Harvest in the Languedoc - a hands on experience!

 

 

The Languedoc-Roussillon is buzzing like a beehive! Everywhere you look, day and night, people are in the vineyards harvesting grapes, both by hand and machine.
It’s an honor to witness and support this tradition which has existed in the Languedoc-Roussillon for over 2,000 years. We feel blessed!
The small-scale, independent winemakers whose wines we sell harvest almost exclusively by hand.

 

 

A great deal of care goes into hand-harvesting grapes.

 

Hand-harvesting means the grapes arrive at the winemaking cave intact, without the skins having been broken, so there is no oxidation of the juice prior to fermentation. When our winemakers use machines, they generally harvest at night when the grapes are cool. This ensures maximum freshness until the grapes begin fermentation in the tanks. Fresh grapes = delicious wines!! 

The brief video below details why destemming grapes before vinification matters!

 

 

What happens once the grapes are harvested? It depends on the grower and how the wine will be vinified and sold.

In broad terms, there are three kinds of wine sellers in this region: independent winemakers, large-volume producers and/or sellers called negotiants, and caves cooperatives which serve very small growers.

The independent winemakers are the small producers about whom we are wildly enthusiastic. Our wines are made at the domaine or chateau where the grapes are grown. The people who planted the vines also care for the soil, prune the vines, harvest the grapes, make the wines and bottle the wines with their own labels. That is why we call our wines “root to sip." 

Both negotiants and caves cooperatives play important roles in Languedoc-Roussillon winemaking. While the negotiants might grow some of their own grapes, in general, they buy grapes, and sometimes wine, from others. Then they bottle and sell under their own label. 

The caves cooperatives provide a much-needed service to small growers who don't have enough grapes or financial resources to produce their own wines. Each cooperative has its own winemaker and winemaking facility. These facilities were built in the 1930s and 40s and are often absolutely beautiful.

The below photo shows a small plot winegrower just returning from the cave cooperative in Cruzy, a village next to ours. You'll see similar sights everywhere during the harvest, with small tractors buzzing about from the wee hours of the morning to very late at night.  

 

By supporting small growers, the cooperatives keep the region alive and flourishing. They're a big part of why the Languedoc-Roussillon is so spectacular. However, because the grapes are cultivated in many different soils under widely varying horticultural practices, the cooperative wines lack the distinctive terroir we so love in the independent winemakers whose wines we sell.

We did, however, discover a delicious Fitou appellation, Cascastel, that we couldn’t resist! In fact, this cooperative wine received the gold medal just a few weeks after we chose it!

Our lucky wine club members will get the first taste of Cascastel in the next club shipment. After that, we'll add it to our online Wine Shop so everyone can enjoy! 

Featured Wine

Carol (The Princess) with a carton of hand-harvested Syrah grapes, standing next to Philippe Gaillard of Château Gilbert & Gaillard. 

Château Gilbert & Gaillard's brilliant young winemaker is Marine Faugier. She also happens to be our neighbor! 
Below you'll find one of her wines, a delicious rosé.
 

Buy Le Rosé