Tour de l'oc: Wine trade charity ride from Tain-l'Hermitage to Collioure via Le Ventoux

The Ventoux from Rasteau January 2006

The Drinks Business:

'The ride will begin on Monday 1 June when the cyclists head south from a start point at the M. Chapoutier winery in Tain l’Hermitage, finishing at Collioure near the Spanish border on Thursday the same week – and the challenge has been dubbed the Tour de L’Oc, after the ancient name for the region, Occitania.

Organised by Mentzendorff managing director Andrew Hawes, this is the ninth charity cycle ride led by the head of the UK wine importer for Bollinger Champagne, and probably the hardest. Taking in the punishing ascent of Mont Ventoux, the intrepid wine trade cyclists will have to climb the 1912 metre mountain, famous for its barren summit and high winds.'

'Importantly, the aim of the cycling challenge is to raise a target of £30,000 of vital funds for the drinks industry charity The Benevolent.'

Read the rest here.

The ten cyclists include Patrick Schmitt, the editor of The Drinks Business: 
 

Patrick Schmitt:
'For the first time in four years I’m bringing out my bicycle for more than the daily 10 kilometre trundle to work, and this time it’s for the toughest challenge I've ever entered. Starting in the northern Rhône in Tain-l'Hermitage on 1 June, and finishing four days later in the coastal town of Collioure, I’ll be covering around 500km across some of France’s most extreme terrain.

In particular, I’ll be climbing just short of 2,000m in a single ascent as the route includes Mount Ventoux – the hardest climb of the legendary Tour de France, and famous among biking fans for claiming the life of English cyclist Tom Simpson.
My preparation? A few rides round Richmond park. I’ve also bought some new rims for my bike, which is now almost 15 years old and dented and scratched like a beer keg.

Like the last long distance ride I attempted in 2011, this is a personal test, but it’s also for an extremely good cause, so once more I’ll be raising funds for The Benevolent – The Drinks Industry Charity. I urge you to visit their website to read more about their good work, but I should say here that it’s being brilliantly run by David Cox to really support the most needy in the drinks trade.

All that's left to say is thank you very much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and any donation would be hugely appreciated.'

https://www.justgiving.com/Patrick-Schmitt1

https://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Hawes3/ 

https://www.justgiving.com/AlanMontagueDennis2015/https://www.justgiving.com/AlanMontagueDennis2015/

I hope the ride goes well. Certainly climbing Mont Ventoux, I assume from the Bedoin side, was the toughest climb I ever did. It's a long, steep unrelenting climb and likely to take some of them a good two hours. I trust, in addition, to buying new rims for his bike, Patrick has made sure that he has suitably low gears for the Ventoux.   

Seresin: bio-dynamic seminar@Shoreditch

Seresin Estate viticulturalist Colin Ross +

Patrick Schmitt (The Drinks Business) 

and Neil Beckett (The World of Fine Wine)

 Awaiting lift-off...

A selection of photos from yesterday's rather unfocused Seresin biodynamic seminar in the heart of Shoreditch.

Fresh cow shit from a Sussex field collected that morning

Silica and processed cow shit after it has been through horn transformation

Patrick Schmitt (The Drinks Business) and Neil Beckett (The World of Fine Wine)

Neil exhibiting a certain unease and scepticism perhaps?

Colin Ross

Colin Ross with echoes of the late, great Tommy Cooper?

The venue was The Rochelle Centre an ex-Victorian school (board?) 

– many of these solidly built structures still survive in London: 

some as schools, others converted, while many schools 

thrown up in the 1960s have been demolished 

Neil Beckett exhibiting just a scintilla of doubt over this hand exercise...

(above and below)

Table set for lunch

A stirring excerise:

A vortex

Adding the processed cow shit and stirring...

... and stirring

... and stirring

... and stirring

... and stirring

... and stirring

... and stirring

The ever diligent Anne Krebiehl

Vinexpo diversifies into consumer shows

 

New York Rendez-Vous By Vinexpo 

More than 30 years after Vinexpo was founded the company is now diversifying. It will now organise consumer shows as well as its trade shows: biannually in Bordeaux and in Hong Kong. The first will be held in New York at the Javits Center from Friday 16th November to Sunday 18th November. There will be 150 exhibitors – 50% from France – and between 5000-6000 visitors are expected.  The event slots neatly between the American presidential election and Thanksgiving.

Tickets will cost $180 a day with some reduction for those buying tickets covering two or more days. There will be a number of masterclasses with tickets selling at an additional $300 each. 

Robert Beynat

Robert Beynat, CEO of Vinexpo, explained that: "We have set up a new company – Rendezvous By Vinexpo – for these consumer shows. After New York we expect to hold other Rendezvous in other cities with Tokyo and London being amongst the most obvious candidates but not Paris because we are French and also there would be little point as the majority of the exhibitors are French and they know their home market. Apart from ourselves the two significant shareholders are Marvin Shanken (M. Shanken Communications Inc) of The Wine Spectator and The Chocolate Show. 

"I've known Marvin for over 30 years now and I thought that he might be opposed to Rendezvous seeing it as opposition to his Wine Experience but no he was enthusiastic and initially wanted 50% of the shares." Shanken had to be content with around 10%. There are a number of other companies with a small shareholding including Constellation and Kendall Jackson. 

Anne Cusson, head of Vinexpo's press department

Beynat was in London today to meet the UK press and present some of their latest research into the global wine market, Vinexpo Hong Kong and this new Rendezvous initiative. The breakfast meeting started at 9am at the Stafford Hotel near Green Park, which meant the horror of travelling into London during the morning rush hour. All in all a salutary reminder of how lucky I am not to have to travel until after the crowds have subsided. I can't imagine how people can put up being packed into a crowded tube train for at least 235 days a year!

 Veteran drinks trade journalist, Christian Davis (editor of Drinks International) making notes  

Patrick Schmitt (editor – The Drinks Business)

Chris Mercer, deputy editor – just drinks