Caro, our friend and near neighbour in the Dordogne area of SW France has been writing about wine, and especially about building a biodynamic winery for some years.
Caro Feely, Co-Proprietor, Chateau Feely, Saussignac SW France
Two of her books: Grape Expectations and Saving our Skins tell the engaging account of sheer hard work and determination that Caro, her husband Sean and their daughters continually invest in their winery.
This year, Caro takes the plunge and enters the Wine Writing Competition 2022 in the category of Regenerative Agriculture sponsored by the acclaimed wine writer Jancis Robinson. Caro’s article is one of the 31 published essays and one of the 20 shortlisted essays from writers around the world. A great accomplishment!
Here it is: Regeneration – Changing our thinking by Caro Feely
I recommend reading this. Caro describes regenerative as “…transforming our thinking from extractive, how much volume of wine and financial value can we generate, to how many benefits can we create, for nature, for us, for the wider community. It is thinking circular rather than linear.”
The regeneration of land impacted by the Feely farming practices has resulted in one visible impact of increased biodiversity that we see: increased numbers of beautiful wild orchids.
Pyramid orchids in the garden
Jancis Robinson gives an overall comment about all the essay entries in this category of regeneration: …”Having read them all, we are happy to say that we have come away feeling inspired by and confident in the strides that are being made in the fields of regenerative viticulture and sustainable winemaking.”
Congratulations to Caro for her inspiring article and also to Jancis Robinson and her team for initiating this global essay competitive process and encouraging wine writers.
Saussignac, a small village of approximately 420 people in SW France in the Dordogne area of Nouvelle Aquitaine, really is a village of wine.
Route to Saussignac village
Vineyards, Saussignac
Dusk at the end of a hike in the Dordogne – the outline of Chateau Saussignac
Bergerac Wine Region showing Saussignac and Sigoulès
Apart from being the name of the village, where the chateau dates from the 17th century and is on the site of a much older building, Saussignac is also the name of the Saussignac Appellation D’Origine Contrôlée. The wines of this appellation are a late harvest botryrized wine made mainly from Sémillon grapes. This is a distinct category of the natural sweet wines produced from withered, shriveled grapes; a Vin Liqoreux, on the same honeyed track as a Sauterne or a Monbazillac. These wines of liquid gold can be savoured best with foie gras or a blue cheese, like Saint Augur or Roquefort, a dessert or even as a chilled aperitif. Several wine makers in the Saussignac area make these delicious wines, which should definitely be savoured by anyone visiting the area.
Saussignac is home to several wine makers, many of whom are organic farmers.
One such innovative organic farmer, writer and educator is Caro Feely from Château Feely. Caro is hosting a free zoom virtual presentation and discussion on the Climate Change Crisis on Friday, November 12 at 5.00 pm UK or 6 pm France. To sign up, Caro can be reached at caro@carofeely.com www.chateaufeely.com
An addition to the local community wine makers are Frank and Riki Campbell, new proprietors at Chateau de Fayolle in Saussignac. Their goal is to promote the wines of the area on a global level.
Chateau de Fayolle, under the new ownership of the Campbells, is offering platters of cheese and charcuterie with wine tastings in a newly renovated and up to date wine tasting room, which has wonderful views over the rows of vines. Great recommendations of the wines and ambience have been received from wine loving friends in the area and visitors from Bordeaux, so it’s well worth a visit. Check out details on their website: http://www.chateaufayolle.com
To complete the picture of Saussignac as a village of art and wine, I would be remiss not to mention the creative work of Mike and Lee McNeal Rumsby at Le 1500; the boutique hôtel, bistro and painting retreat in the middle of the village opposite Château Saussignac. Lee managed some of the world’s finest hotels and Mike’s paintings are sold internationally, so Le 1500 is definitely a place to visit and enjoy. http://www.le1500.rocks
The village of Saussignac continues to live up to its reputation as a place of Art and Wine.
Caro Feely walks through the Marche de Noel in Saussignac with her usual friendly and confident air.
