O Blog – interviews with wine makers

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Yvonne Hegoburu – Domaine de Souch

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
What is your job? Winemaker

Where is your domaine? Jurançon

Why did you choose  to be involved with wine? To rehabilitate the XVth century vineyard, which (possibly) produced the wine used for King Henry IV’s baptism.

Describe your wines in one word. Truthful

Your best wine moment? The first wine of our estate

Your favorite dish? Chicken with onions

Your favorite film? Gone with the wind

What does ‘terroir’ mean to you? A gift from Nature, something to respect and protect

A quotation about wine? Good wine is a delight for a man’s heart

What are you most proud of? Making our wines

Your dream? Keeping on making them for a long time

Your idea of happiness? Drinking them with old friends by the fire

An essential quality for you? Sincerity

Your favorite swearword? An untranslatable word in old French slang

Any last words ? Come taste our wines!

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Jérôme Malet – Domaine Sarda Malet

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

What is your job? Winemaker


Where is your domaine? In Perpignan


Why did you choose  to be involved with wine? It’s more that wine chose me; it has run in our viens for three generations with intact passion.


Describe your wines in one word. Strength and elegance.


Your best wine moment? There are too many! The latest (a week ago, in the restaurant le Grand Pré in Roaix) was a very admirable Cuvée des Célestins 1998 d’Henri Bonneau.


Your favorite dish? Here again, there are too many! Let’s say great ingredients cooked perfectly.


Your favorite film? One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Milos Formas, 1975


What does ‘terroir’ mean to you? A precious ally.


A quotation about wine? Amb pa i vi, es passa el cami: with wine and bread, one can go a long way.


What are you most proud of? To have contributed to the recognition of Roussillon wines.

 

Your dream? The next bottle I will open.


Your idea of happiness? My family, I love you.


An essential quality for you? Human will.



 

The most beautiful place on earth? A place where one feels good: it can as easily be an exotic place as a voyage around my own bedroom.

 

Your favorite swearword? The one that I never use: Chinese firecracker!


Your motto? It is not things are difficult that we do not do them, but rather that by not doing them they become difficult.


Any last words? The cellar is open to all; it is a site of sharing and of emotions. See you soon…



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François de Chavanes – Chateau de Chavanes

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

What is your job? Right now, producer of wine

Where is your domaine? On the edges of Jura

Why did you choose  to be involved with wine? To find my roots again

Describe your wines in one word. A reference from Burgundy with a pleasurable Jurassic plus.

Your best wine moment? My first tasting from the barrel of Pinot le Clos in November 2003.

Your favorite dish? St Pierre from the Mediterranean, poched and barely cooked in olive oil.

Your favorite film? “Amacord” by Fellini

What does ‘terroir’ mean to you? Lively and in the middle of the South.

A quotation about wine? “God only made water, but man made wine.”

What are you most proud of? To share a little more than my dreams with those I care about.

Your dream? To keep dreaming…

Your idea of happiness? To live these dreams, once in a while.

An essential quality for you? Frankness and respect when communicating with people.

The most beautiful place on earth? Corsica

Your favorite swearword? Couillon

Your motto? To get in the right train.

Any last words? To be at the train station in time  to make the train.

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Karen Turner- Prieuré Saint-Jean de Bébian

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

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What is your job? Technical Director

 

Where is your domaine? Pézenas, Languedoc

 

Why did you choose  to be involved with wine? For the love of taste and the refusal to work in an office in a city.

 

Describe your wines in one word. Balance

 

 

 

Your best wine moment? Tasting my first Condrieu-Doriane du Guigal while winetasting in Australia.

 

Your favorite dish? Peking duck

 

Your favorite film? The original “The Producers” by Mel Brooks

 

What does ‘terroir’ mean to you? Villafranchien

 

A quotation about wine? “A day without wine is like a day without a tomorrow.”karen turner 1

 

What are you most proud of? My family

 

Your dream? To cross Africa from Marrakesh to the Cape.

 

Your idea of happiness? Discovering a new taste or a new flavor.

 

An essential quality for you? Responsiblity and preservation

 

The most beautiful place on earth? Tuscany

 

Your favorite swearword? Mother Fucker (but I’ve never used it!)

 

Your motto? “What goes around comes around.”

 

Any last words? Down with prejudice, long live quality.

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Bernard Magrez – Château Pape Clément

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

BERNARD MAGREZWhat is your job? Vineyard proprietor

Where is your domaine? I am the proprietor of 35 vineyards in Bordeaux, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region and in 7 foreign countries.

Describe your wines in one word. A quest for excellence.

Your best wine moment? Pape Clément 1929

Your favorite dish? A cut of beef from Bazas

Your favorite film? Cyrano de Bergerac (with Gérard Depardieu)

What does ‘terroir’ mean to you? The terroir of Château La Tour Carnet (Grand Cru Classé of Médoc)

A quotation about wine? Terroir is a type of a wine, the charm of the wine is the winemaker

What are you most proud of? Never having backed down from adversity.

Your dream? To be proprietor of one of the top five grands crus classés

Your idea of happiness? To be in harmony with those around me.

An essential quality for you? Temperance

The most beautiful place on earth? The sandy Landaise coast

Your favorite swearword? What mediocrity!

Your motto? Never give up.

Any last words? Live standing up.



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Thierry Germain- Domaines des Roches Neuves

Friday, January 29th, 2010


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What is your job? Winemaker

Where is your domaine? We’re in the Loire Valley, in a town called Anjou Saumur, which is within the Saumur Champigny and Saumur Blanc appellations.

Describe your wines in one word. It’s hard to choose just one, but I look for minerality so I guess I will say minerality.

