Bkwine Videos

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Luis Seabra responsible for the vineyards and the winemaking; the Niepoort winemaker. We re sitting at the brand new winery in the Tedo river valley, overlooking the terraced vineyards along the river and the Douro region impressively steep slopes. The new winery was opened in 2007 and it has allowed them to do the winemaking the way they really would like to do it - with the time and space they want. They can for example work entirely by gravity. Luis talks about the style of the Niepoort wines, often understated. The ambition is not to make big and impressive wines but to make balanced wines that go well with food. Niepoort is often lighter, fresher and more balanced wines than many others, wines where you want to finish the bottle to the end. They make a wide range of different wines, white, red and port wines. The whites includes Tiara, a stainless steel fermented wine from very old vineyards, a bit riesling inspired, also left for a long time in vat with some reductive character; Redoma and Redoma Reserve, both fermented in barrel, which are unfortunately often drunk far too young. They are loft for quite long time on the lees. Do not miss Part 2 of the interview where we will talk about the red wines and about the future of the Douro Valley wines. More on Niepoort: http://www.niepoort-vinhos.com This interview was made during a visit to the Douro Valley and the Douro Boys wineries in connection with the European Wine Bloggers Conference #EWBC 2009 in Lisbon. Music: Mofessor, ScentoMeter, www.Podsafeaudio.com By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

Part 2 of the interview with Piero Lanza, co-owner (together with his sister) and winemaker at Fattoria Poggerino, Radda in Chianti. In part 2 Piero explains what it means to be a biodynamic winery. Piero explains how he farms his vineyard with biodynamic principles, how he works with preparations and how he started with organic viticulture and then moved further to biodynamism. Biodynamic farming is focused on the ground, the soil. They use for example the 500 treatment, which is based on cow manure prepared and matured under ground in cow horns. It is used to prepare treatments to spray on the vineyards. Before spraying the preparations have to be 'dynamised' in a 'dynamiser'. The biodynamic treatments increase the energy and the humus in the ground. It helps the vineyard to survive in extreme climate and weather conditions. They also use 501 which is based on quartz powder which helps the plants, the leaves, to capture the sunshine. It can also help close to harvest time if there are poor and wet conditions. During the growing season they also use herb preparations to help the vines grow. They use a well known biodynamic consultant from Burgundy called Pierre Masson. Do not miss part 21 where Piero Lanza talks about his wines and vineyards. http://www.poggerino.com/ Music: George Wood, One more for the road, http://www.podsafeaudio.com By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards. Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . . Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc. PART 7: HOW DOES A VINE FUNCTION? Montirius cuts the vines very little during the growing season. They believe that if you do cut the vines (to make straight well tended rows) you give the wrong signals to the vines. The vines spend their energy on growing new shoots and new leaves. The vines may also use more water than what they otherwise would, which can be difficult in a place where water is scarce. Christine also explains why they don't have weed or grass between the rows which you often see at biodynamic vineyards. And then it is time to taste the wine and decide for yourself if all this makes good wine or not! http://www.montirius.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards. Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . . Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc. PART 6: HERBAL PREPARATIONS Some preparations are infusions made with various herbs and plants. Nettles, camomile and others that are mixed with boiling water to make an infusion (in a "dynamiser" / "dynamiseur"). Each plant and preparation has a specific purpose and a different effect, so it is important to know what to use, how to use it and when to use it. For example: Nettles with a small quantity of copper are used against mildew. Preparation "500" can help the plants to grow quickly when they are young to make them more resistant to disease. "Prele", the French name, or field horsetail in English (equisetum arvense) can be used for weak parcels, with root problems, to make them more vigorous. http://www.montirius.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards. Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . . Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc. PART 5: MARIA THUN AND THE LIFE OF THE RADISH, AND THE CALENDARS Christine explains one more preparation they use, created by Maria Thun. She also explains that things should be done according to certain biodynamic calendars: there are fruit days, root days, flower days and leaf days; planet phases etc. Also, the phase of the moon has an influence on winemaking, e.g. you should bottle when the moon is down. Harvest is best done in fruit days, but that is not always possible since there are only five fruit days in September... http://www.montirius.