AOC Saumur Le Puy Notre Dame

After much talk the arrival of the 69th AOC appellation in France is here - AOC Saumur Le Puy Notre Dame.

....and now this niche appellation can be sampled.

Join Gérald for une dégustation at Domaine de la Paleine, Le Puy Notre Dame.

And for those UK based, contact Simon at Ten Green Bottles.

The Vines Winter 'spring clean'

Arriving hand-in-hand with the colder weather is the winter spring clean of the vines.

From now until February there is much to do in the vines and vineyards in preparation for next spring.

To ensure each vine reaches her full fruiting potentional her stems are cut leaving one long stem and a smaller back up should a late frost next year bite hard.

Dead vines are uprooted, to be replaced at a later date and the high wires which once supported the vines fruits are removed.

The vines new look is a dramatic one !

Beaujolais Nouveau 2008

Yesterday Augustin saw in his first Beaujolais Nouveau and showing all the signs of a vigneron in the making, he was eager to participate in the fun.

Although for this year and for many years to come, it was only Mama et Papa Beaumont who sampled the wines.

Harvest 2008 ends

Havest 2008 was a little longer than usual and this week saw les vendanges draw to a close.

Here Gérald is busy cutting and collecting the last of this years grapes.

France says 'NO' to the proposed censorships

The past week has seen wine makers all over France protesting over the French Governments new proposal to restrict wine tastings at wine fairs & wine festivals, dégustations on their premises and restrictions on wine being offered free for promotional purposes.

If this new law is past France could possibly see an end to one of its longest traditions, sampling wine at a vineyard.

To date the vignerons are saying 'NO' to this censorship and due to their number and power we remain optimistic no change will be made.

Les Vendanges 2008

Two weeks ago the grape picking harvest of 2008 got underway at the Domaine.

Keeping with tradition, the wine pressing started with the Chenin and Chardonnay grapes which will produce the sparkling Crémant de Loire wines.

Harvest over the next few days will concentrate on the picking of the Cabernet Franc grape, the pressing of which will be used for the rosé and sparkling rosé wines.

Since pressing began wine makers have noted a similarity between the 2008 and 2006 vintages.