-grower and winemaker in the region to make the Languedoc Roussillon run.  But there are a few point men (and point women) who lead the charge in their own ways and act as poster children for the entire region.

After spending a few hours with Gerard Bertrand, I feel like people don’t give him enough credit for being a good guy.  They give him credit for being a keen business man, or a shrewd investor, a good schmoozer, and lots of other things, but I don’t think many people ever tried to convince me that he’s just a nice person.

So that’s what this is about.

Gerard Bertrand’s Reptuation

Here’s the excerpt from the Wine Enthusiast:

European Winery of the Year

Gérard Bertrand, Gérard Bertrand
Both landowner and partner of the best winegrowers in the South of France, Gérard Bertrand manages over 325 hectares of vineyards across varying Languedoc terroirs. He fully understands the movement toward expressive, well-balanced and elegant wines that remain accessible and affordable.

When I first came to the region, this was exactly the kind of award I’d expect Bertrand to receive.  Last year, it went to the Portuguese winery responsible for Mateus.  And in a three line bio of the man, you mention he’s got over 300 hectares around the region, maybe with a qualifier like “accessible and affordable” (which is sometimes a euphemism for “sells to supermarkets”).

And the first few times I ran into Gerard Bertrand, it was at trade fairs (ViniSud 2009 and LIWF 2010).  In both situations the retired rugby legend was wearing a suit (which might have emphasized his height and gaunt frame to make him look more than a little imposing).  He seemed a little curt with the people around him.  I mistook this for self-importance, and I projected a lot onto the man because of assumptions I tend to make about large scale producers.  I was always willing to admit that his wine was solid, but I never really gave the guy a chance.

I visited Cigalus, his flagship biodynamic estate, and enjoyed a Bertrand-guided tour.  It was neat hearing him talk about the vineyard and his operations.  Here’s a short clip where he talks about long term changes in the wine world and the generational time scale of winemaking:

Hearing him talk about perspective and patience started to convince me that he might be a lot cooler than I originally thought.  But at the same time, these kind of tours are often put-on.  I wasn’t 100% convinced yet that he was being genuine.

The real Gérard Bertrand

At the jazz fest Bertrand promotes on his primary vineyard, l’Hospitalet, I got to spend more time with him.  And I saw a totally different side of the man.  He was laid back and in his element.  A serious but friendly man who clearly enjoyed sharing a nice moment with the people around him.

The only thing I posted from the jazz fest was a helicopter ride over the Corbieres and Massif de la Clape.  Admittedly, that is very bling bling.  And it’s very generous of him to fly me around like that.  But that is not what I’m referring to when I talk about sharing.  At dinner, he had old neighbors around the table, other winemakers, silly American winemake/bloggers, and so on.  He wasn’t just automatically fulfilling the functions of a host.  He was hanging out with his neighbors.  And he was being really nice to everybody.  And really honest too.  There were some moments of frightening intimacy in the conversation.

There was one point when Gérard talked about the fires that had ravaged the Massif de la Clape in recent years.  This is probably worthy of its own post, but I’ll explain briefly that grape vines play an important role in stopping the spread of fires on the Mediterranean coast.  Bertrand advocates planting more vines on the Massif de la Clape as a way to limit the destructive fires we saw in 2010.  You should have seen the look on his face when he talked about that 2010 fire.  He spoke of the smell of burning leather and smoke as he and his friends ran up and down the massif trying to steer the fire away from a nearby village.  Okay, this is starting to sound like an Ayn Rand novel.  But maybe that’s appropriate.

I don’t know if this post achieved what I want it to.  I don’t want to pretend Gerard Bertrand is my hero or that he is going to save the Languedoc.  I just wanted to explain how I was skeptical about his character and it turned out he’s nice and seems like he has very good intentions.  We actually have a lot in common and I feel pretty bad that it took me several years to get to know him a little.  And I’m not important enough to name him European Winery of the Year like the Wine Enthusiast did.  But maybe what I can do on this blog is tell you that he’s a stand up guy.  I’m happy that he’s one of the point men for the entire region.

