What is the link here between these two? They sound like a pair of Wagnerian characters or a European version of Gilbert and Sullivan. Well one makes wine and the other makes something to store it in, but the link here is that both of them had me working in Tuscany earlier this year.

Ornellaia wanted pictures to show what a great place their winery and vineyards near Bolgheri were to visit and not long after I was on another flight to Pisa again. This time to photograph Marc Almert, the 2016 Gaggenau Sommelier  award winner enjoying a visit to Tuscany with two renowned sommeliers, his Gaggenau mentors Annemarie Foidl and Serge Dubs, to hone his skills.

Part Uno: Ornellaia

Back again at Ornellaia after ( is it really..? ). 9 years !

An understated entrance.

But complete with modern technology.

Vineyard post typography tells its own story.

So does the sky !

Sorry for the watermarks but they are meant to discourage unauthorised use !

And the barrel…

If you can interpret it.

Careful camera positioning.

We finally corner winemaker Axel Heinz and drag him off to the cellar.

Well that floor won’t show the stains…

Off to Bolgheri for lunch.

Oh yes, bring your wallet.

Decisions, decisions….

Back to work in the tasting room.

Two very amenable guests and a very presentable hostess make a possibly tricky situation quickly shot.

The ideal hostess !

For a memorable tasting.

Meanwhile, down in the workshop…. Actually not much happening.

But they are collecting samples in the barrel room.

Who is this guy !?
Yes its Andy Katz working on his next book !

The Ornellaia Oak at sundown.

But has Andy arrived too late..?

We’ll have to wait and see, good luck with the book Andy.

Part Due : Chase the sommelier.

Well it was a bit like joining a circus;  PR, facilitators, two more photographers, three sommeliers. Everyone with their own job to do for Gaggenau,  would it work out for me..?

Well yes, it seems, it did. The trick, get in first and get ahead.

I arrived ahead of everyone else and asked to go straight to see Giovanni and his vineyards at the Fattorie del Dolfi.

It was a very useful one to one meeting with the taciturn Giovanni aided by Maggie Wang from Gaggenau who knows him well.  A quietly passionate man who knows his land and vines inside out and is no great lover of silly questions I would guess. We spent  a  lovely hour or two exploring two of his vineyards ready for my proposed early morning tour with Giovanni and Marc, the award winning sommelier, the next day.

Fattorie del Dolfi.

Marc sees the benefits of getting up early.

Before the sun gets over the trees, Marc and Giovanni are deep in conversation.

We are rewarded with the hoped for light.

Back at the Fattorie, Serge and Annemarie are preparing some tests for Marc.

Annemarie with her hands full.

Marc goes through his paces.

Serge, Giovanni and Maggie enjoying a lunch al fresco

Then Giovanni gives everyone a cellar tour,

Giovanni gives me 5 minutes for a few pictures.

Giovanni’s home illustrates his sense of humour !

Day two is a tour of the very special Flor perfumery in Florence.

Marc and the team discuss aromas at Flor, before its time to head for the airport.

Its a happy coincidence when two short jobs can be dove-tailed together. Its not so bad to get from Dijon to Sion in the Valais and I was looking forward to seeing it for the first time, even if a little concerned to be shooting in the vineyards in early March ! I had a few portraits to make in Burgundy and was lucky enough to line up four people for my one day before I had to take a train ( 3 actually ) to get to Sion by lunchtime.

Guillaume d’Angerville at home in Volnay

Just up the street,Michel Lafarge and son Frederique

Always a good sign when your subject takes 2 glasses to the cellar. One of the “cosiest” I know !

Overlooking Gamay, a Lamy vineyard

Pierre-Yves Colin, happy in his new cellar.

PY has been doing a little tasting too.

As I often do, I took my sandwich to Corton Hill to watch the action.

Finished the tour with Thierry Brouin at Clos Des Lambrays. He politely declined to tell me who the new man at the Domaine would be. Now we know that Louis Latour’s loss is Lambrays gain. That’ll cut Boris’s mileage !

So off to spend a couple of days with Valais Mundi in Sion.

Hardly been in the Valais 10 minutes but I’m amazed by what I see.

Day one was drizzle, steep paths and getting to know locations.