Caro Feely, Co-Proprietor, Chateau Feely, Saussignac SW France
We smile and greet each other. I congratulate Caro on her recent important win in the world of wine tourism. Chateau Feely, of which she is Co-Proprietor with her husband Sean, is one of the 9 Gold Trophy winners in the first French National Wine Tourism Awards: Trophées de l’Oenotourisme. Chateau Feely won Gold for the Category: Education and Valorization/Recognition and Valuing the Environment.
This trophy award is significant as it puts the achievements of Caro and Sean at Chateau Feely on the national scene. With their January 2020 inclusion in the Forbes Travel Magazine list of 5 best places to learn about wine, they are now on the international map. This is tremendous recognition for their hard work and commitment.
Château Feely owned by Caro and Sean Feely
Chateau Feely
In addition to the sale of their organic and now biodynamic wines, Chateau Feely situated in the village of Saussignac, part of the Bergerac Wine Region, offers the visitor a broad repertoire of activities and events. Wine and Spirit Education Trust wine courses, the organic/biodynamic learning and education trail through the vineyard, ecologically built holiday accommodation are available. Wine tours and events such as wine harvesting days, the wine club and recently added yoga lessons taught by Caro, a qualified yoga teacher, round out the vacation experiences. There are also Caro’s three books providing a personal and entertaining insight into their experiences at Chateau Feely over the years.
I ask Caro if I can take her photo and write about what Chateau Feely has achieved in my blog. She is happy with both suggestions.
I’ve known Caro since about 2007. When we first met Caro and Sean, with their two young daughters, they were starting to make their way in the wine world in this beautiful part of SW France with their wine farm on the edge of the small village of Saussignac, about 20 mins from Bergerac.
Sean focuses on the farming side of the enterprise and Caro, with her background in marketing in the world of technology, moved the business forward in terms of visibility. Her leadership skills of focus, strategic thinking, perseverance, entrepreneurship and commitment to action have all contributed to where they are today.
Saussignac, this small village of about 420 residents, resting in the shadow of the 17th Century Chateau with 12th Century and earlier roots, is very much a part of the local wine community, having its own Saussignac Appellation for a late harvest delicious wine made by various wine makers in the area.
Route to Saussignac village
The village of Saussignac plays a leading role in wine tourism in the area and highlights the importance of community engagement and collaboration. Led by a dynamic group of local people, the village hosts weekly wine tastings on Monday evenings in July and August presented by a different wine chateau each week. The Confrérie du Raison d’Or de Sigoulès organizes weekly walks in the surrounding countryside during July and August. The village supports periodic Art Shows, theatre and music productions. A new restaurant in the village, Le 1500, with its welcoming courtyard, offers delicious and interesting meals. Le 1500 and Chateau Le Tap, an organic winery adjoining Chateau Feely offer excellent accommodation.
The Bergerac Wine Region has seen a steady growth in organic and biodynamic wineries, certified or following organic farming principles. I have written about several of them in the past: Chateau Le Tap, Chateau Lestevenie, Chateau Court les Muts, Chateau Monestier La Tour, Chateau Grinou, Chateau Hauts de Caillevel, Chateau Moulin Caresse, Chateau Les Plaguettes, Chateau Tour des Gendres, Vignobles des Verdots and Chateau Feely.
So what does wine tourism mean? In France, it is interpreted to encompass the countryside, heritage, history, culture, wine of course and all the people involved. It’s a broad perspective.
The objective of the Trophées de l’Oenotourisme is to shed light on initiatives taken by these winning wine chateaux and their proprietors, who like everyone in the wine industry, work hard every day to put in place strong and attractive wine tourism offerings to suit the changing demands of clients and to encourage others through these examples.
The opportunity to share wine tourism ideas is particularly important as the market for wine changes due to various issues including a gradual change in consumption, the effects of climate change on the grape varieties grown in wine growing areas and the positive focus on quality not quantity. It’s a sector under pressure and the sands of the wine industry are shifting.
This first national award scheme of Trophées de l’Oenotourisme for wine tourism is a collaborative initiative of the French wine and lifestyle magazine, Terre de Vins and Atout France, France’s national tourism development agency.
