Maison Des Bulliats

Because of our new style of management we will have double the quantity of wine for 2007, too much too soon, although our sales are increasing and our market is broadening. We decided to approach our closest cooperative in Quincie with a view to selling some of our harvest in grapes. After some effort a rendezvous was made with the president. After sitting in a waiting area for some minutes we were finally summoned in to a large rather bare office where sat M. Lacondomine. He greated us warmly, and seem quite excited by our ‘Englishness’ and the possibility of us being helpful in supporting the developing effort to increase the sale of Beaujolais in the UK. After much discussion and a meeting with the Director and a representative from an organisation who concentrated on the marketing of the wines from the cooperative, also keen to have us involved, an arrangement was made for an oenologue [a grape science expert] to visit us and our vines tomorrow. She will meet with D who has been treating the vines for us, when needed, since May. We have no doubt that they will be happy, We have extremely well situated vines that have been expertly trimmed and cared for, and no weeds and grass between the rows. In the meantime notices have been posted in our search for vendangeurs who do not need accomodation or food, called ‘ A la grande journee’. In other words local people some of whom organise themselves into teams with a leader, others are just individuals seeking casual work. Since the adverts went in or up the phone has kept ringing, we struggle to listen to mubbled numbers and names on the answer phone and reply to them and those who email us.We interview a local Monsieur who gathers his extended family around for the harvest time and makes up a team of 20. Do we go for him and a ready made team, or try to gather together enough totally disperate individuals? how on earth will this be sorted? to arrange for the right number of people ready to start work on an indeterminable date, to complete all the paper work associated with their employment…. It seems the whole of the wine producing community in Beaujolais, where the tradition and the law is that the grapes must be hand-picked, dread this time, even the most experienced, but the grapes will be picked, it will happen! I spend a morning tidying the edges of the rose beds by the vines closest to the house, perhaps, I have to say, to impress the visitors from the cooperative on friday. In a short time it looks neat, the tall frondy toadflax with its thankfully shallow roots and the yellow yarrow that have been so invasive due to all the rain, are removed. A quick check on the vegetable patch where my aubergine plants are showing off their beautiful purple bell shaped flowers, and then we relax with dinner, baked salmon on a bed of tomatoes and courgettes, puy lentils and a basil pesto dressing with of course a bottle of our Regnie. This fine Beaujolais accompanies a fish dish just as perfectly as meat. The President invited us to a degustation after our meeting, with love and true passion he described the pleasure of first enjoying the colour of the wine, our Regnie displays clear vibrant reds and shades of violet. Then the ‘nose’ and all the complexities of fruit and minerals, sometimes more blackberry than cassis, the intoxicating first aromas as the glass is swirled and swished before the senses, and then, no disappointment, the taste is the summing up of all those delights that can be savoured from tip of tongue to back of throat. Beaujolais it seems to me has a generous personality, cleverly, yet easily adapting to and complimenting the flavours of its favourite companion, food.

One of the most difficult decisions we had to make whilst almost drowning in administration, learning all we could about the wine business, and furnishing the house from scratch, was how did we want our label to look? Soon our 2005 fine Beaujolais wine must be bottled and we needed a label fast! Within the time constraints we researched as much as possible. It seemed that a large percentage of the wine buying public made their selection based on firstly price, secondly the label, thirdly the grape variety or ‘cepage’ [they looked for a Merlot or a Shiraz for example] familiarly displayed on the New World wine labels, a marketing angle, and we are used to seeing it. For me the country, land and climate where the grapes are grown makes all the difference to the subtleties of flavour Sadly at the bottom of the list was how the wine tastes! Gamay, our grape variety, is not grown significantly anywhere outside this region, we decided to put it on our label and it was now legally permitted to do so in Beaujolais. There are of course those who do have a great deal of expertise, and make their choice based on knowledge and a genuine appreciation of quality, who might also learn and take advise from their wine merchant or wine club, show interest in where the wine comes from and how it is made. Many of the New World wines have modern and often abstract designs and bold colour. Our wine is traditionally made, we wanted to suggest this through the concept that we chose. I worked closely with Fran who cleverly created our first traditional style label. We investigated cost, quantity, the significance of the number of colours, and were recommended a printer in Montagny. With great excitment we were present on the factory floor when the first samples were being run through the machines. Now, a year on, we have continued to learn and develop our ideas as we began to establish our market and listen to the views of our customers. Through Fred’s family in Canada we were able to find an agent in Alberta we take on board the preferences of the North American culture as well as needing to conform, in Canada, to the dual language laws. During the past weeks we have been working with our printer to refine and remodel our label for the 2006 bottles. We have used the same image, the attractive classic ‘maison de Maitre’ house surrounded by vines but with a little more style and a touch of gold. The proofs should be with us any day now. We have three beautiful, elegant poplar trees on our property. One perfect evening I walk through the garden with a fold-up stool and basket containing my precious water colours pens and pastels. On my way to find the right spot to capture the scene I reach up and gather some cherries from the tree, growning with the bright red jewels, to refresh me as I concentrate on my task, when completed it might just become another label idea for the future.