I was informed they were so excited by my visit that it was to be featured in the house magazine of their parent company Provins. They had even called on their local photographer Olivier Maire to accompany us the following afternoon !  Not quite worldwide fame awaited me but it would be a new experience and probably fun. And good for me to experience being the other side of the camera.

That evening was raclette time with a cheese tour of Switzerland with Johanna and Damien the winemakers.

A cheese tour of Switzerland

The first morning was early and wonderful. Stunning scenery and beautiful light do wonders for vineyards in 50 shades of brown.

The appeal of a wine region depends on several things but the Valais vineyards have the wow factor, even in early March!

Which ever way you look.

A wine route stained glass.

Jean-Blaise, the vineyard manager was my chauffeur and location finder.

Jean-Blaise and a sample of his interesting terroir.

Back at the winery, Damien Carruzzo and Nicolas, Valais Mundi’s consultant, are waiting for their photocall.

After lunch and being memorably introduced to Petite Arvine, it was time meet up with Olivier and finish the shoot in the vineyards.

Olivier and his fill-in flash, watched by an amused Damien.

I am very grateful to Olivier for his professionalism, friendly patience and flattering photographs ! I appreciate now how much easier it is to be photographed doing your job than being posed.

I made the front cover !  I had to be interviewed for this too and a tricky question was “my favourite wine region”…..? Well, Valais takes lot of beating and Swiss wine…. well just try it when you have the chance.

Wonderful end to the day, and my Valais visit.

When the call came to visit Château Palmer in the Medoc, I got in touch with the Ducourt family in the Entre-Deux-Mers to see if they had need of my services again. Happily marketing boss Jonathan told me there had been plenty of developments since my last visit and I would be busy, even if February was a quiet month.

As I drove into Margaux I was surprised to see sheep in the vineyards to my left – could this be part of the biodynamic approach at Palmer I wondered.  Of course it was and my afternoon was off to good start. Good to see Thomas Duroux again and be introduced to his cows ! More biodynamics.

In two hours I was on my way to Famille Ducourt with, for February, a surprising range of pictures in the bag.

Then followed two days with Jonathan and his grandmother, parents, uncle and brothers and touring their new facilities. A very strong family that is making great moves forward with their estates. In this years Decanter World Wine Awards their Château Larroque Bordeaux Superior 2015 was awarded 95 points and voted “Best Value Bordeaux Red”.

The February weather was best described as “interesting” but we got a lot done. Jonathan works you hard !

PS its the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards on Tuesday 12 September and  this image from the 2017 Paulée de Meursault is shortlisted.

See all the shortlisted images here http://www.theroedererawards.com/categories/artistry/

Wish me luck !

Thomas Duroux of Château Palmer

Jeremy Ducourt, winemaker of Famille Ducourt.

Measuring up

to get the blend right.

New Cellars at Ducourt

Having enjoyed a few days pre-Christmas a few years ago we returned in February with friends, and I promised to be less seduced with is photographic potential…… Well I tried.

The view from airport waterbus sets the tone, damp.

Usual view from the Accademia bridge, we’re off in search of some culture.

Not busy at the Accademia, even though its raining.

Perhaps he’s scaring everyone away..?

Maybe the shops are irrisistable…

Better get this view out of the way early on.

Accademia bridge 2

Harry’s Bar gets cleaned up

Ready for its visitors.

St Mark’s Square, open for business too.

Accademia Bridge 3

How to deliver a fridge in Venice 1

A birth announcement shines out in dark narrow street.

Florian, part of the Venice tourist experience, at a price !

Residents know the best places though.

How to deliver a fridge in Venice 2

No fridges allowed here at the Arsenale

Chocolate o’clock at the Arsenale.

Meanwhile at the Rialto market someone has to do the artichokes.

While these two take care of the fish.

And the shoppers arrive via the ferry.

If you want a seat, look for the man in the hat.

Someone enjoys it

On our first trip I avoided the gondolas, this time our friends were not to be denied the experience and it happened that one of them knew how to bargain ! Get the right gondolier and it really is worth it. A damp day means business is slow and negotiation is easier.

You might even get serenaded.

“Back in 5 minutes”

But the boats still have to be repaired.

That’s why the owners hope you’ll tip well !

All that walking gives anyone an appetite.