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards. Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . . Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc. PART 4: WHAT ARE THE BASES FOR BIODYNAMIC CULTURE AND FARMING? What's the difference between organic and biodynamic farming? What are the preparations that are used? - Several different. For example: 500 with cow dung that transforms into a sort of humus 501 based on quarts powder The preparations are used in minute quantities by mixing with water and spraying in the vineyards. http://www.montirius.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards. Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . . Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc. PART 3: LEAVING THE CO-OPERATIVE One day they decided that they could not work with biodynamic farming and vinify their wines in the co-operative. The whole family was convinced - finally. They built the new wine cellar and was finished on the day harvest began. 2002 was their first "own" year. It was a terrible year - very difficult to vinify. It was a year when chaptalisation was widely used. Montirius did not. The following year many growers needed to add tartaric acid to raise the acidity in this extremely hot year. (Both are perfectly permitted winemaking practices.) Montirius, however, did not need to raise they acidity level even in 2003. http://www.montirius.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius vineyards. Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares of vineyard in appellation controllee Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Cotes du Rhone, and some Vin de Pays. Eric and Christine have a fascinating story to tell - moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower. . . Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner's theories). She explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc. PART 2: Discovering biodynamic vineyard farming The Saurels met with a person who knew how to work with biodynamic agriculture, M Francois Bouchet, agronomist specialised in biodymaic farming. He taught them about the growing methods, preparations, calendars etc. The first year they did it was a terrible year, the 1997 vintage, with a lot of mildew, but in spite of Domaine Montirius not spraying with traditional pesticides to fight the diseases, they had no such problems. http://www.montirius.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Christine Saurel of Domaine Montirius. Domaine Montirius is located in the southern Rhone valley, in Gigondas and in Vacqueyras. The winery is owned and run by Christine and Eric Saurel, a young couple who have moved the vineyards to biodynamic culture. It is 58 hectares. They have a fascinating story to tell moving from traditional farming to organic to biodynamic; choosing to leave a long time relationship with the cooperative and start out as an independent winegrower Christine tells the story of how Montirius came to work with first organic farming and then the biodynamic principles (based on Rudolf Steiner s theories) and explains some of the things it means: how you do it what kind of treatments you do, what difference it makes etc.Part 1: Working with traditional methods with chemical sprays and deciding to change to organic wine growing. http://www.montirius.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our BKWine TV channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- A few glimpses from the Domaine Piquemal. The Domaine Piquemal winery is located in Espira de l Agly, in the Agly valley, in Roussillon in the south of France. It is a family vineyard that is today run by the brother-sister team Marie-Pierre and Franck Piquemal. We re tasting different wines in their tasting room: Cuvee Justin Piquemal with the appellation Cote de Roussillon. It is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, grenache and mourvedre. It is unoaked and made in a fresh and fruity style. Then we taste a more traditional southern French wine, Cuvee des Terres Grillees, coming from a patch of soil that is very dark, almost black, which is the reason behind the name (that means burned soil). This wine is a bit more complex and is a Cote de Roussillon Villages appellation. We also make a short excursion out into the vineyard to look at the Burned Soil, a vineyard that makes for very early ripening grapes. http://www.domaine-piquemal.