While we organise our new style of management the demands for our wine continue. We have the transporters set up to pick up a palet for England. John came for a glass of Regnie and ended up helping label and box the order, a tremendous help. Fred and I take about two hours plus to prepare 600 bottles. It makes a huge difference to have a helper!

 

 

 

We came across seven Canadian cyclists one day and invite them back to Maison des Bulliats for a degustation. They greatly appreciated both our 2005 and 2006 Regnie. We sat on the verandah in beautiful sunshine. Fred was born in Canada and we enjoyed their visit. I made a cake from a recipe given to me by a dear friend in the Auvergne which I will put on my recipe blog if I ever get a minute….

Soon after their departure a British couple, who had been given our name by a frenchman living in Wales… called in and tasted the two millisimes and delighted bought some cases of each.

Twenty cases were picked up for Brittany today. The paperwork has to be completed the address labels printed and affixed to each box [thanks to Catherines expert instruction during a visit here last year] I was reasonably computer literate for the needs of my previous lifes work as a university lecturer, but we have had to grapple with photoshop and, blind leading the blind rather, we have had to computer generate tariff lists, brochures, excel sheets etc.

The cherries are ready in spite of violent storms during several nights, there has been enough sun and I bottled six jars to enjoy during next winter and made pots of cherry jam and a cherry cake for my birthday tomorrow. Fernand came by this afternoon to kindly spray my tomatoes with sulphur against mildew [a treatment he would also use for the vines after rain] I gave him some cherries with which Christianne will make a clarfouti, a delicious french desert traditionally made with unstoned cherries baked in the oven in a sweet pancake type batter.

Fred, when weather has permitted been fixing the brakes on G’s Bentley. Tired but satisfied with the days achievements we share a bottle of our 2006 Regnie, which went divinely with the pizzas I made with dough I make from flour milled in the Auvergne and topping from all the delicious little bits of cheese left over, from local goat to Auvergne cantal, strewn with torn basil leaves picked from a pot on the verandah.

It has been a little quiet on the blog recently but we have been extremely active! We are managing the vineyard in a different way now, which means that we will have even more delicious fine Beaujolais wine for sale in 2007. However we need to employ more people and invest in some new equipment to prepare for the next harvest and onwards. Remember that Beaujolais grapes are hand picked and come the vendange the landscape will be strewn with teams of workers picking, tractors, trailers laden with grapes, the to-ing and fro-ing of traffic from field to cuvage and hard, heavy duty labour of lifting, pulling, cleaning, sorting, leading up to the fine art of the wine making, which yeast? how much sugar? When to heat?When to press? You will hear lots more of this towards the end of August. We have to put in place the team; meeting people, asking questions, numerous phonecalls, interviewing. Our friends have been invaluable such as John and J.P [over the memorable spag bol dinner in Lantignie] Our friends in Morgon who have been a huge support and encouragement providing us with contacts and possible personel. V and G from the nearby chateau de La Terriere called in one evening, we chatted over a glass or two of our 2006 and nibbled on wild boar saucisson and home made chicken liver pate made with apple and regnie and herbs….. We learn where to go to find our grape picking workforce, in previous years arranged by Fernand and his wife. Meanwhile the cherries are nearly ripe for picking and I make streamers from tin foil so the birds will not take all.