Everyone can find something they like.

One of the great diversions is observing the variety of Venice’s doors.

Wherever you might find them

Some grand.

Some odd.

and some ordinary but still interesting

Some scary !

Some shared.

Some raise a smile.

Some watched over.

Some just watched.

Of course Venice is not just for tourists……yet

Or photographers, Venice is a dream location, is n’t it..?

Sometimes a little extra guidance is helpful

Others are coming.

Meanwhile life goes on.

As everywhere.

Venice is still home

The usual things go on everyday.

The locals just see things differently… As they probably always have done.

The trouble, I have found with blogging, is that to do it regularly requires time, discipline, and something to post…

Well I have had not enough of the first two and too much of the third.  Just when I think I can take a break and blog a bit, something comes up. You, dear visitor, are only here for the wine stuff and that, we all know, is only part of life. So be prepared for a sunami of posts. Perhaps not all about wine.

First off, if I can remember, is Chile. Its always exciting to get a trip there, especially to Errazuriz who sponsored an award won in 2014. Not only that, there are are always beauty, hospitality, lots going on and great people.

A few days before my return to Chile for Vinedos Chadwick it was terrible to hear about the forest fires that were threatening vineyards and other agriculture there.
I did the haze of smoke even in Santiago and small areas of singed vineyards to the west but my trip was otherwise unaffected.
I was collected at Santiago airport and taken straight off to the coast to document the start of the Aconcagua valley at Vina del Mar. That started with lunch overlooking the Pacific and a bunch of pelicans!

As is often the case its often the photographs you miss that stick in the memory. As Raimundo scoured the streets of Vina del Mar for the restaurant he had been recommended to I spotted a straw-hatted man pushing an old wheelbarrow in the gutter, as we passed I caught sight of what it carried; a large framed portrait of the madonna and child in what seemed like fifty shades of purple !

I did not have the heart to disturb his concentration and ask Raimundo to turn round. And regretted it for quite a while ! He does n’t mind my occasional bouts of extra mural snapping, but not when lunch is overdue.

I rarely talk about the wines I encounter, I have no qualifications to pronounce on things vinous. However… this was my first meeting with Carmenere and I was smitten, much as I was with late picked Sauvignon Blanc last time. While many years devoted to Burgundy have formed my taste, my travels give me the chance to experience other things and that is something we should never stop doing, exploring the wine world. It is growing faster than we can keep up with !

For example, in Uruguay, Bouza’s chardonnay/albarino blend is a New World wine I will look for in future.

Enough chat, let’s have some pictures or I’ll never catch up, the Chile trip was in January!

Straight from the airport to the Pacific and a quick lunch watching the pelicans before exploring the Aconcagua Valley.

Welcome to Aconcagua Costa !

Surprisingly tame horses must belong to someone…

and cattle too.

But not to Francisco Baettig, Errazuriz winemaker.

This fox belongs to no one,
but helps keep down the number of rabbits.

Altogether a beautiful place, rolling hills that give a photographer no time off.

My discovery here this time was the Carmenere.

Next, on to Panquehue and more slopes and friendly faces.

The 19c gate to Errazuriz first estate.

The original building, or what was left after an earthquake. Now a charming visitor centre.

The “new” Icon winery.

Syrah and cactus on the slopes at Panquehue.

Francisco Baettig and Eduardo Chadwick keeping in the shade !

Mai Chadwick

And so to Caliterra for some more shots of Mai and another stunning location.

Is this a vineyard or a zoo !?
An alpaca poses for his/her (I’m not an expert) photograph at Caliterra.

Chile always offers new experiences!

Chileans love horses and my next visit was to Vinedo Chadwick, once the polo field of Eduardo’s father, Alfonso, long time captain of Chile’s national polo team. Eduardo knew this site in the Maipo valley was good for Cabernet Sauvignon and persuaded his father to turn his polo field in a vineyard in 1992.

Alfonso’s goal posts, Eduardo’s Cabernet Sauvignon. The haze on the horizon was the last of the smoke from the fires that hit Chile in January.

Eduardo in the old changing room full of memorabilia,cups and photos.

One corner of the changing room/museum at Vinedo Chadwick

Visitors are provided with a hat.

But not while tasting. Then they had individual spittoons.

