Eugenia Keegan

It’s the new year and time to climb out from under the proverbial rock and start sprouting some buds (you can just smell spring can’t  you?).  Thankfully, with all the heavy equipment available it is now possible to build a full life under that rock so lots of great things have been going on preparing for the next stage of this journey.  But before we discuss the future…..

OMG, I just looked at my blog and now realize that my last post was before harvest!   Of course there was a trip to France for vendange.  With the Oregon harvest so late and Europe’s so early, it was a great year for Oregonians to head to Burgundy to rekindle old friendships and check out what the French have been doing.  The opportunity segued perfectly into my harvest trip so David and I left on the last day of August and had a couple of perfect weeks to assess firsthand the 2011 French harvest.  We started in Champagne, through Burgundy, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and finally in Maury, Roussillon.

In fact the harvest did not start quite as early as feared because July was cool and wet.  This pushed the ripening back certainly two and up to three weeks.  It also increased the threat of botrytis rot as the rains continued throughout the month.  We did see a lot of that, and as expected some wineries were more aggressive about culling in the vineyard, and in the winery as clusters were dumped onto sorting tables.

Harvest on the Côte des Blancs

Dumping Pinot Noir Fruit at Domaine Drouhin in Burgundy

Sorting Fruit at Domaine Drouhin

I then put David on an airplane for the east coast of the US.  We had to switch his city of departure to follow up on a business meeting in Champagne, which gave us a free day on the way to Paris.  What better way to enjoy a quiet weekday than in the gardens of Giverny.

First Things First: Lunch

And Then a Stroll Through the Gardens

We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport late so I opened the door and booted David out of the car and raced back to Chateauneuf-du-Pape to work a week in the cellars of Domaine de Cristia.  Michel from Paris returned for crush and we enjoyed the addition of a young intern from Alsace, (we are pictured together on my twitter profile, @grenachegal).  From there I headed back to Maury to harvest with Jean-Roger and Marie Calvet.  I can’t believe that there are not a bunch of pictures (maybe I was working??) but in fact most of the camera work was a camcorder.  The video is in production.

We brought the last fruit in on the 7th of October and I returned home.  Harvest in Oregon was still two weeks away so there is absolutely no excuse for why I did not open ALL of my mail that had been delivered while I was away.  So I was more than a bit stunned when I finally opened what I thought was some routine notice from the company that managed the rental of my home in Napa.  Ahhhh, my tenant had given notice on the first of October and in a week the house was mine again.  He had lived there four years to the day and was mostly a dream.  I had made the decision to sell the house and headed down to Napa at my first opportunity to view the property.  The inside of the house, which is rather fragile (all wood and glass) was in absolutely immaculate shape.  The outside, not so much.

We loaded up a van with furniture and artwork, all originally from the house (and living either with us or with friends) and had a harrowing ride from Portland to Napa through snow and sleet.  We arrived in the wee hours of the morning but were up early and had the house staged by mid day.  After a couple of days of work on the exterior (David is mean with a power washer!) David headed home and I continued to labor.  After a couple of additional trips down the house was ready for its first of two open houses on the 6th and 8th of December.  We received offers each day, were in escrow by the 12th and closed on the 6th of January.  Yep, that fast.  I had thought it would take four to six months.  The house is very special, but small, not for a family and does not appeal to everyone.  On the other hand it is an architectural designed house of glass and redwood and is snuggled amongst dozens of oaks on a knoll overlooking the Napa Valley on a small piece of heaven.  It is probably best that it happened this way hoping that it was less painful (I am thinking of that swift removal of the bandaid).  I made my final trip (five round trips by car in six weeks!!) down the week between Xmas and New Years.  The house is famous for its ability to throw a party so that seemed the logical conclusion to twenty years of loveliness.  These gatherings were a tad different since I had almost nothing for entertaining.  They quickly became BYOP parties….that is bring your own plate….and silverware, and napkin, and wine glass……    The result was an array of eclectic table settings adding a festive feel.  We partied straight on through to the morning of the First.  My brother and nephew arrived around 8:30, we loaded the van and off we headed, back to Oregon.  Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I said goodbye to my beloved tree house.

Southwest Corner of the Greatroom

December Sunset Back Deck

From there, it has been full court press on…….yes, the Old Vine Grenache Project.    Label is done, biz cards are printed, facebook page is happening.  The website is a ways off.

Saturday we are off to northern Europe working on distribution opportunities for Adelsheim Vineyard and then to Prowein, the largest wine trade show in the world.  Then I am off to Maury to put the first wine in the bottle.  Wine always takes so long from idea to glass but somehow the day arrives and mine is right around the corner!  YIPPEE!

