How to open a bottle of PetNat....from 2010 Salon des Vins de Loire

 This is our PetNat with its easy to open crown cork

Just a little pressure here ...

Err ... perhaps a bit more pressure will do it ...

FIJEV in Tuscany day 3 – interesting visits in Bolgheri and Val di Cornia

Early morning centre of San Gimignano and the moon

Sunshine and mist

Today we enjoyed a magnificent drive from San Jimignano to the Ligurian sea through sunny Tuscan country made even more interesting by some thin shrouds of mist and white smoke rising vertically towards the sky. San Gimignano was particularly beautiful in the clear early morning light.

Our first visit was to Grattamarco, which was apparently the third of the new wave of wineries to be established in the Bolgheri region. It was founded in 1985 by Giorgio Meletti Cavallari who sold the business in 2007 and is now involved in a winery on Elba.

Unfortunately the recent wines that we tasted were not impressive, particularly bearing in mind the high prices charged. The 2008 Vermentino, 50% vinified in stainless steel was priced at 19€ and the reds went up to 45€. My preferred red was the 2008 Bolgheri – 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 20% Sangiovese – an easy drinking red but not at 15-16€ when it is really worth no more than 7€. The top wine, Grattamarco (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20-25% Merlot depending on the vintage with the rest made up by Sangiovese) costs a remarkable 45€!

Lunch@l'Ristorante l'Orizzonte
We had a simple but excellent lunch at L’Orrizonte where a number of small producers in Bolgheri presented their wines and in one case, Fornacelle, lovely new pressed olive oil. Indeed visiting Tuscany in late November I’m reminded how delicious newly pressed olive oil can be – needing only tasty fresh or toasted bread for a real treat. Unfortunately as far as I know it is difficult to get freshly pressed olive oil in the UK.

(more to add)

The group of producers with the owner of the restaurant (l'Orizzonte)

Ristorante l'Orizzonte Osteria toscana tra Bolgheri e Castagneto Carducci

località Crocino - collina di Segalari - 57022 Castagneto Carducci (Livorno) - Toscana - Italia

tel. 0565 763796
info@ristorantelorizzonte.it

Rubbia al Colle
Our last visit of the day was to one of the new wine cathedrals – Rubbia al Colle, on the outskirts of Suvereto.

This is another ambitious investment in the Val di Cornia and from the mound that covers the underground winery you can see Petra, another in the ambitious winery genre. In contrast to the Petra winery, which can be seen for many miles, Rubbia is well hidden. A hill was removed, the winery built and then covered with a metre of earth, so it is only apparent is you are close to it.

Rubbia is an investment by a cotton magnate from Milan - an interesting diversification that began in 1999 with the setting up of Archipelago Muratori. There now four estates:Villa Crespia, Francicorta in Lombardy, Oppida Aminea in Sannio Beneventano in Campania, Giardini Arimei in Isola d'Ischia as well as Rubbia.   


The winery alone cost some 7 million euros before it was equipped and then there is the planting of some 100 hectares of vines. I guess not much change, if any, out of some 25 million euros. I find it difficult not to be cynical when faced with a modern day wine cathedral whether it is Rubbia or Petra here in the Val di Cornia, new palatial bodegas in Rioja or any that worship the god of wine.

At the entrance to the Rubbia winery there are two mats – one outside and one inside – to wipe your feet. This is a spotless showpiece and there is an ecclesiastical feel as you enter the vast barrel and fermentation area. Organised religion in Western Europe may be in decline but wine worship grows ever stronger.

Given the current economic outlook and the world glut of wine it will surely be difficult for Rubbia to break even let alone start to repay the original investment.

Terracotta barrel at Rubbia al Colle (above and below)

Front of terracotta barrel

The sign for Archipelago Muratori

The entrance to the winery church

This new cathedral is already attracting wine pilgrims from over Europe....

(to be continued)

Salon des Vins de Loire 2011 – will there or won't there be one?