Alfonso, polo’s ” poster boy” in the 1950s !

One thing I’ve learnt about blogging is that posts with a good name attract readers, so please forgive me Jancis. Otherwise I was going to entitle this one “Shooting the messenger” !
One element of December and January was photographing three tastings and a book launch before I had to start travelling again. So here is an album of some of  your favourite wine writers at work.
My first was a morning at a wine shop like no other in London – Hedonism. Handily placed in Mayfair if you run out of Y’quem or Lafite. I was there to shoot a tasting put on by Andrea Franchetti for his IGT wines from Tenuta di Trinoro in the Orcia valley in Tuscany.

setting up at Hedonism.

Andrea Franchetti briefs the boys from Hedonism

and checks all is OK.

Stephen Brook was one of the first in.

Some of the stars of the morning.

Oz Clarke, Jancis Robinson and Steven Spurrier are lined too !

Joanna Simon takes a shot.

Serena Sutcliffe, concentration personified.

Oz Clarke and Steven Spurrier not comparing notes !

Ella Lister hard at work.

John Stimpfig is all anticipation

The Cabotte Restaurant in London organised a blind tasting of wines from Nuit St Georges later in December.

The stage is set.

Jancis at the double !

Tim Atkin always make it look easy !

screwcaps just would not look the same !

During the Burgundy tasting week in London Flint Wines asked to record their event. More cries of “Not you again!” from the tasters so I concentrated on the winemakers.Good to see so many familiar faces.

Tasting Burgundy with Flint Wines

Victoria Moore visits planet Flint

Etienne Julien amuses Flint’s Anja

Sons of Meursault, Antoine Jobard and Charles Ballot enjoying a gossip

Cyprien Arlaud making his point.

Tomoko Kuriyama, half of Domaine Chantrêves in Savigny-les-Beaune

The wine media were on hand at the Berry Bros offices in St. James’s for the launch of Ch’ng Poh Tiong’s new book “50 Bordeaux chefs:Top Chinese Restaurants in the World”. Simon Berry was on form as the host and Poh Tiong had provided some Château Yquem 2013.

Poh Tiong greets everyone while John Stimpfig arrived just in time.

Margaret Rand, Simon Berry and Anthony Rose are amused by something

Oz Clarke and Poh Tiong swop stories

Anthony and Neil Beckett conspiring over something.

Sarah Kemp of Decanter peruses her copy

Poh Tiong gets the traditional Berry Bros weigh-in after a good lunch.

Now I’m looking forward to seeing the vineyards again.
Next stop Chile !

My apologies for a protracted silence, but as you will see later its been a busy winter/springtime visiting four different countries. That all coming soon.

Back in November (!), the day after the Paulée I made a quick return to shoot these guys or a Wine Enthusiast story about up and coming negociants in Burgundy. Rain had been predicted so we worked on and under the balconies of the courtyard at the Hospices de Beaune.
All great guys but put them together… Not so easy to control! Perhaps they knew me too well. A great time anyway.
Thanks to the people at the Hospices for helping us to shoot in such wonderful surroundings, Lee-Anne and Jean-Thierry.
If you have not been, you must !

Rain arrived on time.

Yes, pretty wet. We needed the gargoyles !

Looks Nicolas Potel has been up awhile before being no 1 on my list.

Brault and Gambal discussing work.

Messrs Croix and Voorhuis made the short walk from the winery in Beaune

while David Duband came all the way down from Chevannes in the Hautes Côtes.

Jeremy Seysses showing how much taller Burgundians are these days

Benjamin Leroux brought the future with him!

The future always enjoys puddles !

As soon as the group shot was done it was time to relax.

and enjoy the location.

Lots to enjoy in stone

and wood.

And the sun came out !

The bottle shot. For those who notice the gap in the bottles, that’s for a double page spread !

Jean-Thierry, man behind the scenes, came to let me out !

Another tough day at the office !