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- A visit to the winery Domaine Olivier Pithon that Olivier founded in 2001. He originally comes from the Layon region in the Loire Valley but settled in Roussillon to make wine. He came to the Calce village to taste the wines of Gerard Gauby, one of the leaders in new French winemaking. He tasted, and then he stayed. Olivier tries to make very personal wines with a lot of freshness, acidity, and elegance. He makes white wines using the traditional grape varieties macabeu, grenache blanc and grenache gris. His reds are made with grenache noir, carignan, and a bit of syrah and mourvedre. In this village one can still find vines planted just after the Phylloxera, about one hundred years old! There is a small group of hard core winemakers with similar philosophies in Calce: Pithon, Matassa, Gauby, Padie, Pithon explains how he works with bio-dynamism (which in some ways can be seen as an extreme form of organic vine growing) and what role the plants and herbs play in the biodynamic winegrowing. Biodynamism was created some hundred years ago by Rudolf Steiner in Germany and not all is necessarily applicable in the Roussillon The language is French [F] [F] Entretien avec le vigneron Olivier Pithon, proprietaire du Domaine Olivier Pithon, une propriete dans le vignoble Roussillonais, une region viticole dans le le sud de la France connu pour ses vins puissants et originels. http://www.domaineolivierpithon.com By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Tom Lubbe, the owner and winemaker at Domaine Matassa in Calce in Roussillon. It is a relatively new winery in the Roussillon in the south of France that Tom Lubbe created some years ago (in 2002) together with Sam Harrop from New Zealand. Lubbe has previously been making wine both in South Africa and in Bordeaux and arrived some years back to the Roussillon to work with Domaine Gauby with Gerard Gauby (also in Calces). The vineyard is managed with biodynamic principles (just like Gauby). Lubbe makes both red and white wine from traditional Roussillon grape varieties: carignan and grenache and some mourvedre. http://www.matassawines.com/ (John Radford, interviewing Thomas in the video, is a freelance feature-writer (since 1981) and broadcaster (since 1989) with a special interest in the Mediterranean, particularly Spain, and a background in food and drink going back to 1966. For more on John Radford: see http://www.johnradford.com for latest news and read his blog at http://www.johnradford.com/blog/blogger.html.) By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- Interview with Caroline Chanfreau-Philippon, owner of Chateau Lestage together with her brother Jean Chanfreau, who is the winemaker. The vineyard and winery of Ch Lestage is located in Listrac in Medoc, Bordeaux. The chateau is one of those that have been classified as Cru Bourgeois. She explains first where Listrac is situated. Not far from Moulis that is between Saint Julien and Margaux. It covers only 670 hectares and is one of the highest (in altitude) of the Medoc appellations with its 43 (!) meters. She tastes the 2005 of Chateau Lestage a great and exceptional vintage in Bordeaux. And she also comments specifically on the wines from the new 2007 vintage. The first grapes to be harvested are the merlots and the last are the cabernets. Part of the harvest is manual and part is made by harvesting machine. They use quite long macerations. As virtually all modern vineries they use temperature controlled fermentation tanks. Entretien avec le vigneron (vigneronne) Caroline Chanfreau-Philippon, proprietaire du domaine Cheteau Lestage. Une propriete dans le vignoble de Listrac en Medoc, une region viticole dans le Bordelais en Aquitaine connu pour ses vins elegants et classiques. http://www.chateau-lestage.com/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com See all our wine videos on our channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

Interview with Jean Boucabeille, the owner and winemaker at Domaine Boucabeille in Roussillon. It is a family property in the Roussillon in the south of France. In this video it is the new generation winemaker in the family who talks. The vineyard comprises some 20 hectares and makes primarily red wine of the appellation Cotes du Roussillon Villages and some sweet Rivesaltes. The winery and vineyard was created from scratch on barren land in the 70s on old fashioned terraces. They grow mainly Grenache noir, carignan, mourvedre and syrah, and a bit macabeu and Grenache blanc. The soil is mainly schist (slate). Language is English [E] Entretien avec le vigneron M. Boucabeille, proprietaire du Domaine Boucabeille. Une propriete dans le vignoble roussillonnais, une region viticole dans le sud de la France connu pour ses vin rouge tres savoureux. http://www.boucabeille.com By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com. See all our wine videos on our channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine

http://www.bkwine.com/wine_tours/wine_tours.htm --- A virtual visual visit to Chateau Bellefont Belcier, Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe, in Bordeaux. Bellefont Belcier is located on the lower part of the appellation (below the village itself) and to the east. It is in total 20 hectares. The grape varieties used are merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. The wine is made by Dominique Hebrard and Emanuel de Saint Salvy with the help of two consultant oenologists: Michel Rolland and Gilles Pauquet. http://www.bellefont-belcier.fr/ By BKWine, http://www.bkwine.com Se all our wine videos on our channel: http://www.youtube.com/bkwine