[Photo report] French vineyards tour episode #6 – Beaujolais & Burgundy

Travels never go as planned, for the best though. We are going to tell you the story of our recent road trip in Beaujolais and Burgundy (and tell you about the things we planned but didn’t do)

To discover, in the best conditions, those two regions we only knew from a few bottles of wine, we made ourselves a full program: going to conferences and wine tastings around Gamay, meeting Beaujolais vignerons (the Chasselay family), participating in a great Beaujolais wine fair (“Bien Boire en Beaujolais”) and working with vignerons in Beaujolais and Burgundy.

[Video] French vineyards tour episode #6 – Road trip in Beaujolais & Burgundy

[Photo report] French vineyards tour episode #5 – Jura

A thousand kilometres separated us from Lons-le-Saunier (Jura), where the twentieth “Percée du Vin Jaune” (Yellow Wine) occurred on the 6th and 7th of February 2016.

Driving 2000 kilometres return trip to attend a two-days wine event? Yes, it can look a bit strange, but this article will pierce the mystery while telling you about the extraordinary weekend we spent in Jura!

The discovery of the biggest wine event in France (60,000 visitors, 700 volunteers, 70 winemakers), has been made possible thanks to Rouge Granit, a French press agency based in Lyon.

The program was very dense: a huge banquet fed by traditions, a meticulous food & wine tasting hosted by three”Best French Craftsmen”, an auction full of history, secrets but crowded wine cellars, a traditional diner supervised by great winemakers and a wonderful ceremony blessed by Bacchus himself.

[Video] Zoom on pruning in Loire valley’s vineyards

[Photo report] French vineyards tour episode #4 – Savennières (Loire valley)

 

After participating to late harvest and bottling process in Anjou last November, Wine Citizens continues its French vineyards tour with the pruning in Savennières (Loire valley) at Domaine du Closel.

What has convinced us to stop there? The familial dimension of the winery that has belonged to the same family for many generations; Evelyne de Pontbriand’s will to work in a biodynamic way for many years; the prestige of the Savennières appellation which produces among the best white wines in Loire valley and finally the motivation and passion of its new head of culture, Geoffroi Cocard.

Ok, let’s discover it in photos!

[Video] French vineyards tour episode #3 – Anjou (Loire valley)

[Photo report] French vineyards tour episode #3 – Anjou (Loire valley)

After a first stop in Roussillon (South of France), the Wine Citizens adventure is going on in Loire Valley! Discover below the photo report of the step #3 in our French vineyards tour at Domaine Pithon Paille!

[Video] French vineyards tour episode #2 – Maury (Roussillon)

[Photo report] French vineyards tour episode #2 – Maury (Roussillon)

Discover the 2nd part of our photographic report in Maury. Thanks again to Mas Janeil’s teams where we stayed a few days.

[Video] French vineyards tour episode #1 – Maury (Roussillon)