At the end of last year there was much discussion over the future of the annual Salon des Vins de Loire, which was established back in 1987. In these straightened times some, although not all, of the négociants want to cut the budget for the Salon so that it becomes bi-annual rather than every year. We need the Salon every year is the reaction from many producers, who find the fair an indispensable meeting place for the various cavistes, wholesalers and restaurateurs from the home market as well as their importers. It is clear if the Salon became bi-annual, then some producers would be asking why are we paying to fund Interloire?

To an extent I can understand the position of some of the largest négociants. Take Castel, for example, now the largest of the Loire négoce and based in Bordeaux. What benefit does it get from paying for a large stand at the fair? The clients it needs to see are small in number, although undeniably important and influential. Probably only six or seven from the UK: the supermarkets and the remaining national wine merchants, although shrunken in number since the demise of Threshers.

Castel's stand@the Salon 2010

So will there be a Salon next year? I certainly hope so as I've been every year since 1990 and have already reserved my room at the Hotel du Mail in the centre of Angers. The 2010 catalogue rather ambiguously asks people not to forget the 25th edition of the Salon 'Debut Février 2010' and promising a 'nouvelle formule: un salon encore plus adapté aux besoin de la profession'. But, gentlemen, unless I'm seriously mistaken, we are now right at the end of February 2010.

I spoke to Bénoît Roumet, director of the Bureau du Centre Loire, yesterday and he was adamant that there would be a Salon in 2011, although the date hasn't yet been fixed and there will be a meeting to discuss what changes if any will be made. There is no date yet for this meeting.

It will be interesting to see what changes they make. If it is to survive the Loire Salon needs to be held every year. Were it to become bi-annual I'm sure it would soon disappear. The Salon remains a generally well run and friendly event. Although it would look more professional if all the exhibitors arrived on time. Even on the Monday – first morning of the fair – many of the stands are habitually empty with exhibitors drifting in leisurely as the clock moves towards 9.30.

An empty stand@the Salon

I know there is a Gallic charm to everything starting half an hour late but that can be lost on foreign visitors who may have travelled over from America and who have a busy programme and find that they have to kick their heels.

Salon des Vins de Loire Wine Bloggers' Trophy
I'd definitely make changes here. Having been a trophy winner in 2009 I was invited to be one of the judges. We had some 20 shortlisted blogs to judge across the four categories and given around two weeks for the task. Not easy to do when some blogs have hundreds of postings to look at. Unfortunately the organisers were obviously determined to shortlist seven blogs in each category, irrespective of quality but there were a few very poor blogs on the shortlist.

It would make the judging much easier if bloggers had to enter the competition and to pick out five or six postings to be judged on.

When the results came out I was amazed to see that the best overall blog was one that hadn't won any of the four categories and had only been shortlisted in one category – some blogs had been shortlisted in two. When I queried the result with the organisers I was told that the marks had been averaged out so as not to disadvantage blogs that were only shortlisted in one category!

I'm all for equality but this is egalité gone mad! The winner of the best blog, which was a very good one, was shortlisted in the best writer category won by Hervé Lalau, who was shortlisted in two categories. Had Hervé only been shortlisted in one category, it is clear that he would have won both best writer award and the overall prize. How bizarre!


Not just one language

Much more important than tidying up the bizarre rules is the need to make the wine bloggers trophy more international. This year only blogs partly or wholly in French were considered. Although there are some very good French wine blogs, French is not the language of the blogosphere. If the organisers want real credibility for this bloggers trophy it needs to be opened up to at least one other language – probably English. The vote on the internet for the best shortlisted blog attracted a total of just 1604 votes. Had the competition been more international my guess is there would have been more votes cast. It may well be that Aurelia Fillon's promising* Bu sur le web would again have topped a more international poll and would have given her win greater force and resonance.


* Aurelia has a real screen presence in the same way that Gary V does. Having started only in December 2009 she has already built up a considerable presence. To really built her following I think she soon needs to build in greater variety into her videos, which are becoming formulaic – look how Gary V varies his show. I'm sure Aurelia has the personality and drive to succeed.

Growth of organic wines in France

Report here in Ouest-France (4th February 2010) on the organic wine stand at this year's Salon des Vins de Loire.

Return from the Salon des Vins de Loire

The Salon can be exhausting...

