Eugenia Keegan

The French are a strange mix when it comes to socializing. They are very private and an invitation to dine at someone’s home is a true compliment and sign of friendship and affection. But they love to bavarder and therefore the town cafe is a marvelous source of camaraderie and information. The town of Maury is no different. Many people think that sitting around the cafe is a post card picture of sipping rose (sorry can’t do accents on this device) with a cashmere sweater draped over the shoulders, no socks and gucci loafers. BUT, at our cafe the look is more vineyard grunge. Virtually any working person in the village works either in the vineyard or the winery and after a long day in one or the other a cold beer is just as welcome. An evening at the cafe is one of the true delights of our little town. I start this short photo journey with a shot of Pierre the most generous and even keeled proprietor.

This year we had a fun group of Brits in town to intern and/or make their own wines. They added a lot of color.

I arrived in Maury to the first sounds and smells of another vendage. The whites had been picked and were just beginning their transformation into delicate and aromatic wines. There was a decided break while waiting for the reds to reach optimal flavor and phenolic ripeness. The previous year had been hot, hot, hot with six brutal weeks of temperatures in the 90’s. This year was decidedly different. The sun made only an occasional appearance and was usually accompanied by wind. I had never seen wind damage like this before where actual full sized clusters were whipped off the vine….and so close to picking time.

Two thousand and twelve was already a year where weather had battered the vines. Hail in both April and August had lightened the load considerably and there was constant pressure from oidium. I immediately made a trip to each of my little vineyards (OK, at this point NOT my vineyards due to a weird banking snafu. The money was “lost” in transit…now really Wells Fargo, I’m supposed to believe that??).

La Mouriane, the more easterly vineyard is approximately 65 years in age. The vineyard is remarkably healthy and vines have a full canopy. This is particularly important here where the sun can be intense. The shade is greatly appreciated by the clusters and the winemaker. On first tasting the berries were still fresh and full of acid with the beginning flavors of red raspberry and black currant.

The westerly vineyard, Falgauayra sits on bare schist. The vines are closer to 85 years and they show their additional age. Canopy was sparse, but still a virulent green. The crop was small but the berries were juicy and succulent with black cherry notes supported by a distinct spiciness.

The low crop made for a slow easy harvest. Each day we would pick and process with very little backup or need to push. The fruit ripened slowly due to the cool weather and cloud cover. The acids remained high and the fruit maintained a lovely freshness.

We picked my fruit on the last day of harvest, October 4th. At this point the money for the vineyard purchase still had not arrived (it was getting downright embarrassing!). I had Wells put a trace on it and miracle upon miracles it instantly was found.

The boxes of grapes were put into the cooler (a refrigerated container) overnight so we could process the fruit cold. The morning of Friday the 5th we gently placed one cluster at a time on the conveyer, through the destemmer and then the berries were dropped onto the sorting table running at a very slow speed. Practically every berry was given a little smootch on the way to the fermenter!

After a celebratory lunch Jean-Roger (who was signing for my cousin, my partner in this purchase) and I drove the short ten minutes to Estragel to the office of the notary to sign the papers.

After 36 years in the business I finally have a little piece of dirt to call my own. Happy does not come close to a proper descriptor for my feelings. Not even sure”ecstatic” is adequate!

It only took five months of licensing, contacting freight forwarders, interviewing customs brokers, and of course money for five cases of the 2010 Côtes Catalanes Old Vine Grenache Project Grenache to show up in Portland.  I am sure that sounds like a lot of time and work for five simple cases of wine to fly across the pond…and it was.  From the pickup at the warehouse in Rivesaltes it took two days to land in Vancouver BC.  Simple, no?  Then five days to find a truck to Portland, not quite as simple but finally on Wednesday the 22nd of August I was told that the wine was at Summit NW and ready for pickup…well, almost.

Naturally I was very excited to hear that the wine had finally arrived.  I had a lunch date that day and knew that it had to be a short one as I still had to drive to the airport (an hour away) and process the paperwork through customs which is just blocks from the warehouse.  I was told that I could do it myself as it was very straight forward.

Around 11:30 as I was getting ready to head to lunch David called.  He was in Portland for an appointment and when I bubbled over with the news he, as any decent loving partner would do, offered to grab the wine as he was about fifteen minutes away.  What a doll!

Of course I was not really surprised when the first call came about ten minutes into lunch.  And not really surprised at the second call, but the third, fourth, fifth…you get the idea.  Although I had been told that this was a very simple exercise in walking the paperwork over to customs to be signed off and then back to the warehouse for the wine this little exercise took over four hours!