The list of the 9 Gold Trophy winners is noted at the end of this article. I have looked at the websites of each of the winning chateaux and found that exercise interesting and informative. In addition to these 9 chateaux, there are many others throughout France pushing the envelope on wine tourism.
When considering how people choose to spend their discretionary money, it is interesting to look at the world of retail. It appears people are buying fewer ‘things’ and spending their money on experiences. This seems to be a trend in vacation planning. As Caro says: “Our clients are looking for more, that extra something, when they go on vacation, and we provide that through our educational and environmental approach”.
We live in an age of increasing stress with the many diverse demands place on individuals and families. Mental health is a significant workplace safety and wellness consideration for individuals and organizations. A vacation in the countryside where one can have enjoyable experiences learning about nature, the environment, benefit from exercise, fresh air, good fresh food and excellent wine sounds like a healing proposition.
What are the lessons one can take away from observing what is happening in the world of wine tourism? These include:
Keeping up to date on trends, particularly about the evolution of the mature wine market.
Learning new skills and expanding knowledge of relevant topics
Using technology effectively to communicate with potential visitors
Investing time, energy and money (sourcing development funds where possible) to remain current
Adaptability. **
Collaboration and networking
Community engagement
To benefit from this awards initiative, one way of looking at these Wine Tourism Trophies and their 9 categories is to see them as case studies of success and adaptability. In this way, they offer value to students and observers of wine tourism. One new idea can have far reaching results. In an era of change in the wine industry, these learning opportunities take on greater significance.
Congratulations, Caro!
References:
Here’s the list of the 9 Gold Trophy winners:
Les lauréats des premiers Trophées de l’Œnotourisme:
Catégorie Architecture & paysages –Château de Pennautier (11610 Pennautier), Catégorie Art & culture – Maison Ackerman (49400 Saumur), Catégorie Initiatives créatives & originalités – Château Vénus (33720 Illats) , Catégorie Œnotourisme d’affaires & événements privés – Champagne Pannier (02400 Château-Thierry) , Catégorie Pédagogie & valorisation de l’environnement – Château Feely (24240 Saussignac) , Catégorie Restauration dans le Vignoble –Château Guiraud (32210 Sauternes) , Catégorie Séjour à la propriété – Château de Mercuès (46000 Cahors) , Catégorie Valorisation des appellations & institutions – Cité du Champagne Collet (51160 Aÿ-Champagne) , Catégorie Le vignoble en famille – La Chablisienne (89800 Chablis). I googled the chateau names to look at the websites.
Much is written these days about the benefits of spending time in Nature. As an example, this year the Duchess of Cambridge’s Nature Garden will be a highlight of the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in London (May 21-25, 2019). http://www.rhs.org.uk
What better way to spend time in Nature than to have a wine-tasting and walking holiday in the French countryside, in the Dordogne Valley near the small town of Bergerac? For time-out from the hurley-burley of city and work life, it would be difficult to find a better refuge for rejuvenating personal and family time.
Dusk at the end of a hike in the Dordogne – the outline of Chateau Saussignac
Within a defined radius around the communities of Saussignac, Monestier, Sigoules and Pomport, all within an easy drive of Bergerac Airport, there are many wineries where a visitor can happily indulge all three interests of Nature, Wine and Walking, or Randonnées as the French call walks in the countryside.
Bergerac Wine Region and adjoining wine areas
Locating Chateau Ladesvignes
Bergerac Wine Region, SW France
Aquitaine now expanded to Nouvelle Acquitaine, encompassing part of the Charente
Holidays in the French countryside often involve staying in self-catering Gites often attached to wineries. I’ve written in my blog about most of the wineries I am going to mention and will highlight the relevant blog posts. All the wineries offer wine tastings. In cases where I know the wineries offer accommodation I am mentioning this but not making any recommendations.
Walking maps are available in the villages, usually in the Mairies (Mayor’s office) or on a notice board in public areas. Another resource is Walking in the Dordogne: Over 30 walks in Southwest France by Janette Norton, available on Amazon.
