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| Limestone caves transformed into wine cellars. Tunnels ran between all the Chateaus and were later sealed to keep out unwanted guests. |
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| First fermenting stage: 7 weeks in the Vat |
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| Limestone cave: Grapevines roots coming through from above Beau Sejour-Becot vineyard Chateau Fonplegade uses Oak Vats instead of Stainless Steel |
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  Another way of turning the barrels for sediment extraction Chateau Fonplegade  |
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| Tasting the Wine while it ferments |
When the wine label says: made in Bordeaux, France, it's really true. It doesn't mean: Ma and Pa's backyard vineyard.
So we went all that way to France to learn how they made our neighborhood wine.
Most the wineries, although lovely landscapes with old Chateaus, basically use all the same modern processing methods.
We visited 5 factories with lines of stainless steel vats and only "French" oak barrels.
The Chateaus are residences and off limits in our tours. We only visited the outer, more modern and remodeled, buildings that housed the production line. All the factories were spotless when the work was done.
Every winemaker has a slightly different technique, but all the same time period for harvesting and fermenting. There is only a 2 week harvest period in the Fall; with an exception for this year when they harvested a 3rd week. The weather rules. The French are not allowed to irrigate.
From what I gather from the fermenting process: after the sorting and stem removal, the grapes are mixed with yeast; some wineries add sugar; others use the sweetness of the grape. Once in the vat, the grapes are monitored from a computerized board showing the fluctuating sugar and alcohol levels during it's first 7 weeks of fermenting with skins and seeds. The next step is to separate the juice from their skins and seeds by siphoning the juice out and into small French oak barrels that are lying sideways in rows. The oak barrels add flavor while continuing to ferment for 18 months. During this time, the barrels are turned every 3 months to release the sediment which is extracted by siphoning out the juice first from the barrels. One very simple traditional technique used in the final stage of clarifying the wine: 3 or 4 beaten (now pasteurized) egg whites are quickly mixed into the fermented wine while in the barrels. The heavier egg whites drop through the lighter liquid wine, to the bottom of the barrel; cleaning out the remaining sediment (making the wine shiny, as one young Frenchman told us). Some winemakers use a more modern filtering method.
The grape skins and seeds, remaining in the large vats are taken out and squeezed in a press, to release the remaining thick, cloudy more flavored juice of the grape. It is measured by taste and added to the first extracted juices from the vat, already in the barrels. This gives the wine added body and flavor.
Different varieties of fermented grape juice are blended later: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, etc. I noticed the more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, the milder and heavier the wine which is my preference.
Then it is bottled.
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| Presto! |
Some traditionally old 1900- 1800 Chateau wineries are owned by Americans or investment companies; mainly insurance companies.
The Chateau Beau Sejour-Becot winery in Saint Emilion, belongs to a 4th Generation, the great grandfather dying last year. We were escorted by a friend of a friend who took us down into the limestone caves under their modern factory building where the oldest wines were stored over the years.
Really creepy. I actually thought I would start running and screaming at any moment through the cave, possibly getting lost, during the tour because it was so dark. It was a spidery dungeon.
But the wine bottles have to be in a dark and cold place for the preservation of the wine. At least it was dark enough so I couldn't see the spiders.
The wine cellar cave is the remains of the limestone cave era when they dug out the stones for building their Chateaus and Cathedrals. At that time, the winemakers realized that the limestone caves added to the flavor of their wines because their vineyards were growing on top of the caves. The limestones caves would not hold water in the ground for the grape vines; thereby, starving the grapes of water to make them concentrated with more flavor. The grapes were smaller; and not saturated with water which resulted in plumper grapes with less flavor.
The wineries that are not located above the limestone have more sandy soils; and therefore, a different methods of concentrating the grape juices. They plant grass between the rows of vineyards which competes for the water; thereby, starving the grapes vines.
One vine will produce 1/2 bottle of wine to get the concentrated amount needed.
Interesting that the French are not allowed to irrigate the vineyards; leaving it to Mother Nature. Yet they are allowed to force feed their ducks. I guess it would sound worse if they let the ducks starve, instead of the grapes.
An American couple own the Chateau Fonplegade and have been buying and selling French wineries for years in the area.
With the influx of new owners, the wines are still very much under the control of the French wine industry. The top classified wines must be grown, harvested ( 2 weeks), fermented (Vats: 7 weeks; barrels: 18 months) and bottled on the same vineyard. Unlike the wines in the States, French winemakers cannot transfer any grapes or equipment across vineyard property lines. They only use French Oak barrels; never American oak because it adds a different taste to the wines.
The best wine is considered to be the one that lasts the longest in the bottle. As it matures, the flavor changes in the bottle every year; so whatever year you open a 30 year wine, the flavor will always be different from year to year up to 30 years when it has reached it maturity age. The science, we are told, is so exact that they know how long the wine will last.
Of course, they will try to sell us the most expensive wine that will last 25 to 30 years. And of course, I tell them that the best wine is the one I can drink now, since I may not be around in 25 years.
They could sell me a wine that I can drink today that was bottled 25 years ago, but there are too many inexpensive wines that are just as good since there are not that many ways to change the flavor of wine since the process is restricted to strict wine laws. It's not like they could add piss to it.
I always ask, "Was it a good year?" When the wine was bottled. The weather, in that year, would be an indicator. The year is on the bottle.
I was told by the person pouring the wine that it was not a good year that we were tasting; although it tasted o.k. to me.
The way my taste runs, the high value wines had too much acidity; and therefore, I went for a lower grade that was milder. If I want acid, I can always drink fruit juice with a splash of vinegar.
My philosophy, when tasting wines, is to buy what I like and not what is advertised as the best grade of wine because it is an acquired taste; and naturally, a connoisseur of wines will have an acquired taste that is far beyond my experience.
I know from past experience that when I drank a better grade of "acidity" wine, I could get drunk enough to enjoy it.
Cheers!
http://www.frenchscout.com/types-of-red-wines
http://www.wineloverspage.com/cgi-bin/quest/ga.cgi?q=14
The Wine Advocate Vintage Guide (as of 6/30/2011) 2010 - 1970
Wine Glossary
http://www.erobertparker.com/info/rparker.asp
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