Love that #Languedoc Day

This website is devoted to a beautiful stretch of wine country on the Mediterranean coast of the south of France. It’s called the Languedoc. It’s sun-drenched, hilly and has some really amazing landscapes. It’s perfect for winemaking. That’s why humans have been making wine in this part of the world for thousands of years. Before we had fertilizers, drip irrigation, pH tests, and yeast cultures, people could grow deliciously ripe grapes, stick them in a clay amphora and make wine!

Today, this region is one of the largest wine producing regions on earth. And more and more winemakers like me are devoting themselves to produce quality wines. We hope to gain recognition for this region with our wines, and it’s really cool to see so much interest in Languedoc Day!

What to do on Languedoc Day

Maybe drink a little Languedoc wine.  Talk about with your friends.  Watch some Languedoc videos on this site.  Follow some Languedoc winemakers on twitter.  Or check out some other Languedoc winemaker blogs.  Like some of our vineyards on Facebook.  Have a glass and enjoy yourself!

Intro to the Languedoc Videos

Here’s a little video I threw together. It was super windy outside so we went into the winery. But we can’t complain too much! That wind has protected our grapes from mildew and rot for thousands of years. Anyway, sorry you can’t see the fall colors on the vines.

The video is kind of rambly, but that’s me so get used to it.

I’m actually reminded of the very first video I made for this website.  Why am I so obsessed with this region?  What is it about the Languedoc that inspires people so much?

“Love That Languedoc” Introduction English from Ryan O’Connell on Vimeo.

Languedoc Day

If you want to participate in Languedoc Day, it’s as easy as signing up on the eventbrite page. And there are some other tips about how I’ll be spending Languedoc Day on my personal vineyard blog.

Mas de l’Ecriture – Grapes at harvest

Pech d’Andre – The last grenache grapes coming in  

Clos Romain- Density measurements of young juice

Clos des Fées – Harvesters take a break in the Roussillon

Domaine la Rabidote – Photo of slate terroir

Les Vignerons de Maury – Dramatically lit wine chai

The Vigneron’s Wife – Portrait of a winemaker, Jerome  

Rives Blanques – Portrait of a happy harvester

And of course check out the fuller list of harvest updates I posted earlier or photos from 2010 harvest.

Mas de l’Ecriture – Grapes at harvest

Pech d’Andre – The last grenache grapes coming in

Clos Romain – Density measurements of young juice

Clos des Fées – Harvesters take a break in the Roussillon

Domaine la Rabidote – Photo of slate terroir

Les Vignerons de Maury – Dramatically lit wine chai

The Vigneron’s Wife – Portrait of a winemaker, Jerome

Rives Blanques – Portrait of a happy harvester

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite harvest updates in the region.

Favorite Harvest Updates

The Outsiders Facebook Page

I’m a member of this group of winemakers “from elsewhere”. Louise Hurren is curating the page very well with lots of fun updates from winemakers who don’t always have the time to post their own photos and messages during harvest.

Mas de l’Ecriture

The Fulla clan was doing awesome updates last year too. But this year’s harvest albums, I love how many photos focus on the harvesting team having a silly good time while they make their excellent wine.

Trinque Fougasse

This caviste in Montpellier goes around with his camera all the time and he doesn’t stop at harvest.  Lots of fun updates from some of the wineries represented in his shop and venue.

5000 Vines, Le Couvent Roujan

The 5000 vines blog did an awesome six part day by day catalog of their harvest with lots of photos of everybody working together to bring in their ripe grapes.  They also did some video and even one audio clip of the bubbling sounds of a live fermentation! Very well done!

All of these are really swell collections of updates and deserve some attention!

If you find other updaters please let me know about them so I can follow along and add them eventually.

These updates are extremely important because they help communicate exactly how active and alive the winemaking community is in the Languedoc Roussillon.  It’s wonderful that some people are pushing so hard to get our lives out to the rest of the world!

Good work everybody!

Full Frontal Grapes!

Livet i Languedoc

5000 vines fermentation

 Other Languedoc-Roussillon harvest updates

Hervé Bizeul talks about double rainbows and ennui.

Something in Swedish at Domaine de la Rabidote!

At O’Vineyards, I wax poetic about the whole country of France’s harvests.

A text based update from Domaine Guizard. Give him a break, it’s hard to take pictures when you’re covered in raisins.

Harvest update from Pech Celeyran.

Girls and Boys split the winemaking duties at Pech d’Andre