The Confrerie du Raisin D’Or, an association which supports wine tourism in the area, organizes walks every Monday and Thursday in July and August. These walks always finish with a Vin d’honneur – wine tasting of local wines. At this time of writing, the Confrérie’s Randonnées program hasn’t yet been finalized for 2019 but will be available on their website: www.confrerieduraisindor.com
The Confrérie du Raisin D’Or de Sigoulès
Also available from March through November are jazz evenings offered in different wineries. The next concert will be held April 12 and in June, the jazz evening will be in Pomport. Check out the 2019 Jazz en Chais program: http://www.jazzpourpre.com
SAUSSIGNAC (4 km from Monestier and 12 km from Pomport and 12 km from Sigoules, 19.6 km from Bergerac Airport)
Château Feely owned by Caro and Sean Feely
Olivier Roche, proprietor of Château LeTap
Pierre Sadoux, father and son, Chateau Court les Mûts, Vigneron of the Year 2018, Bergerac Wine Region, Guide Hachette
Chateau Feely and Chateau Le Tap are adjoining wineries in this village. Both are organic wineries and both offer Gite accommodation.
Chateau Feely and associated business French Wine Adventures offers wine courses, walks and talks in the vineyard. Chateau Feely has been listed in the Top 100 wine estates in France, once for education and valorization of ecological practices and a second time for accommodation. Caro and Sean Feely have been pioneers in the area. www.facebook.com/chateaufeely
Chateau Le Tap wine information and Gite accommodation offered by Olivier and Mireille Roche is available on their website. Most recently, I mentioned Chateau Le Tap in the December 2018 post, Soirée Vigneronne. www.chateauletap.fr
Chateau Court Les Muts is also in Saussignac and offers wine tastings. We have been to a jazz evening offered in their winery in previous years. See elizabethsvines archive: December 2017 “Bred in the Bone: Vigneron of the Year 2018, Chateau Court Les Mûts. Jeweller Annabelle Degroote offers her creative and hand made jewellery on site. The creative pieces are made from vine tendrils, pearls and stones.www.court-les-muts.com
Local accommodation is also available at Le 1500, a Chambre d’Hôtes (B&B) and Café offering tapas, lunch and dinner located in the centre of Saussignac village opposite Chateau Saussignac. Contact Mike or Lee: saussignac@yahoo.com
MONESTIER
Sue and Humphrey Temperley, proprietors of Château Lestevenie
Gabriel Cuisset, co-proprietor with his brother and father of Château Grinou
Château Monestier La Tour. Time and the passage of time: Auguste Rodin quote, the sundial symbolising the passage of time and the watchmaking career of the Proprietor, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and the Chateau Monestier la Tour emblem of the Crane.
Three wine chateaux and a restaurant come to mind with respect to Monestier.
Chateau Monestier La Tour, which I wrote about in January 2019 with their herbarium and biodynamic agricultural practices. See my last blog post: “Philosopher, watchmaker, winemaker: Chateau Monestier La Tour, Monestier”. I recommend phoning to book an appointment for a visit. www.chateaumonestierlatour.com
Chateau Lestevenie, which I have mentioned several times in various blog posts, most recently in the December 2018, Soirée Vigneronne post. Chateau Lestevenie offer fun pop up dinners in the vineyard during the summer months. Sue and Humphrey Temperley can show you the variety of beautiful orchids growing on their property. It’s important to phone and book ahead for the popular (and delicious) pop up dinners.
Chateau Grinou – one of the early adopters of organic wine making practices in the area is located between Chateau Lestevenie and Chateau Monestier La Tour. I have not yet visited the winery but have met the co-proprietor Gabriel Cuisset and sampled their 2018 wine at the December 2018, Soirée Vigneronne. www.chateaugrinou.com
We have enjoyed many lunches at the Relais de Monestier restaurant, located in the centre of Monestier very near to the Chateau Monestier La Tour. Le Relais de Monestier is on Facebook.
