Vouvray and Montlouis: can we help?

 The new François Chidaine winery under construction: 

early April 2013 in Husseau

The underground section of the winery: October 2012

Following Monday's devastating hail storm in Vouvray here are three articles here, here and here urging us to do what we can to help. Although the hail only lasted 15 minutes or so, its effects may well be long lasting affecting not only this vintage but the next as well. The French Minister of Agriculture has offered assistance and while financial aid will doubtless be welcome it won't replace markets that may well be lost through a lack of wine to sell.

 

It will hit young vignerons just starting out but may also well hit established growers who have embarked on projects requiring significant funding. If a business is to progress it must invest and to be hit by two very difficult years climatically is very tough. One example highlighted today is François Chidaine (Montlouis, Vouvray and Touraine) hit in 2012 and now again in 2013. We have to hope that his bankers will continue to support him as the Loire needs high quality producers like François.

 

Unfortunately the bad news does not stop there with reports and photos today of heavy downpours and flooding in Chinon and elsewhere ... and we are still waiting for the flowering to start as we move closer to July.  

 

 

Visit last Friday to Fiona Beeston at the Clos des Capucins, Chinon

Fiona Beeston in the grounds of the Clos des Capucins 

with the Château de Chinon and River Vienne in background  

One of the four small plots that make up the Clos des Capucins

Château de Chinon in background (above and below)

 

View down to Vienne from the Clos

Last Friday was the second time I had been to the Clos des Capucins. I went there first in March 2009 with Christophe Baudry soon after it had been bought by Baudry-Dutour. At that time they had plans to develop the house into a visitors' centre and to hold summer concerts in the grounds. Following their acquisition of Château la Grille, the Clos des Capucins was sold to Fiona in September 2010. She made her first vintage in 2011.

Fiona has had an interesting and varied career. Her first experience in wine was in 1976 in the Entre Deux Mers as a cellar rat. Back then it was virtually unknown for a woman to work in a winery – it was feared that a woman's period could send the wine off!! Fiona has been wine writer with Revue du Vins de France and wrote The Wine Men, a series of portraits of men in the French wine trade, in 1991. She worked for Steven Spurrier in Paris, then at Legrand's shop in Paris including setting up their wine shop. After her children had grown up Fiona decided that she wanted to be a vigneronne so she did several stages including one at Domaine Huet.

Fiona spent some time in Chinon searching for the right vineyard and was about to give up when she was shown Le Clos des Capucins, which suited her perfectly.

The main house which is rented out as a gité

Fiona and CRM

At the Clos there are four small plots of vines totalling 1.39 hectares that Fiona is now farming organically converting them from their previous chemical regime. She has made her first two vintages at Pascal Lambert's winery in Cravant-les-Coteaux and is now awaiting planning permission to build her own small winery to be hidden away in the grounds of the Clos.        

2013 a little way off flowering

 The 'parc des barriques'  (above and below)

 

 Stabling for when the horse comes to stay and work

Another of the plots in the Clos

 The house and part of Le Clos

 View to the Château de Chinon (above and below)

 ... and down to the town

The 'perfectly drinkable' parcel (above and below)

Fiona has a further three hectares 3K to the north of Chinon, which she bought from Pascal Lambert. Here she makes 'Fiona's Perfectly Drinkable' – an easy drinking Chinon.

Nouveau World Wines/Finbow Wines fraud trial: updates

Now that I'm back in London from the Loire I am able to provide some updates on my investdrinks blog of the Nouveau/Finbow fraud and money laundering trial:   

Defendants:

Simon Robert Dempsey

Rebecca Louise McDonald

Daniel Thomas Snelling

Dina Louise Snelling

The case, before His Honour Judge Michael Grieve QC in Court 8, Southwark Crown Court (London SE1), is likely to conclude in some time in the first part of July. Evidence will probably finish this week or early of next. Speeches and judge's summing up will take up next week with the jury likely to retire in the first week in July to consider their verdict.

Reports are here (17.6.13) and here (18.6.13).

Hail in – video report in La Nouvelle République + Syndicat's press release

François Pinon – one of the Vouvray producers badly affected 

Video report here. 

Jean-Michel Pieaux, president of the Vouvray producers' syndicat

busy organising support for the vignerons affected

Press release 18th June 2013 from Syndicat des Vignerons de Vouvray

'Suite aux violents orages de lundi 17 juin matin dans le vignoble de l’appellation Vouvray, le syndicat des vins de Vouvray a établi un premier état de la situation.

Les 2/3 des vignes de l’appellation qui compte au  total 2200 hectares en A.O.C. sont considérablement touchés, entre 20% et 100%.

L’orage a traversé l’appellation d’Ouest en Est en touchant particulièrement les communes de Parçay -Meslay, Rochecorbon, Vouvray, Vernou sur Brenne, Chançay et Reugny.

Les techniciens de la chambre d’agriculture conseillent et orientent les vignerons. Les membres du bureau du syndicat des vins rencontrent les administrations locales et nationales pour étudier les différentes aides envisageables auprès des organismes. La grêle ne fait pas partie des phénomènes climatiques reconnus « catastrophe naturelle ».

Les vignerons restent solidaires et s’activent pour préserver le reste de la récolte.'