Front Label

Back Label

After the bottling in Maury I will head south to Spain to search for more grape sources in the famed old vine grenache growing area of Navarra, Campo de Borja, and Monstant/Priorat.  Should be fun.

I should be apologizing repeatedly for not posting for ages, but something keeps me from getting this done (the posting, not the apologizing!). Not sure why. I am always pleased after I have chronicled what I am doing. But then there is this nagging sense that my days have no significance and this is egotistical bullcrap. Either way, I do enjoy it once I put my focus heretois*.

After working on the pruning videos I realized that the two styles of pruning shown were very useful and applied to many situations, but were not specific to the so-called premise of this exercise, Old Vine Grenache. The older bush pruned or spur pruned vines are fundamentally handled the same, but the look is very different. I asked my good friend (with whom I am having dinner this very evening….might be just the kick in the tuchus that I needed to post), if he would kindly help me demonstrate pruning for the style of growing common to most old vines (not just grenache).

Here is Jean-Marc Espinasse of Domaine Rouge-Bleu (http://rouge-bleu.com) with a demonstration of head/spur pruning in his outrageous Old Vine Grenache vineyard, Lunatique (the sound is a bit rough but the images are lovely; listen carefully for a first class pruning lesson):

*hertois: some knockoff of the legalese heretofore, heretowith, etc. But here, is is is.

I received an email from a dear friend with whom I have travelled to France on more than one occasion (including last spring).  Her French is very good, but she too is a bit timid launching into the language. However having said that, we ALWAYS called upon and counted on Dana whenever we needed something really important (like reservations at a three star restaurant or a famous wine estate).   She never let us down.

In her email she asked, “So, how’s your French?  Let me put it right out there that without any qualification:  My cellar French is exceptional!  As those words hardly work elsewhere, what happens outside the cellar?  What I have learned more than anything else is a level of confidence that allows me to openly bastardize this beautiful language without much shame.  I am over being timid.  In fact, recently when asked to repeat my order to a somewhat intoxicated hanger on at a small bar in Béziers I answered in French, “Just for you sir I will repeat myself very slowly.  This might help you (gesture here) understand”. My glass of wine and sandwich arrived promptly.

This is my last post from France for this trip.  My plane leaves in a couple of hours.  A post script from stateside is forthcoming.  Á tout á l’heure!

Although the day was filled with treasured sentiment the evening was filled with good cheer.  Dominique invited a dozen or so friends and family from the area to her home and a celebration of everything important ensued.  Champagne flowed, loads of goodies made it to the table and we drank, laughed, chatted, and danced the evening away.  The courtyard held its own magic as the party moved from inside to out.  It was a lovely, soft Indian summer evening that lingered into the wee hours of the morning.  I even made my first official joke in French (yes, they laughed)!

My original plan had me leaving around 8 or 9 in the morning.  In fact I left after another superb lunch lovingly served by Myriam.  Roussillon calls.

The Aftermath

The First Sink Full

A Last Look

Friday was my final day working in the cave at Domaine de Cristia.  The winemaking experience was fantastic of course.  I was given every opportunity to observe the vineyards, their individual terroir, the fruit as it arrived to the cellar and then to work with the juice/wine over my ten days.  Baptiste and his father were incredibly helpful in explaining their methods and techniques (some of them very old world and some very modern) and Alain was ever ready to share with me his library of winemaking books and internet articles offering evidence of support for this decision or that.

Further, I was introduced to scores of winemakers from the area who also opened their cellars and their ideas for my further edification.  I not only felt a part of the winemaking community of CNdP but became increasing close to the Grangeon family.

Both of Dominique’s grandparents (her father’s father Etienne, and her mother’s mother Coulette) joined us for lunch and coffee on my final day.  When leaving to return to the cellar after lunch and taking a few extra moments to say my goodbyes I became overwhelmed with emotion.  In fact, I had to depart rather quickly rather than suffer a complete meltdown.   Etienne asked me to join him for a moment at his home (which is directly next door to the cave) on my return to work.  I did so and was again overtaken by emotion.  He showed me a decoration that he had put together for the millennium welcoming in the new century.  It consisted of a grapevine designed as a tree announcing the births of his children and grandchildren.  There was other memorabilia resting on the table creating a very personal display.  He then offered me a copy of a poem that he had written for the occasion.  It was titled the ‘four seasons’ and outlined for him the significance of each with respect to the growing of the vines.  His final words to me were, “my great passion in life is my vines, my great honor in life is that my children and grandchildren continue to work them”.  I tried to hide my falling tears as I returned to the cellar to continue his work.

Etienne Joseph Grangeon, "Papé"

Papé would ride his bike over several times a day to check up on us.  I always saved my sweetest kisses for him.