Just back in London from the Salon after five days of full throttle tastings and visits – hugely enjoyable but tiring as the shot of one of my travelling companions indicates. Personally a very successful Salon this year with some very good tastings with producers I already know as well as with some new discoveries.

As usual there were many people that I wanted to see and taste with that time prevented me from seeing. If there are any producers that I know well, who are reading this blog and wondering why I didn't get to see them, it was solely down to a question of the ever ticking clock.

I have much to write up from the trip to the Salon as well as still some reports to do of Loire wines tasted in London before heading off to the Loire, where one again we stayed in the highly recommended Hotel du Mail. The hotel changed hands last September with Christian and Catherine Duval taking over Hervé, who appeared to have rather lost interest. The hotel is a new venture for the Duvals, who have run café/bars for over 20 years – lately in Angers but previously near Le Mans. Our rooms for next year's Salon des Vins de Loire are already booked.

The Hotel du Mail in the centre of Angers

2010 Salon des Vins de Loire: photos from Day 3

Paul Buisse toasts his impending retirement

Long time producer and négociant in Montrichard, Paul Buisse sold his business to Pierre Chainier last August with the arrangement that Paul would stay on for a year. One of the stalwarts of the Salon, there will have to be someone else looking after the stand in 2011. Paul is not retiring completely as he will be doing some consultancy work. Vinification will continue at the Paul Buisse premises in Montrichard but the wines will be bottled at the Pierre Chainier installation at Amboise.

Jean-Paul Labaille of Thomas Labaille (Chavignol, Sancerre) with his L'Authentique

Yves Guegniard and his daughter, Anne

Yves Guegniard

Alain Guichet with the new project Alpha Loire where he is in partnership with Philippe Angier (formerly at the Oisly et Thesée coop) and Fabienne Raviche

Full reports on these and other producers will be written up as soon as possible.

Salon trip: Day 3: Wine Blog Trophy winners + other fotos

Monday 1 February 2010: at the salon

2010 Wine Blog Trophy Winners

 

Hervé Lalau (best writer) and a pensive Antoine Gerbelle 

 Aurelia Fillion (best design and voted best blog) with Marc 

 Pierre Aguilas and Jacques Berthomeau (Loire award)  

  

Emmanuel Delmas – winner of the most interactive blog  

••• 

 

Noël Pinguet (Domaine Huet@work)

 

2009 Wine Rare: Domaine Vacheron 

 (Rare because it was a much reduced vintage but rare also for its combination of maturity and balance) 

  

Muscadcet: Vignerons du Pallet with their new cuvée from a barrel that was buried underground

More photos to follow

Au Salon des Vins de Loire 2010

 

Dress code: absolutely essential to be comfortable when tasting wine

We are off to the Salon very early this morning. Unfortunately leaving later than usual in the week preceding the Salon, so that it won't be possible to make anything like our customary round of visits – none in Touraine or Saumur and just a few in Anjou. The plan is to catch an early Eurotunnel shuttle and head straight to Vincent and Catherine Ogereau in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay. Then to Claude and Joëlle Papin before checking in at the Hotel du Mail in Angers and then out to eat, for the first time, at Chez Rémi.

Sunday morning it's the Good, the Bad and the Pretty Ugly show – otherwise known as the Renaissance tasting at the Greniers de Saint-Jean, Angers. Then a couple of afternoon visits – Philippe Germain at Château de la Roulerie and Victor Lebreton at Domaine du Montgilet.

PS I see that light snow showers are forecast for around Angers later today...

Salon des Vins de Loire: national rail strike threatened for Wednesday

 

TGV entering Tours station

Four syndicats (unions) representing French rail workers have called for a national rail strike next Wednesday (3rd February). The strike is due to start at 8pm Tuesday evening and finish 8am Thursday morning. It is not clear yet how much disruption there will be but with four syndicats involved there may well be few trains running on Wednesday. The SNCF will announce on Tuesday how much of the service will run. This will may mean some French visitors will leave the Salon earlier than planned on Tuesday but it is more likely to affect foreign visitors planning to travel back on the Wednesday.

There was a time during the 1990s when the French respected the seasons: skiiing in February, asparagus in April, strawberries in May, the vendange in September and strikes in November, so that they could be settled in time for Christmas. Sadly this respect for tradition has disappeared: now, like haricots verts, you can come across strikes all year round!   