And it included a trip to the OLCC (Oregon Liquor Control Commission)!!  This was never discussed at any time.  But there were taxes to pay, or not.  Thankfully it was David who went there as he is very well known and they took care of him right away.  I would still be sitting there waiting for my letter of approval.

The warehouse closes at 4:30 so imagine the relief at 4:20 when David arrived, with all the proper paperwork and the proper signatures and paid receipts to finally pickup the wine.  As he headed back to the dock he immediately noticed a smell that he knows and loves….yep, the sweet scent of grenache!

Seems that the warehouse guy was not the best on a forklift.

One bottle broken, eleven bottles with wine stained labels and four cases of samples to launch the search for a distribution network for OVGP.

Precious Packets of Docs

First Stop

Mug Shot Worthy of the Exercise

Hmmmmm, What Have We Here?????

First Glimpse of the Mess

More Damning Evidence

The Final Evidence!!

After 54 1/2 hours door to door (Sardinia to Newberg) I was thrilled to wash the travel grit off my tired self and flop into my own bed.  Nine hours later I was refreshed and ready to get back to work.  And although I had been “at work” while researching cannonau in Sardinia it was framed by the majestic Mediterranean.

I was reminded a couple of years ago about cannonau and the history of the Crown of Aragon who at one time was “given” the isle of Sardinia. We are told that they brought garnacha with them, although many Sardinians would beg to differ.  What there is agreement on however is that what is called cannonau in Sardinia is the same grape known as garnacha in Spain and grenache in France.  Hence, my need to explore and research.

We took the overnight ferry from Civitavecchia to Olbia, arriving in the very early morning, around 6:30.  It was a Sunday and the place was as expected very quiet.  The brilliant blue sky was a stunning wake up call, the silence almost eerie.  We meandered along the coast enjoying the beautiful Porto Cervo and were soon rewarded with a cappuccino and a brioche fresh from the oven.  It took a bit to find towels and the perfect beach but we did.  We rented an umbrella to keep the fair skinned fair and picked up a bit of sleep denied us on the boat (lack of time, not lack of sleeping quarters).  By 1:00 we were famished and found the quintessential shack on the beach…ah, but with an immaculate kitchen and a grill sizzling with the catch of the day.  We each picked a different fish, ordered a green salad, a dry vermentino, fries, and lingered over an impeccable repast.

David Boning Our Luncheon Fish

Lining Up for the Ferry to Sardinia

Darkness Descends

And the People Pile In Along with the Cars

Packed in Like Sardines!

Majestic Morning

Along the Porto Cervo 

Finding the Perfect Beach

Corsica in the Distance

SAVED from Our Tires!

Aragonese Watch Tower

Sunday in Sardinia

Since it was early in the “season” we decided to head over without the benefit of hotel reservations wanting complete freedom to explore.  We did have however some serious maps and instructions on finding Sardinia’s best wineries and vineyards.

Treasure Map handed to David in Hong Kong by Sardinian Winemaker

View from Our Hotel, Night One

Preparing Dinner

Always the Grill, Always Fresh Fish

An Ancient Nuraghe

 

Inside Cantina del Vermentino di Monti

Cork Trees Recently Harvested

Cork on Its Way to the Factory

Azienda Vitivinicola Giuseppe Gabbas

Cagliari, Capital of Sardinia

Yep, Old Vine Cannonau

Back on the Ferry

Fields of Girasole on the Road Back to Rome for the Flight Home

We were treated to a perfect week of sunshine (OK, hot…over 100 degrees) but softened by the coastal breezes.  We ate fish each day, most of it within hours of the catch.  The people were….well, Italian, and therefore friendly, helpful, and happy.

Will there be an Old Vine Grenache Project cannonau?  You can count on it!

Leaving  Collioure was not easy but the other end promised lunch and joy with the Grangeon family.  I arrived at noon to the aromas of baking.  Myriam had prepared a feast:  Pear/Walnut Salad, Roast, Pommes Frites, Fresh Beans, a Selection of Cheeses, and the wonderful smelling fruit tart.  All washed down with old vine grenache from Cristia.

It was great to get caught up.  The family was in semi-chaos as they were moving their offices into Papi’s house (which is next to the winery) and him into the old offices at the lower level under son Alain and daughter-in-law Myriam.  A smart arrangement for all but a big move for Papi…..well, everyone.

Before lunch I made a full sweep of vineyards that I know in the area.  One thing that I did see that was completely new were these small brown plastic attachments on these old vines.  I asked Alain what they were…..and was very surprised to learn that these devices have been used since the 80’s to confuse certain predators such as grape berry moths.  It made for a very lively discussion and I learned several new words!

It was a lovely way to end my stay.

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One of the Thirteen Approved Varieties for CdP….Grenache Rouge

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