‘Oh you’re her father’s girl!’ people always said while I was growing up. My dad grew up in a country town and was one of ten, 8 boys and 2 girls. He and his brothers played a lot of footy, took a lot of girls to the local dances (he met Mum at around this time) – and the band of brothers learnt the ways of the bottle pretty early on. There are many parts of me that are Dad and they’re not all liquid-related – but let’s just say there’s a tradition to uphold and an annual trip back to Australia requires some catching up. Thankfully I’ve acquired a bit of Mum in me too in the last few years, but hey, it is Summer and it is once a year.
grapes fresh from the vineyard, lined up waiting to be de-stemmed
Well that’s it for picking this year. All the grapes are in, busy fermenting, creating heat in the tanks and Benji can breathe a sigh of relief. We’ve had good amounts of sunshine and wind, no hail, no rot – now it’s time to leave the grapes to do their stuff in the winery and see what sort of juices evolve.
Benji at ‘la cave’ (the wine cellar) on Boulevard Napoleon
These photos show the last of the grapes from the harvest – the Grenache – coming in. We hung around for a couple of hours to see the action. It might sound nerdy, just hanging around and watching grapes go into a machine for processing, but really, it was quite exciting! Really! There’s something about the odour, the colours, the satisfaction on the faces of the grape growers seeing their fruit finally picked and about to perform their transformation.
As I’ve already said, the harvest is a wonderful time to witness. And it was just great taking in the blokes’ excitement in the cellar.
ready to unload into the crusherYves emptying grenache grapes into the crusherBenji and Pierre waiting for the grapes to come through from the first deliveryPierre (le viticulteur) photographing his babiesles filles keeping busy in the ‘sandpit’
The grapes were carefully emptied from their ‘caisses’ (box/basket) one by one into the de-stemmer/crusher (yes, it does what it says, plucks the berries from their stems and sorts away the leaves) which then drops the glistening little purple ‘beads’ (they look like jewellery) onto the sorting tray. They are dropped down into another tray, with a huge turning ‘screw’ and then pumped up through the red hose, straight into the tank. Some of the grapes were collected into buckets and emptied directly into wine barrels (second-hand, so not full-blown wood influences on the juice). A small experiment to develop different flavours.
If the wine is as delicious as the berries tasted, everyone will be happy!…
stacked and waiting to gocoming throughvinicleanthe factory lineup into the tank100% Grenachefirst taste of the juice!Jerome passing byBleu Blanc Rouge (thanks Mat!)cleaning up
So no, he didn’t win. Big shame as I was doing the food shopping the next day. Ah, the trails of a housewife…
They got through a few bottles between them though! Please note, that all comments on the wines however, are mine! Even if I wasn’t playing, the wife does get to try the vino!
There's no label, but this is the left-overs of this delicious Chateau Maris Rose 2010, made from 100% Cinsault (a grape that grows very well in our region, the Langedoc Roussillon). This grape variety is the fourth most planted in France!
Macon-Peronne en Chassigny 2008
Macon-Peronne en Chassigny 2008: nice to try this Burgandy, but I thought it was a bit flat. Sorry guys!
Chateau Maris ‘Continuite de Nature’ 2008
Chateau Maris 'Continuite de Nature' 2008: yes, you've seen this one before. One of our absolute faves at the moment and tasting well everytime.
Chateau Villerambert Julien 2004 Minervois: a very old family winery dating back a few generations, in Caunes-Minervois, one of the most picturesque villages around here, known also very well for its 'Caunes marble' - a rich, deep pink/ochre colour streaked with white. I think this is a syrah/ grenache blend and was enjoyable but the wood a little too strong.
Chateau Maris ‘Las Combes’ 2009
Chateau Maris 'Las Combes' 2009: one of Benji's again... a great, 100% old vine grenache (yes, the grenache, but under a different guise). Gorgeous nose and fragrant.
Benjamin Darnault AOP Languedoc 2010: a wine from the Naked range. A delicious organic 'big' red from St Chinian. One of my favourite apellations.
There you have it. If it sounds like I’m biased towards Benji’s reds, it’s correct! But please be aware that I am very open-minded when it comes to tasting all the wines. It just happens that I tend to enjoy his. Fortunate that!
'cadavres' (what Benji calls empties) on the table
Thought you were going to see a cheeky image of naughty bits??
Sorry, no, it’s Summer and this is often what our table looks like the morning after…
Glasses are cleared but the bottles are waiting to be packed and emptied at the village recycling bin (and how the old mesdames and messieurs of the village, seated on their bench, must love counting how many wines that Aussie girl manages to consume).
...well it's not exactly the 'dames du village', but one of my favourite postcards. Can't bring myself to asking the real local ladies if I can take their photo!
It’s now past the middle of August and I can’t believe how quickly Lilas’ school holidays have passed, how many interesting people have stayed or called by, and how much wine and food we’ve consumed. It seems like a non-stop degustation here sometimes, with the Beroccas coming out first thing in the morning, but things will certainly slow down now that ‘les vendanges’ (harvest time) are approaching and Benji prepares the cellars for receiving grapes. Soon he’ll be working a seven-day week and mostly absent from our daily timetable. It’s an intense time until all grapes have been picked and are safe in the tanks or going through the press, so it’s good to make the most of it with family and friends time in this heat.
The bottles photographed above are the empties from an evening with some of the ‘Naked’ crew. Joe from Naked and is family came to visit, one warm and windy night and an informal tasting turned into a bottle fest (with Lilas and the kids meanwhile transforming the living room into a Playmobil playground) with everyone trying the whites and reds from Benji’s range together with local cheeses, bread and mountain lamb (big merci to our friends Vincent and Isabelle who were staying that week and gave us a huge help in the kitchen – the bbq’d lamb was a treat!). It’s always great to meet new people around a table of wine, glass in hand and every Naked tasting we’ve had has been full of laughs with interesting people from all parts.
a Naked tasting at home. Thanks Joe, Anna et al!The prototypes for Benji's Naked Wines range - a collboration between Vincent and Nick
You’re probably wondering what on earth Naked is. It’s a company in the UK called Naked Wines and Benji makes and sells wine with them. It’s been just over a year since the collaboration started and we’ve met so many great people – customers and other winemakers – and had lots of fun tasting the range over dinners, lunches and informal evenings like this one. I know it sounds like a plug – and it is! But seriuosly, all puns aside, it is an energetic company run by young people with enthusiasm and a love for wine, and fuelled by a community of customers – people buying and tasting wine from anywhere in the world and then sharing their experiences online. Benji’s range has done well and we’ve learnt a lot from the forums and the feedback people have offered. Thanks to everyone, Rowan, Joe, Amy, Sam, Fran, Simon, Frankie, Kevin, everyone, for the ride so far!
The Vigneron's Wife 