Some further details here (Le Monde) and here (La Nouvelle République).

Salon des Vins de Loire 2010/ Fête Saint-Vincent, Epeigné-les-Bois

With just a week to go before the 2010 Salon des Vins de Loire opens its doors, today's La Nouvelle République carries a report on it here.

'Le 24e Salon des vins de Loire se déroulera à Angers à partir du 1er février : il a pour but de promouvoir le millésime de l'année auprès des professionnels.

Ce n'est pas un Salon ouvert au grand public, mais il accueille en moyenne 9.000 visiteurs en trois jours.'

Lire la suite

For the 2010 edition there are 591 exhibitors. It remains uncertain whether Salon, which hitherto since its inception in 1987 has been annual, will be held in 2011 or whether it will become bi-annual with the next edition in 2012. This I understand is due to budget cuts demanded by the négociants.

•••

Vendange in Epeigné: September 2009

Epeigné-les-Bois: Fête de Saint Vincent: 24th January 2010

A few photos here from yesterday's fête mainly of the last five Saint-Vincent's each planting a vine by a wall. See here. It looked a pretty grey day – still that wouldn't have affected the long lunch! Apparently it was pouring with rain around 10am but it stopped in time for the dancing group – La Gidelle – to perform.

The five vines planted are various table grape varieties, including Chasselas, and each year the Saint-Vincent will plant a new vine. The vines are planted along the wall of the cemetery on the road (D81) from Francueil to Epeigné. Planting the first five vines yesterday were Patrick Guignard (2004), Mark Robertson (2005), Bernard Maugueret (2006), Claude Lesur (2008) and Jean-Michel Prieur (2010). Alain Tranchard (2009) and James Marchais (2007) were unable to attend.

Following the vine planting ceremony and the dancing, there was a tasting of wines from Bruno Curassier (Domaine de la Grange, Bléré), Gilda Garanne (Saint-Georges-sur-Cher), Jean-Claude Legrand (Saint-Georges-sur-Cher) and La Gourmandière (Cave Cooperative de Francueil). Lunch and dancing continued at least till 8pm when Jim's Loire's local reporter made his excuses and left.

I understand that the Comité des Fêtes was pleased with this edition as in recent years this fête has been in slight decline. This year there were another 10 places sold for the lunch.  

••

Report from Wednesday's La Nouvelle République (27th January 2010)
Dimanche matin, sous la houlette du comité des fêtes, Épeigné-les-Bois fêtait la Saint-Vincent, patron des vignerons né au sein d'une famille noble à la fin du IIIe siècle à Huesca, petite cité espagnole des Pyrénées. Diacre puis archidiacre à Saragosse, il avait en charge l'administration des biens de l'église et prêchait également à la place de l'évêque de Saragosse.

Click on link above to read the rest.

Increased UK press presence@Salon2010

Good news to hear that there will be a greater UK press presence at the Salon des Vins de Loire this year as Interloire is organising a UK press trip through Sopexa (UK). In addition to the hardcore devotees (see here) UK press representatives will include Margaret Rand (contributes to Decanter, World of Fine Wine and a number of other publications), Liz Sagues (Ham & High), Andrew Barrow (Spittoon), Philippe Boucheron (Birmingham Life) and Heather Dougherty (Red, White and Rosé and her blog).

In addition David Furer will be there for Sommelier Journal.

Salon des Vins de Loire 2010: some news from the organisers

Elizabeth and Benoît Jardin: Domaine des Maisons Rouges

Good to see that the Salon des Vins de Loire is putting an accent on organic and biodynamic wines.

New – pick out organic and biodynamic estates at a glance!
Wines made using organic and biodynamic methods are marked in the exhibitor catalogue, making it easy for visitors to pinpoint them. Some 2,415 hectares of Loire Valley vines are organically cultivated (including 968 hectares undergoing conversion), spread across 205 domaines. In 2008, this area rose 14.8% year-on-year. In the marketplace, organic wines are attracting new buyers/consumers. They contributed 10% of organic-product sales in 2008, and within the organic family, wine is enjoying the highest rate of take-up: 29% of consumers have begun to drink it in the past year.


