Afternoon of wine tasting

After class today some of us headed out for a wine tasting tour. Our first stop was Chateau Raspail in Gigondas where we tried some Chateauneuf-du-Pape (which is an apellation controlee, so there are several vintners who can use this appellation) and Cotes du Rhone Village plan de Dieu. I discovered that there are some reds that I like, not like all of the really heavy ones I have tried in the U.S. Here are a few pictures of the tasting and the "chateau" which was built in late 1800s:. FYI red wine should be kept/served between 57 and 61 degrees and to give it air, you should pour it into a decanter 20-30 mins before serving making sure to swish it around when pouring so that all of the wine gets air, not just the first glass at the top of the bottle.

Next we stopped at a wine "museum" where there was a sensory exhibit to show how wine was made, etc. Not really interesting at all, except for a few of the signs:

Then we were off to Caveau Domaine Mousset where we got an extremely technical explanation about the wines, how they are made and how they should be served.  You will notice that the vines (the ones in the following pictures are specifically grenache which don't need any kind of support to grow) grow in fields of rock. These rocks were carried here from the Alps during the last ice age. There is about 6 feet of rock on top of red clay, which keeps the heat pretty even between day and night for the grapes, which makes it ideal for growing. If you want more technical info, I'll give it to you when I get home (if I still remember it then). Here we were taught how to properly hold a wine glass, how to smell it and look at it's color, and lastly taste it, which, as the expert put it, is the least important of the senses....only serving to confirm what we discovered from its smell and color. (Don't I sound cultured????)



The ruins in the background are the Chauteanuef chateau, which the Germans blew up when retreating to Germany when WW II ended.

Here you can see the 6 feet of rock through which the grapes grow. The red clay underneath holds water which slowly rises to the top to keep the plant watered. Irrigation is prohibited for this appellation. Also, the wine expert says that when grapes are watered, the fruit becomes too large and juicy, which then affects the balance of the wine since there is too much water in the fruit.

 some grenache grapes. They will be ready to be picked by HAND, another requirement of the appellation, sometime between the middle and end of September, depending on how the weather goes.

Last stop, the ruins of the chateau of Chateauneuf-du-pape, and a few pictures of the very picturesque village:

A really nice way to spend the afternoon!