Climate Change Even Impacts Wine

In one of their many campaigns highlighting the deleterious effects of climate change, Greenpeace France is bringing the message home to lovers of wine – by showing the effects of climate change on the precious French wine industry.

French winemakers have been observing warmer temperatures, translating to earlier harvest times, and sweeter, less acidic grapes, which all affect the final product. For a downloadable PDF version of the Greenpeace report on Climate Change Impacts on French Viticulture go to http://www.greenpeace.org/france/campagnes/energie-et-climat/documents and then choose: changementsclimatiquesimpactsviticulturefrance (please note: the report is in French).

The Greenpeace campaign was highlighted at the recent Paris Independent Winemakers Fair (Salon des Vignerons Independents) held twice a year in late November and March, where over 1000 French independent vintners display their wares – a mere 6 euros gains you entry to this wine extravaganza. If you can’t make it to Paris, but want to experience the wine fair there are also events in other cities during other months – Rennes end of January, Strasbourg mid February, Lyon early March, Bordeaux mid March, and then Paris again at the end of March. Website for the Vignerons Independents can be found at: http://www.vigneron-independant.com.

Some of the independent vintners work with conventional grapes, others with organic. France has a dedicated and growing organic viticulture movement, with currently over 68,000 acres in organic grape production and an additional almost 33,000 acres in transition to organic. Wine industry professionals can learn more about these organic vineyards and wines at the “world trade fair” for organic wines, Millésime Bio.

The seventeenth annual Millésime Bio will be held January 25-27, 2010 in Montpellier, France. This is where wine buyers from around the world can sample a variety of organic wines in one place. Most of the wines – about 75% - are from France, with the remaining 25% from around the world with the greatest representation from Spain and Italy, with one or two samplings each from South Africa, Germany, Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Romania Switzerland and the USA.
 

It would be a tragedy if France, or other countries, were no longer able to produce wonderful varieties of wines due to rising temperatures and other climate changes. Help keep the environmental impact of viticulture low by consuming and supporting organic vineyards and wineries - there are plenty and more available every day!

Chozas Carrascal Organic Pago in Requena Spain

The Chozas Carrascal winery is in the tradition of a Pago (the Spanish version of a French Chateau) with an old traditional house built in 1880, and a newly built winery, cave and tasting room adjacent, surrounded by almost one hundred acres of organic vineyards in the Utiel-Requena D.O.

The vines at Chozas Carrascal are big bush vines that are also trellised (usually vineyards use either bush vines or trellised vines). They were the first to bring this practice to the area in 1992 - it allows the plant density to be increased two-fold, ideal for a vineyard focusing on low yield but high quality.

The vineyard combines a variety of grapes, both native and foreign. The grape varieties grown are eight red and three white: Bobal, Monastrell, Tempranillo, Garnacha (Spanish for Grenache), Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Macabeo.

Delightful and informative Xesco, the master winemaker at Chozas uses innovative winemaking techniques to produce the nine signature wines of Chozas Carrascal including their own delicious Cava, produced the same way as Champagne with a second fermentation in the bottle, but due to the politics of the wine market, only Champagne from Champagne can be called such – it is often thought as a generic term for sparkling wine, but in fact it is closer to a brand name and can only be afforded to sparking wines from the Champagne region of France. Chozas Cava is delicious and a bargain at 11 euros a bottle.

Most of the Chozas wines are blends of the grape varieties with the exception of El Dulce made with only Garnacha and the Cabernet Franc made solely from Cabernet Franc. Seasoned wine drinkers will know that Cabernet Sauvignon, a very popular red wine and grape was developed by crossbreeding the white Sauvignon Blanc with the “black” Cabernet Franc. The less trendy pure Cabernet Franc makes for a delicious, dry, deep wine.

All the wines are fermented in traditional vats – the reds in concrete and the whites in stainless steel- and then aged in French oak barrels. Produced ecologically from the start, Chozas wines will all be fully certified organic as of 2010.

Chozas Carrascal makes for a wonderful visit. They have a magnificent tasting room, and the vineyards are impressive – and all part of the tour.

Chozas Carrascal, San Antonio, Requena, (Valencia); Tel: 963 410 395; Email: chozas@chozascarrascal.es; Web: http://www.chozascarrascal.es

 

Aranleon - Organic Wine from Los Marcos Spain

Dating from 1927, the old, white tile-lined winery is still in use at the bright Bodega Aranleon. A modern cave and wine tasting addition has been added inconspicuously to the original building. The grapes - native Bobal, Tempranillo, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon - are all organically grown on close to one hundred acres, and they have been fully certified since 2007. Aged in Hungarian, French and North American oak barrels, Aranleon handcrafts three signature red wines from their own organic grapes - Solo, El Arbol Blanco, and Seleccion - as well as offering some wines made for them at other wineries. Do not be mislead by the name of El Arbol Blanco- while it means The White Tree, it is indeed a red wine. Tolkien fans will recognize the reference to the White Tree of Gondor from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

They also offer a special wine called Junts, made in cooperation with a total of eight wineries in the Valencia region. The proceeds from this wine, the most expensive one they sell at 18 euros a bottle, go to support aid work in India. The Junts label says it is “40% Solidaridad, 40% Ilusion, and 20% Amistad.” Translated this means 40% Solidarity, 40% Hope, 20% Friendship.

In addition to the Junts wine, much at Aranleon seems to be done with a big heart and with a dedication to community. The winery has been designed to be fully accessible for anyone with disabilities, and the crowning touch is that their labels are printed in Braille in addition to regular type. The employees are appreciated and acknowledged for their contributions and from all accounts it is a business run in a warm and spirited fashion.