Having suddenly become a (publishable) writer I arranged to refresh my memories of the Paulée before writing a piece for Norwegian magazine Vin Forum. Its always great fun to see winemakers from elsewhere to enjoy the event but I think it may not belong before guests need napkin waving lessons, it was not quite as enthusiastic this year, perhaps fatigue had set in or there were too many shy first time visitors. I certainly noticed a US male still wearing jacket and tie at the end !
Making his debut, but far more enthusiastic were Dan Keeling and his Noble Rot team who fully emerged themselves ! Honoured to be asked, I gave them a good deal on photos of the event, so look out for the next issue !
Also noticeable was a strong contingent from Côte de Nuits with Mathilde Grivot and Eve Faiveley setting the pace.
The lunch in pictures :

Places are set

Final preparations before everyone arrives

and the staff are ready, well 3 of them at least.

Yes, the idea is that you bring a bottle to share. The decision is, which bottle will impress !

Mathilde and Eve mean business.

Old friend Jean Marc Brocard , all the way from Chablis.

It’s nice to offer a choice sometimes.

The food is on the way.

And the bottles are opened.

and photographed!

and shared.

and emptied !

Dominique Lafon does the rounds.

and the waiters try to find a way through!

as fast as they can.

while things get organised in the kitchen,

Pierre-Yves Colin stays at the table

while Jean-Marc Roulot delivers,

and Nicholas Rossignol remembers his first vintage.

The wine keeps coming,

and coming.

and the music keeps the mood going.

New friends are made.

While one has better things to do.

Eric Rousseau among friends

Napknin waving taken seriously….

Happy chef and traiteur.

Joining the queue at the Hospices new cellars on Friday afternoon

Occasionally when I think I should take a rest from Burgundy, perhaps because there are no assignments in prospect or I have seen enough of one event or another for my view to become jaded, I will decide to take a rest. Absence, they say, makes the heart grow fonder….
And then suddenly, weeks after I’ve contacted potential clients, within 2 or 3 days and usually a week before they are needed, I must attend to the needs of four clients !
The jobs vary from a single portrait each( as you are in the area..,) for a magazine and a UK importer, to an eight page article with half a dozen portraits to shoot plus the need to bring everyone together for half an hour for a group shot.
Unlikely as this eventuality sounds you must remember this is Burgundy and anything is possible.
This time I all also find myself heading for Beaune’s big Auction weekend and the Paulée de Meursault to shoot and write two articles for a Norwegian magazine. The next day to spend my day around the courtyard of the Hotel Dieu itself hoping the tourists have all gone as I try to photograph six negociants for a US magazine.
Lets hope this post is not November 2014 all over again.
The writing is a new thing and very satisfying when it flows…. I cannot call myself a wine writer, no one would but apparently as a photographer I have a different way of see things. and I hope to bring some background to the world of tasting notes and scores, vintages and the preferences of experts with far greater ability, experience and discrimination than most of us will ever need, let alone achieve.

Friday

Service with a smile

No need for a glass.

A nice touch is the identity of the vigneron who takes care of that vineyard and he could be serving the samples too

Remember it has not been long in the barrel.

To spit or not to spit…?

Saturday

Ghislaine Barthod and Stéphen Gelin guarding the door at the Beaune Fair

Olivier Lamy on duty

Greg Love with new camera meets Nicolas Rossignol and friend

Nadin Gublin of Jacques Prieur without her pearls

Hmmm, we like that one !

Sylvain Pataille on the Marsannay stand at Beaune’s Palais de Congrés

Time for a glass of Cremant..?

Jacques Carillon pours the Puligny

Laurence the sommelier does his homework

Street food in Beaune

Press tasting at Hospices, concentration at every turn

Every seat taken.

A room full of expertise

And quite a few samples to get through.

Saturday draws to a close.

Sunday

Did Nicolas Rollin have any idea what he had started !

Ludivine Grivault, Hospices winemaker, ready for the big day.

In the streets of Beaune the fun has started at the cork pulling competition.

It goes on for some time with an MC never lost for words….

Sustenance is never far away Burgundians like a big band !

And the media gather, Vivienne Franks meets Andrew Jefford.

Inside the Hall there is still work to do.

But it does not take long…

to fill up when lunch is over.

Paddles are ready.

And the buyers are waiting.

Outside the photographers are busy

as the celebrity auctioneers arrive to raise money for their charities

The action gets underway.

“Jon, what’s this for?”
Mounir likes a joke.

While Dimitri Bazas of Maison Champy is doing his sums.