Your best wine moment? Cros-parantoux, 1985 Henri Jayer

Your favorite dish? Steak tartare.

Your favorite film? Pulp Fiction, by Quentin Tarantino.

What does ‘terroir’ mean to you? In the most basic sense of the word, it means diversity. But to me it means, above all else, finding a relationship between man, the winemaker, and the land. I think that without mankind there would be no terroir; we are here to try and bring out the best and most natural expressions of the terroir.

A quotation about wine? Goethe: It’s not difficult to believe, what is difficult is to see what is there before your eyes. I think this quotation opened my eyes and mind to better understand biodynamics.

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What are you most proud of? My children.

Your dream? To succeed in touching the absolute purity, delicacy, and elegance that is inherent in nature, and to do so without inflicting any artifice upon it. As a dream, it is unending rather than unachievable, because we, as humans, are and always will be acolytes of nature.

Your idea of happiness? To share and love a world without hate.

The most beautiful place on Earth? Honor and simplicity

Your favorite swearword? Putain

Your motto? Live in the now.

Any last words? We are here at the Domaine des Roches Neuves, waiting for you around a good bottle of your choice…

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Marie Hélène Lévêque – Château de Chantegrive

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

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What is your job? My first job was as a nurse and I joined the family windery in 1990. Now I manage the Château de Chantegrive in the beautiful region of les Graves.

Where is your domaine? In Podensac in les Graves

Why did you choose to be involved with wine? Out of passion for wines and this beautiful family property.


Describe your wines in one word. Subtle

Your best wine moment? Château la Conseillante 1990

Your favorite dish? Truffled Scrambled Eggs

Your favorite film? Out of Africa

A quotation about wine? “He who knows how to taste does not drink wine but savors secrets.” Salvador Dali

What are you most proud of? My daughters.

Your dream? To see them succeed.

Your idea of happiness? Knowing how to enjoy everyday happy moments.

An essential quality for you? Enthusiasm

The most beautiful place on earth? Where one feels best; for me, on the terrace of my family villa on the basin of Arcachon.

Your favorite swearword? I don’t swear much.

Your motto? Actions speak louder than words.


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Champagne Jérôme Prévost

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009


What is your job? Winemaker

Where is your domaine? A place called Les Béguines

Why did you choose  to be involved with wine? To escape school.

Describe your wines in one word. Intrepid.

Your best wine moment? An anonymous wine on a summer evening hike in the Vanoise national parc with my father.

Your favorite dish? My mother’s sautéed potatoes.

Your favorite film? The Bridges of Madison County

What does ‘terroir’ mean to you? It only gets old if we don’t work with it.

A quotation about wine? “Wine is what makes vines more interesting that wine,” adapted by R. Fillou

What are you most proud of? I’ll keep that to myself; arrogance tempts fate.

Your dream? To keep dreaming.

Your idea of happiness? Not allowing yourself everything to reach it.

An essential quality for you? Liberty

The most beautiful place on earth? The arms of d’Agnès, my spouse.

Your motto? The euro

Any last words? Read “La Cuisine Paléolithique ” by Deltheil

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Olivier Decelle – Château La Rame

Monday, October 26th, 2009


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What is your job? Traveling winemaker

Where is your domaine? In Bordelais

Why did you choose to be involved with wine? Out of passion.

Describe your wines in one word. Wines of pleasure and gourmandises, who look to fuse finesse, elegance, and power.

Your best wine moment? La Chapelle 90, 94 (jaboulet), Silex (de Didier Dagueneau), château La Rame « réserve » 1998.

Your favorite dish? Scallops (simply sautéed) paired with a glass of Château La Rame (AOC Ste croix du mont)

Your favorite film? Les Tontons Flingueurs (Crooks in Clover)

A quotation about wine? “Never does a noble man hate good wine” by François Rabelais.

What are you most proud of? My children Tiphaine and Augustin

Your dream? To sail around the world on a sailboat with my spouse and my children.

Your idea of happiness? To have time and to spend it with my family.

An essential quality for you? Serenity

The most beautiful place on earth? Impossible to pick just one!

Your favorite swearword? “Putain!”

Your motto? “Live and let live”

Any last words? I would like people to trust their own personal tastes more and to take risks. Today there exist a large number of wines, from little known regions, at accessible prices that offer moments of joy and pleasure. And that has no price!

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Clos Puy Arnaud

Monday, October 26th, 2009

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What is your job? I am an ex future musician who has become a winemaker.

Where is your domaine? In Belves de Castillon, in the far east of Bordelais, in the wonderful region of Castillon.

Why did you choose to be involved with wine? I almost studied agronomy, and I was interested very early on in organic agriculture, and it was a family tradition—I am the fourth generation of my family in wine—so when my first passion for music became too uncertain, I came back to my roots.

Describe your wines in one word. Vibrating.

Your best wine moment? Chateau Fonroque St Emilion 2007.

Your favorite dish? Spaghetti with clams and Tuscan olive oil.

Your favorite film? Les Tontons Flingueurs (Crooks in Clovers)

 

What does ‘terroir’ mean to you? limestone terroirs

A quotation about wine? “Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.” Khalil Gibran

What are you most proud of? That the Close Puy Arnaud, by its radiance, attracts quality human beings.

Your dream? To organize a jazz and organic and biodynamic wine festical in Castillon.

Your idea of happiness? Going to the beach, to a restaurant, and to the market on my bicycle on little trails along the shore.

An essential quality for you?

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The most beautiful place on earth? The plateau of Puy Arnaud at sunrise and sunset.

Your favorite swearword? In the name of God! (Nom de Dieu!)

Your motto? Intentions mean more than words.

Any last words? It is urgent for each person to do something significant to change their behavior as a consumer and a producer.

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