Video: a Chinon winery (2)

In this video, Nicolas the Chinon vigneron (grape-grower, wine-maker) explains more about the process called vendanges vertes or "green harvesting." He says half the grapes, still far from ripe, will be cut off the vines and left on the ground to rot, providing fertilizer for the remaining grapes and making them healthier and tastier. The clip runs for about six minutes. With any luck, you'll be able to enlarge the video image on your tablet or computer.

Video: a Chinon winery (1)

I'm trying to post a video about a Chinonais vigneron and his winery in Panzoult, just 6 or 7 miles east of the town of Chinon. Here's what I've come up with. The aspect ratio is not right — the people look too tall and skinny. Anyway, See what you think. I can enlarge the video image on my Android tablet by "unpinching" it. Maybe that will work on your tablet too.

The young vigneron, named Nicolas, was in the process of taking over his family's business from his parents. His father doesn't seem pleased with his new grape-growing style, in which some of the grapes on each vine are cut early and left to rot on the ground. The theory is that the remaining grapes will be of better quality because some of their competition for nutrients has been eliminated. As a result, the wines will be better. Each video in this series runs for about six minutes.

Domaine de Beauséjour à Panzoult

One Chinon winery we went to many times when we first moved to Saint-Aignan in 2003 was the Domaine de Beauséjour in the village of Panzoult (pop. 600), just six or seven miles from Chinon itself. Why there? It was because we had been buying and enjoying Domaine Beauséjour wines for several years in San Francisco. We were curious to see the place and buy wines there. The winery seems to still be in business, and I see that the owners now have a gîte and a few chambres d'hotes that they rent out to tourists who want to spend some time in the Chinonais and taste their wines. I'm having a little trouble with the Beauséjour web site. I hope it's temporary.

There's another winery in Panzoult where I'd like to go for a testing. It's called the Domaine Grosbois. The owner, sho I think still owns the place, is a young man who years ago went to the U.S. to try to start selling wines there. Where did he go? To North Carolina, where I grew up and went to college. I once saw a video about his adventures there. I have a copy somewhere and I hope I'll be able to find it today. If I do, I'll post it tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's a YouTube video about the Domaine Grosbois and its owner, Nicolas.

Places and things to see in the Chinonais

In the photo on the left above, you see the village and the church at the wine called Ligré. We used to go there often to buy wine, but these days we buy wine closer to home and do a lot less driving around.On the right is the Château du Rivau, which is pretty impressive. I've never been inside. It was built in the 13th century and fortified in the 15th. Rien ne manque à ce château de proportions harmonieuses, qui annonce la Renaissance — so says the Michelin green guidebook.

Below left is a closer view of the Château de Rivau, which has a dry moat, a drawbridge, and formalgardens. Below right is the Dolmen de Ligré, also called Le Carroir Bon Air. It measures 7 by 3.5 meters and was built between the fifth and third millenia BC, according to Wikipédia. That's our dog, the dearly departed Collette, in my photo.