Meanwhile the girls are getting the buyers interested in bidding.

and outside technology blends with history and beauty.

Meanwhile, in Place Madeleine the excitement is of another kind.

Waiting for the rush !

Jasper Morris finishes the day with a smile.

Well we have heard so much this year about the disasters befalling Burgundy, indeed there was a double page drawing in Decanter of winemakers queueing to sell vineyards to negociants in order get through their grape famine. Frost, hail, rot, what a year. In the end the winemakers’ skill and tenacity along with a redeeming August come to the rescue and what grapes I saw and was given to taste looked excellent. We must wait and see how everyone survives. Winemakers don’t like to comment until the wine is in the barrel, neither should we.
Those negociants who I did serendipitously encounter (mainly by blocking their route with hurried parking in the vineyards!); Gilles de Courcel from Chanson, Erwan Faiveley, and Louis-Fabrice Latour were, as usual taking a positive stance, good quality being anticipated but small numbers…
One winemaker in Côte de Nuit was listing his losses on his fingers with some virulence, including all his Chambolle-Musigny premier cru but even he had not lost the 75% that I have come across.
There is no doubt these guys have had a hard time and have no alternative but to increase prices, but they know how that will be received, so this is a year to tighten the belt, shelve future projects and hope St Vincent and St Medard will look kindly on them in 2017.
I was to combine visits to Vincent Dancer in Chassagne and Chandon de Briailles in Savigny with other things that have cropped up to take me to Comblanchien, Vosne and Gevrey along with keeping my eye open for some harvest action.
It was difficult to anticipate what I would find but at least the weather forecast was promising.

Symbol of a small crop…?
Certainly no joke.

Somebody selling up….
That’s a bargain, 150 euros new I’m told.

My first encounter of the trip was a positive one, Etienne Julien in Comblanchien. The village is more known for its stone and a wartime massacre than its vigneron population and the Domaine Julien sign does not stand out very well. Which is a pity as it is well made and humorous, resembling many a vigneron sign I have seen in Champagne depicting the metier of the winemaker. One might say Etienne is well made and humorous himself, there is certainly enough of him ! I postponed a chance to taste as he was preparing for harvest but I am assured by two friends I trust that he is a “rising” star.
Rising but with two feet firmly on the ground.

Domaine Julien’s slightly camouflaged sign.

Etienne Julien of Comblanchien.

After a quick ride around Corton Bressandes, finding new tarmac and tourist signposts but not much action, I headed through Aloxe-Corton past the dismal boarded up concrete bunker that was once Reine Pedauque and had my spirits lifted by the sight of Franck Follin’s cottage.
I was expected at Domaine Chandon de Briailles to discuss a day’s shoot tomorrow and in the gravelled courtyard in front of the magnificent house I am met by Claude Jousset-Drouhin and her terrier “Darling” who must once have escaped from a circus he (she ? I do not notice such things) is very agile, well trained and generally adorable.
A tour of the house where her parents still live and the gardens, where her children still play is followed by discussions about time and direction of sunrise and the possibility of shutters being left open all night for a dawn start and how to open the large front gate.

Darling, he should be with the angels on the label !

I’ve just missed François treading grapes it seems.

Tuesday dawned with clear skies overhead but cloud in the east for the sun to overcome. Never mind, I had wrestled with the gates and eventually got in.. You may be able to pick your hour, and your day, but seldom the season when you have an assignment to shoot and dawn in June would have given me a better angle at first light and shooting buildings is often about angles and timing. In September the sun must find its way through the trees and is almost right behind me when it appears. After an hour with the pickers harvesting Corton Blanc at the southerly end of Bressandes I was back to the house which was better but less interestingly lit. Never mind, casscroute comes to the rescue and there is plenty more to do and there is still the west facing side to shoot at dusk and beyond.
But first, lunch.

At last François can sit down !

Starting with organic tomatoes from the garden.

Then boeuf bourguignon with organic carrots.

Merci to les belles cuisinières!

François is content.

Claude sampling the press juice.

Back to the press.

Waiting for dusk and an “all lights on” shot. A long wait….

A long wait ahead for the right balance indoors and out.

Early mornings at harvest time are great and on Wednesday I was off to Chassagne to see Vincent Dancer for the day. Back in 1998 I asked JancisRobinson who would be good to photograph in Burgundy and Vincent was among the names so I have known him a while.