Source: Agence Bio. Although 2415 hectares of organic vines in the Loire sounds quite impressive, especially given that the Loire's climate is not especially conducive to organic farming, it should be remembered that this only represents 3.45%. The percentage will be much higher among top quality producers. It is encouraging to see that there are nearly 1000 hectares under conversion. However, overall it is difficult to see the percentage of vines farmed organically while the emphasis of many supermarkets both in France and in countries like the UK is on price and selling cheap deals. Giving up the chemical arsenal and going organic pushes up production costs, so impossible to hit the 1.30-1.50€ a bottle that Charles Sydney says is now necessary to hit the £5.99 price point.

Jim: Although 2415 hectares of organic vines in the Loire sounds quite impressive, especially given that the Loire's climate is not especially conducive to organic farming, it should be remembered that this only represents 3.45% of the total Loire vineyard (70,000 hectares).

Une philosophie de travail
Niché dans les appellations de Jasnières et des Coteaux du Loir, le domaine des Maisons rouges, qui s’étend sur 7 hectares, investit dans les vins bio depuis dix ans. « Nous avons été parmi les premiers à nous reconvertir en agriculture biologique. En 2010, nos vins devraient être reconnus AB par Ecocert. Mais surtout, depuis un an, nous avons fait le “grand saut” et nous nous sommes engagés dans la culture biodynamique sur l’ensemble du domaine », souligne Benoît Jardin, vigneron et gérant des Maisons rouges avec son épouse, Élisabeth. Et d’ajouter : « Au début, en 2000, nous n’étions pas certains d’y arriver. Mais, pour des raisons sanitaires et qualitatives, nous étions fermement décidés à travailler nos vignes et à vinifier nos vins le plus naturellement possible. D’une part, je ne supportais pas physiquement les produits phytosanitaires, et, d’autre part, nous souhaitions que mes vins expriment avec authenticité leur terroir. Si cette démarche vers le bio s’est inscrite dans le temps, elle est aujourd’hui devenue une véritable philosophie de travail. » Le « Clos des Jasnières » 2008 et la très confidentielle « Alizari » 2008 (pineau d’Aunis vendu à 900 cols qui sort « dès que les jus sont très, très bons », la première cuvée datant de 2004) illustrent à la perfection cet esprit. À découvrir sur le Salon.

Domaine des Maisons Rouges – 72340 Ruillé-sur-Loir – « Alizari » 2008 : 19 € TTC – « Clos des Jasnières » 2008 : 18 € TTC
Tél. : + 33 (0)2 43 79 50 09 – www.maisonsrouges.com

Des bouteilles qui parlent
Il suffit d’un simple coup de « flash » sur un code-barres 2D apposé sur une bouteille de vin pour que le consommateur équipé d’un smartphone du type iPhone ou Blackberry soit immédiatement connecté à un site web mobile. Il lui permet alors de consulter, dans plusieurs langues, l’histoire du vin, du vignoble et du vigneron, les photos du domaine, la fiche technique du millésime, une vidéo de dégustation pour les néophytes et les avis des autres consommateurs.

Lire la suite:
http://presse.salondesvinsdeloire.com/marches_investissements/des_bouteilles_qui_parlent

Talking bottles

Consumers with smartphones (such as an iPhone or Blackberry) just need to flash the 2D barcode on a bottle of wine to instantly connect to a mobile website. This lets them view (in one of several languages) the history of the wine, vineyard and maker; photos of the estate; the vintage factsheet; a tasting-guide video for beginners; and feedback from other consumers.

Read the rest here.

Salon des Vins de Loire: Wine Blog Trophy 2010

Jim's Loire won the best blog trophy in the journalist category

The list of blogs shortlisted for the various categories in the 2010 Wine Trophy organised by the Salon des Vins de Loire is published here as well as details of the various categories and the list of judges here. This year I'm on the other side of the fence as I'm a member of the jury. My congratulations to all shortlisted blogs.