The three Aranleon signature wines are from the D.O. of Utiel-Requena. You can find Aranleon in the town of Los Marcos, southwest of Utiel and about 100 kilometers due west of Valencia city. Aranleon wines offer incredible value as their prices range from 5 to 18 euros and all are delightful. Aranleon is definitely worth a visit if you are traveling in the Valencia area – stop by their lovely tasting room and try any of their delicious wines.

Bodega Aranleon, Ctra. De Caudete s/n, 46310 Los Marcos (Valencia); Tel: 902 023 069; Email: vinos@aranleon.com; Web site: www.Aranleon.com

Late Breaking Information - How to Open a Wine Bottle with Your Shoe!

I had to add this link to the wine blog as it is really quite amazing how the man in the video opens a bottle of wine with his shoe since there is no available cork screw on the street... and of course he is French!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/04/drunk-frenchman-opens-bot_n_345345.html

I would try with great caution if you want to attempt this a home, and maybe try it with a shoe you don't really care about.

Organic Wine from the Sandy Vineyard in San Juan

Dominio del Arenal is in San Juan, Spain in the wine-making region of Utiel-Requena, and is situated half way between those two towns about one hour due west of Valencia city. The vineyard is fifty miles from the sea and sits twenty six hundred feet above sea level by the river Magro. Arenal means sand in Spanish and the vineyard gets its name from when tons of sand was imported to the vineyard to successfully fight phylloxera, an aphid-like grapevine blight that spread through Europe in the early 1900s.

Dominio del Arenal makes eight red wines using Shiraz, Bobal and Tempranillo grapes, and one white wine made with Macabeo grapes. All the grapes are manually harvested.

Cerrado del Espino is the organic wine from Dominio del Arenal made with 100% Tempranillo grapes. Cerrado del Espino, a delicious, black cherry colored wine, is smooth and dry. Cerrado del Espino is certified organic by the Comite d’Agricultura Ecologica de la Comunitat Valenciana.

Unlike many Spanish vineyards, the Website of Dominio del Arenal is available in English so you can easily read about their wines in more depth. Dominio del Arenal, 46390 San Juan (Requena); Tel: 962 320 001; Email: info@ dominiodelarenal.com; Web: http://www.dominiodelarenal.com/ingles/home.htm

Biodynamic Chenin Blanc in the Pays de la Loire

Biodynamic farming is based on the agricultural philosophies of Rudolf Steiner, father of anthroposophy and Waldorf-Steiner education. While biodynamic farming includes organic farm management practices, i.e., not utilizing synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, it also uses specially prepared, natural treatments, incorporating natural rhythms and cycles of the moon and sun, light and warmth. See the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association Website for more detailed information about biodynamic agriculture.

As with the Denominacion de Origin in Spain, France has the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC), a French certification granted to wines and other agricultural products.

In Faye D’Anjou in the Pays de la Loire region of France you can find close to fifteen acres planted with vines of Chenin Blanc grapes tended organically and biodynamically at Domaine de Juchepie.

The vineyard was created in 1986 and is recognized under the Appellation Coteaux du Layon-Faye. The vines are forty years old on average with the oldest dating from 1911. Organic since 1994, harvesting is done by hand, and the wine is fermented without adding sugar or yeast.

They make mostly sweet wines, with the exception of "J" The Sec Juchepie Appellation Anjou dry, made from 100% Chenin Blanc. Their Quarter Juchepie, Churelles, and Quintessence are sweet wines. The Passion is a dessert wine. They do not enter their wines into competitions. The wines are available in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands where there is a good demand for biodynamic products. Otherwise the only way to buy them is to go to the vineyard, but call or email first to make an appointment.

Domaine de Juchepie, Les Quarts, 49380 Faye D’Anjou; Tel: 02 4154 3347; Email: contact@juchepie.com; Web: www.juchepie.com.

See the Green Earth Guides~Traveling Naturally post about a vegetarian bed & breakfast and other sites an hour or so from this vineyard.

Trois Terres - Award Winning Organic Wine from France

Trois Terres is a small organic vineyard in Octon, due west of Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. The vines are in nine different plots totaling almost ten acres.

Graeme and Alice Angus started the vineyard ten years ago to fulfill a dream of producing delicious wines. Graeme is a part-time doctor, Alice is an agricultural economist.

Trois Terres, produces two red wines employing Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsault grapes. La Minérale is a wine made mostly with Syrah with up to twenty percent Grenache. Trois Terres is somewhat the opposite, being made predominantly with Grenache with up to thirty percent Syrah.

While they have a tractor for plowing weeds, most of the vineyard work is done by hand. The vineyard has practiced organic farming methods since its inception, but only started the process of becoming certified a year ago, so while organic, the wines do not yet carry the French AB - Agriculture Biologique certification logo on their labels. They will be fully certified in 2012.

The wines have won distinguished awards, the most recent being one of the gold medals at the International Wine Challenge 2009 for the Trois Terres Grenache.  This wine also won a gold medal in 2007. Both achievements are considered particularly notable as the Angus’ are British, but make French wine in France -- something the French are trying to adjust to.

All bottles regardless of vintage sell for 9 euros and magnums are 20 euros. Currently you can only buy the wine at the vineyard or at a few select stores and restaurants in the area including in Clermont L’Herault about a twenty-minute drive from Octon and due west of Montpellier. Repounchou, a shop in the village of Octon, sells the wine as well.

Trois Terres, Rue de la Vialle, 34800 Octon; Tel: 04 67 44 71 22; Mobile: 06 15 16 92 68; Email : contact@trois-terres.com; Web: http://www.trois-terres.com

Trois Terres is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm; Saturday from 3:00 to 6:00 pm or any other days by appointment.