A very discreet address.

Looks like a promising day in Chassagne.

Fusain checks ID at the gate.

Abbaye de Morgeot.

I am introduced to Marcel who is doing his 60th harvest and discover I photographed him in 2010 for a story about Chassagne-Montrachet’s St Vincent celebrations !

Marcel doing his 60th harvest, chapeau !

Marcel cleaning St Vincent in 2010 !

And Vincent D in 1998, that’s what exercise does for you !

Another cassecroute picture….

Dancer’s crew off to pick Clos du Tête in Chassagne.

Caroline+Dominique at the press.

and tasting the juice !

Vincent stoically comtemplates a small harvest….

Washing the buckets,

and the cuverie.

Cellar samples at Dancer.

Dominique demonstrates his barrel lifting technique.

Sweepings.

After a long day I am off to be fed at Table de Gregoire, aka Greg Love. Now resident, well he was then, at Domaine Jessiaume in Santenay, we are sharing a home cooked meal tonight.
I arrived bottleless (coals to Newcastle ?) except for two jars of honey from Serge, my beekeeper friend in Ladoix. I promptly forgot to give them to Greg !

The gang at Jessiaume will be working late tonight.

Greg takes me for an after dinner tour of Santenay. 9pm and the streets are deserted….

Having done his harvest stint Greg departed later that week and is now sampling the delights of Nepal !

So to Thursday, a return visit to Chandon de Briailles and some free time to mop up other picture requests.
A horse ploughing pic, just for me ! A lovely morning with Prosper the Percheron and François the vineyard manager at Chandon de Briailles overlooking the outskirts of Savigny.

Prosper takes break. Somewhere in the background is Corton.

Where DRC are harvesting their Bressandes in typically neat and organised fashion.

While along the road the Hospices de Beaune are gathering their’s.

Meanwhile at Vosne-Romanée the vineyards belong to walkers.

Clos de Vougeot from over the wall.

Question, which vineyard has its own postbox..?

A name to watch in Gevrey, I’m told.

The chinese owned château at Gevrey has it’s vineyards worked by Eric Rousseau so the monk need not look so petrified !

Went exploring around Marsannay. I think this is Les Grasses Têtes vineyard with Marsannay village behind.

Jean-Marie and father Jean-Claude Fourrier in Gevrey. Great fun, great wine !

A social call on Pierre Cornu at Ladoix, then cousin Manu and wife Edith arrived. Still smiling after heavy losses to the frost. Not much Aligoté left where they are standing for example.

My first visit of a Burgundian quarry above Corgoloin. An impressive view of what lies beneath the vines elsewhere.

Friday. Another promising dawn followed me through the Côte de Nuit as far as Vosne-Romanée, where I had two appointments on my way to my lunchtime train at Dijon. At Nuit I turned up to the left towards the cemetery and followed the vineyard roads to Vosne. Here Romanée Conti are in Richebourg and I spot my friend Didier Dubois who followed his work for Merode in Ladoix-Serrigny when their Grand Crus of Bressandes, Clos du Roi and Renardes were leased to Romanée Conti. He occasionally emails me charming aquarelles he has made from my pictures in the Corton book like the one below

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Instead of chasing the picking that is already some way up the slope I waited by the trailer and watched the unloading with Vosne in the background in beautiful soft morning light. Timeless.

Unloading Richebourg.

The guardian of Richebourg !

The grapes are safe with him around !

If you wait, the grapes will come to you…

First appointment: shoot Etienne Grivot in Richebourg,

second appointment: get some stock portraits of Charles Lachaux at Domaine Robert Arnoux. Looks as if he’s ready to go !

After Vosne I called at the shop in Château du Clos de Vougeot as the Chevaliers de Tastevin have promised to stock the Corton book. Its excellent news and I’m quietly proud to be on the shelf alongside some great books.

But not quite yet though, they only arrived this morning !

As I carried on through Morey St Denis I encountered Christophe Perrot-Minot and his Landrover and stopped to see how things are. He sadly counted off on his hand the appellations he had lost to the frost. I’m leaving Burgundy after very positive week but reminded it has been a very tough year for some.

Christophe and his Landrover.