POMPORT
The Suite of wines from Château les Hauts de Caillevel
Chateau Ladesvignes and the view beyond
We have visited two wineries in this community, which is between Saussignac and Monbazillac.
Chateau Ladesvignes. I wrote about this winery in 2013, which seems a long time ago now! Apart from delicious white wines at this winery, the views from here over the Dordogne Valley looking towards Bergerac town are spectacular. www.ladesvignes.com
Another nearby location to experience this amazing view is the restaurant near Monbazillac: La Tour des Vents, one star Michelin restaurant and adjoining brasserie. We have enjoyed several meals here over the years. Important to reserve in advance. www.tourdesvents.com
Chateau Les Hauts de Cailleval: see elizabethsvines archive, December 2017 “Living the Dream, Chateau les Hauts de Caillevel. I have good memories of sitting by a wood burning stove on a cold December day, drinking hot coffee and listening to the proprietor tell his story about wine making. www.leshautsdecaillevel.com
SIGOULES
Sigoulès
Members of the Confrérie du Gateau Basque in Sigoulès
The colourful parade of confréries
In the nearby village of Sigoules, the annual wine fair (Foire aux Vins de Sigoules) has been held here on the third weekend in July for over 40 years. It’s organized together with the annual gathering of the Confrerie du Raisin D’Or, which attracts many Confreries from all over France. The confrerie members officially parade through the village on the Saturday morning in their charming and creative costumes symbolizing the gastronomique culture they represent. It’s a colourful and happy occasion held in the market square, near the Code-Bar and bistro frequented by many locals. Le Code Bar, Sigoules is on Facebook.
There’s much more that can be written about the pleasures of this area: its proximity to the city of Bordeaux, the great wine areas of the Medoc and St. Emilion, the nearby route of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage, the historic sites of the 14th/ 15th Century 100 years war. There are the many food markets to tempt the visitor with local delicacies and kayaking on the Dordogne River to burn off calories. The list goes on and on.
My focus here is about the opportunity for tranquility, for relaxing in nature, enjoying excellent local wine presented to the visitors by the wine-makers themselves in most situations and for walking among the vineyards and lanes of this peaceful, rural area; and, without doubt, rejoicing in the experience and having fun.
In the first few moments of visiting Chateau Monestier La Tour, in Monestier, SW France near the town of Bergerac, I discover that the motto chosen by the proprietor, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, is a quotation from Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917), the eminent 20th French sculptor.
Château Monestier La Tour. Time and the passage of time: Auguste Rodin quote, the sundial symbolising the passage of time and the watchmaking career of the Proprietor, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and the Chateau Monestier la Tour emblem of the Crane.
Rodin said that: “However you use time, time will respect that”. The exact quotation is: “Ce que l’on fait avec le temps, le temps le respecte”. In other words, the decision of how to spend time is up to us; time itself is neutral.
Line drawing of Château Monestier La Tour with the Rodin quote
I remember seeing Rodin’s great sculpture: “The Thinker”: the seated man with elbow on knee, fist on his chin, deep in thought. Rodin is still famous for this sculpture, which is often used to represent philosophy.
This quotation and the remembered image sets the tone for the visit.
We can probably all remember our parents saying things like: “Don’t you have anything better to do with your time!” or words to that effect, while we, as teenagers, lollygagged around!
At Chateau Monestier La Tour, one of the ways in which time is figuratively measured is by the illustration of the sundial, or Cadran, over the entrance to the winery office and chai, showing the subdivision of time and the changing of the seasons. This illustrates another aspect of time; the time and patience required for goals and aspirations to manifest once set in motion. These symbols reflect the career expertise of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele as a watchmaker and Co-President of Chopard, famous Swiss watchmakers.
Winery office, Chai and presentation square
A way in which time is literally measured at Chateau Monestier La Tour is in the development and execution of short and long-term plans. A long-term strategic plan relates to the winery restructuring program to be completed by 2025. This has included the redevelopment of the vat room and barrel cellar, all ‘state-of-the-art’ and designed for quality results, effectiveness and the convenience of the winery employees.