For the 2010 edition the blog competition has been revamped. There are now four categories: la plus belle plume (the best writing), le meilleur design (the best design), la meilleure interactivité (the most interactive) and la mention spéciale Loire (that features the Loire). The blog that gets the most points from the jury will win Le Meilleur Blog award.

There is also an opportunity for everyone to vote for their favourite blog from those shortlisted. The blog with the most votes will win the Prix des Internautes. Voting opened on Tuesday 5th January and continues until 25th January. Vote here. I hope that there will be lots of votes.

Salon des Vins de Loire 2010: UK Press presence?

The 2010 edition of the Salon des Vins de Loire (1st-3rd February) is just over a month away. This has been an annual event since 1987 and remains France's only annual regional wine fair. Time to receive the annual reminder and invitations from Charles Sydney, a courtier based in Chinon who works with many UK wine importers and retailers supplying them with Loire wine.

Charles's message concludes with: 'it'd be great to see the UK press out here in force!'

Although I agree with him, I suspect it's a pious hope. It is years since a UK wine journalist with a national column attended the Salon. It is the same for those with popular internet sites and blogs. There was a time in the early 1990s that critics like Tim Atkin MW, Anthony Rose and Jancis Robinson MW got out to Angers for the Salon. But that has long past. Until recently the entire UK press presence at the Salon could be fitted comfortably into a Fiat 500.

Sarah Ahmed

In 2010 the long-term habituées – Sarah Ahmed (The Wine Detective), Neil Fairlamb and myself – will again be at Angers' Parc Expo. We will be joined again by Chris Kissack (winedoctor), who made his Salon début last year, and again by Ray O'Connor from the William Reed stable, where he is mainly responsible for organising the International Wine Challenge, and by Richard Kelley MW, buyer for Richards Walford and author of The definitive guide to the wines of the Loire. I guess that for 2010 a Fiat 500 might be a bit of a squeeze so we may have to go for an economy Mondeo.

Chris Kissack

I rather doubt if we will see anyone else from the UK press at the Salon. In part one can blame the UK press for not showing enough interest and initiative to make the easy journey out to Angers. Equally, however, the Salon's organisers do little or nothing to promote the Salon to the UK press.

Anyone, who does make the journey, should find a number of good 2009 wines to taste at a friendly and very professionally run Salon.

2010 Salon des Vins de Loire: beware of d’EXPO GUIDE or FAIR GUIDE

The organisers are warning exhibitors to look out for two companies (Expo Guide and Fair Guide) who are contacting exhibitors and apparently trying to persuade producers to pay to be included in their Salon guide. These two companies have nothing to do with the preparation of the Salon des Vins de Loire catalogue. There is only one Salon des Vins de Loire catalogue with two companies involved: Precom and Setig.

From the Salon site:
'MISE EN GARDE CONTRE FAIR GUIDE ET EXPO GUIDE

Nous vous rappelons qu’il n’existe qu’un seul catalogue officiel du SALON DES VINS DE LOIRE d’Angers. Les 2 seules sociétés habilitées à vous contacter pour ce catalogue sont PRECOM (régie publicitaire) et SETIG (imprimeur), toutes deux mandatées par les organisateurs du Salon des Vins de Loire d’Angers.

Aussi, soyez très vigilants, notamment si vous êtes sollicités par EXPO GUIDE ou FAIR GUIDE qui, sous le couvert de vous demander de mettre à jour vos coordonnées, vous incite à vous engager pour une prestation payante qui n’est aucunement en lien avec le catalogue officiel du SALON DES VINS DE LOIRE.

Nous vous conseillons donc d’ignorer tout courrier provenant d’EXPO GUIDE ou DE FAIR GUIDE.

Si vous avez déjà reçu un courrier de leur part, retourné le formulaire et reçu une facture, nous vous conseillons de ne pas payer et d’envoyer une lettre recommandée dénonçant le contrat.

Si vous avez le moindre doute sur une telle démarche, n’hésitez pas à contacter votre interlocutrice Christa CHARRUAU (c.charruau@angers-expo-congres.com).

Merci de votre attention,

L’équipe du Salon des Vins de Loire

A l’attention des Exposants du Salon des Vins de Loire'

More on Expo Guide here.

More on Fair Guide here and here.