Europe Sabbatical

We had time to kill before we needed to board the van that would take us out to the vineyards, so we hopped back on the bikes and rode up to a lake on the north end of Bordeaux and had lunch.

Once it was time, we hopped on the bus and started the 45 minute drive out to Château de La Dauphine. Our driver and guide was impressively knowledgeable, so the drive itself was enjoyable and we learned a fair bit about the land, local winemakers, and business.

At the Château/vineyard, we got to see the Château itself, which was a very old building that had been abandoned/looted and then restored by the previous owner. We walked over to a plot of the actual vines, and learned about the upkeep, growth, and harvest. This year many vineyards lost a sufficient portion of their yield due two days of frost, but the place we were touring only lost about 10%. Since then, the weather has been great, hot and dry (the vines should struggle for water), so it's looking like it'll be a good year if things continue for the next two months until it is time for harvest. They only have 10 people working the several hundred acre land year round, with another 50 seasonal workers for a three week harvest. They run an organic operation, so they're constantly on the lookout for disease or bug infestations to contain and prevent further spread.

From there we moved on to where they press and ferment. They have a state of the art gravity fed system, which is very atypical for the region. They explained how the seeds and skins rise to the top, and they run the juice through it twice a day for ~three weeks, giving the wine it's color and tannins.

Then we saw the barrel storage area, and learned about the different barrel vendors and toasting levels that are used.

At the end of the process, they end up with 100,000 of their 'first wine' - the one they get to name after their Château, and another 50,000 of their 'second wine'.

We finished off the tour with a game of trying to guess several vials of different extracts by smell. The correct answers were Strawberry, Smoke, Vanilla, and Cherry. We got two of four right (way off on Cherry, but super close on smoke -- we thought it was either smoke or tobacco). They served us a glass of their second and first wine, imparting the methods of viewing, nosing, and tasting them.

We hopped back in the van and role to another, more modest Château. We tasted the grapes there, had another few glasses as well as some bread/cheese/meat/chocolate.

Finally, we took a short trip to the nearby town of St. Emillion, named after a hermit monk and walked through the cathedral and town. The cobblestones were a bit treacherous after the wine, but we both made it without any new cuts or bruises.Read more