New Vat Room
Barrel Cellar
In the shorter term, the quest has been for Chateau Monestier to become certified as an organic farm. This, after several years’ effort and hard work regenerating the land, the vines, the farming processes and transitioning to an organic framework, has been achieved in 2018 from Ecocert.
When the Scheufele family became owners of Chateau Monestier in 2012 they made the decision to improve the existing domaine and its winemaking and pursue biodynamic viticulture. These improvements included grubbing up some of the plots and replanting vines.
One key initiative has been the planting of a specific garden with herbs to nourish and support the soil and vines. The herbarium contains drying and storage facilities for the plants as well as to make the tissanes or teas with which to treat the soil and vines.
The herb drying room, Chateau Monestier La Tour, with the descriptions mounted on the wall..
Herb Drying and Storage Room
Herb Drying and Storage Room
Stéphane Derenoncourt, consultant and his team, who have biodynamic viticulture expertise, oversee the vineyards and wine making at Chateau Monestier La Tour. They use this expertise for making the tissanes from the different herbs, which require different temperatures to release their oils.
It’s this focus on using herbs to treat plants and soil as part of the biodynamic agricultural practices at Chateau Monestier La Tour that fascinates me. The opportunity to see where the plants are dried and the description of their uses is of particular interest. By way of example, I have described below three commonly known plants from the nine listed in the herbarium, the description of their uses, as well as the description of biodynamic compost.
Dandelion, known as Pissenlit in French (a very descriptive reference to its diuretic qualities) is used to support the vines in resisting diseases by strengthening the cellular structure of the plants.
Pissenlit or Common Dandelion
Dandelion/Pissenlit description
Nettle, known as Ortie in French, (yes, those nettles that sting aggressively if you brush by them) full of nitrogen and iron is used to stimulate plant growth. Nettles are used to prevent mildew.
The herb drying room at Ch Monestier La Tour – nettles in the left foreground
Nettle/Orte description
Comfrey, known as Consoude in French, full of potassium and iron is used as an insect repellent.
Comfrey/Consoude
Biodynamic Compost. Use of quality compost to fertilize the soil is key to biodynamic agriculture. Composting works with manure from organic farms and is used usually with six specific mineral elements supplied by plants.
Biodynamic compost description
As a side bar comment, all this sounds reminiscent of the work of Nicholas Culpeper, (1616 – 1654), botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer. He was the best-known astrological botanist of his time, pairing plants and diseases with planetary influences. I was brought up with the idea of acknowledging the power of plants and a copy of “Culpeper” was readily available in our home for reference.
I feel on familiar ground here.
Back to winemaking and the impact of these practices on the wine produced within this regime. These practices are regarded as homeopathy for plants, preventative not curative and the impact takes time so that the wine produced shifts over time as the biodynamic practices create beneficial change.
Five wines are produced using 6 grape varieties in the various blends. Two levels of red blends of Cabernet Franc and Merlot; white wine blend of Sauvignon and Sémillon, a rosé which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and the special late harvest wine particular to the area, Saussignac AOC which is a blend of Sémillon, Muscadel and Sauvignon. As a fan of red wines, their grand vin, Chateau Monestier La Tour, Côtes de Bergerac AOC, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, particularly catches my attention. I immediately appreciate the fine quality of this wine, which is full bodied but not heavy with good structure and with the Cabernet Franc will age well.
The Tasting Room, Chateau Monestier La Tour
The range of wines at Chateau Monestier La Tour
I have visited Chateau Monestier La Tour twice now and each time I am conscious of the timeless nature of the place. It feels very grounded. Each time, I have felt a sense of calm and peacefulness here. I feel this especially in the barrel cellar room, where I can almost feel the wines breathing and in the herbarium with the subtle fragrances of the herbs. The warm welcome from the Administrator at the Chateau is very much appreciated. I will be returning to look at the herb garden in bloom and thinking about what ideas I can use in our garden!
Chateau Monestier La Tour and the Scheufele family are making a significant values-driven investment in money and time in this small village in the Dordogne.
