Visit to the Bergerac Vineyards

Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Peyzac-le-Moustier, Aquitaine, France
We left Le Manoir in two minivans at 9:10am for the 75-minute drive through the Dordogne countryside to the Château de Vinegand near Bergerac. The owners of Le Manoir had arranged for a tour of the vineyard in English for us. Along with another six people, we were given an explanation of the different wines in Bergerac area and what made them different from each other - the soil (gravel, flint, clay etc.), the slope of the land and which side of the valley.

We then visited part of the vineyard where they were growing Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and he explained how they limited the number of bunches of grapes on each vine and aerated the soil . "He" was François de Saint-Exupéry, a relative of Antoine de Sainte-Exupéry, the author of Le Petit Prince and he was also the current resident of the château! He was passionate about the wine making process and was very informative about all the steps he takes to produce the finest wines possible.

After touring the fermenting tank area and the cellars where the wine aged in barrels (made of French oak, of course), we were able to taste the wines. He was keen to have us taste the difference between two wines from the same blend in the same year but with one vine being ten years old and the other vine being 27 years old. The older vine had roots penetrating deeper into the ground and reaching the clay below the gravel. This enabled it to pick up minerals from the clay that changed the flavor of the wine and gave it a more complex taste.

After leaving the château, we drove to a nearby restaurant in a shopping plaza for a quick, light lunch, breaking the trend of gourmet lunches that we had had over the previous three days!

We then drove a few miles to the Château de Monbazillac where we were able to tour the château and sample one of their wines . From the château, there was a wonderful view over the Dordogne valley around Bergerac.

We then returned to Le Manoir after a very enjoyable day. A few of us went to the canoe/kayak rental place about 5 minutes away to firm up the details for tomorrow morning's canoe/kayak adventure. We then had about two hours to relax around the pool before heading out to dinner at a nearby restaurant.

The weather has cooled off a few degrees after the thunderstorms yesterday morning although it still gets very hot in the sun. The high temperatures for the next few days are in the mid-20s - very pleasant.

We had dinner at the Auberge de Archambeau in Thonin. We ate in a garden across the street from the hotel and were amazed that the servers had to carry the food across the street.
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Comments

chris hammill
2014-06-24

Sounds wonderful!

You will need to:
1. Start a Gourment club on your return
2. Lecture the Probus Wine Tasting Group when we re-convene!

Hope you continue to enjoy the rest of your trip.

2025-02-17

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