Meet two women wine and food entrepreneurs who, in different ways, connect SW France and Western Canada: Caro Feely in SW France and Marnie Fudge in Alberta, Canada.
Château Feely owned by Caro and Sean Feely
Marnie Fudge is co-proprietor of Cuisine and Château Culinary Centre
Caro Feely is an organic wine farmer and producer with her husband Sean at Chateau Feely, an organic wine estate located in the Dordogne in SW France. She has just returned from a book tour in British Columbia, Canada where she presented to Canadian audiences the latest of her three books, which describes the challenges and triumphs of building an organic wine business and raising a family while learning a second language.
I feel exhausted just thinking about it!
Caro’s books are called: Grape Expectations, Saving our Skins and her latest book Glass Half Full was released in April 2018.
In addition to writing about her family’s experiences, Caro and Chateau Feely offer organic wines made on site, Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) level 2 wine courses, Wine Weekends and luxury ecological accommodation. Check out Caro’s books and all information about Caro and Sean’s initiatives at Chateau Feely on their website below.
I have known Caro for many years and admire her hard work and innovative ideas.
Marnie Fudge is the co-proprietor with her partner, Thierry Meret, of Cuisine and Chateau, an interactive culinary centre in Calgary, Alberta. Marnie and Thierry offer cooking classes in Calgary, corporate team-building workshops based on teams cooking together and culinary tours. The culinary tours are a gastronomical weeklong adventure through the Périgord region of SW France enjoyed while staying in a 16th Century chateau.
I met Marnie on a business related course some years ago and subsequently introduced her to the Confrerie du Raison D’Or de Sigoules as they share common interests in the presentation of local wines and wine and food pairing.
I will quickly add here that the Confrerie du Raisin D’Or de Sigoulès is about to start their summer program of guided hikes and wine tastings in the Bergerac Wine Region. These are listed on their website below.
For many years, Marnie and Thierry have been bringing Canadians to enjoy the wine and food of SW France on a foodie adventure. During this stay, the group enjoys an evening with the Commander of the Confrerie du Raison D’Or de Sigoules who describes local wines and conducts a wine tasting focussed on a gastronomic dinner. I have been fortunate to attend one of these excellent events when, by chance, I was in France at the same time as the group.
Bergerac Wine Region showing Saussignac and Sigoulès
The Confrérie du Raisin D’Or de Sigoulès
Marnie and Thierry are bringing their 2018 tour group to France this month in June. Their 2019 Culinary Tour dates are posted on their cuisine and chateau website below.
Chateau Feely and Cuisine and Chateau are great examples of the international nature of the wine and food culture and sector. Bravo and Hats Off/Chapeaux to Caro and Marnie; these two women entrepreneurs are connecting SW France with people from Canada, and around the world.
References
Château Feely chateaufeely.com
Cuisine and Chateau cuisineandchateau.com
Confrérie du Raisin D’Or de Sigoules confrerieduraisindor.com
Winery proprietors Sylvie Chevallier and Marc Ducrocq are living their dream at Château les Hauts de Caillevel. Nearly twenty years ago, after careers in the corporate world, they decided to change course, live in the country, raise their children in a pastoral setting and make wine. Sylvie and Marc see themselves as partners with nature in the creation of wines from their property.
Official recognition of their Bio certification
After successfully completing oenology courses, Sylvie and Marc settled themselves at Chateau les Hauts de Caillevel in 1999 with the objective of making wine in the most environmentally friendly way they could. This approach culminated in their official certification as a “Bio” or a biologique/ organic farm in 2010, an achievement that deservedly gives them a sense of pride and satisfaction.
The vineyard is located high above the river valley on the plateau village of Pomport; approximately 20 minutes drive from Bergerac. Château les Hauts de Caillevel offers camping facilities as well as tastings to visitors. It’s a relatively small wine producer farming 18 hectares of which 8.70 hectares are red grapes and 9.30 hectares are white grapes and they produce eleven different wines.
Château les Hauts de Caillevel, winter view from the office
Driving along their expansive drive to the house and vineyard office, I feel the peaceful calm of this pastoral setting at the edge of the escarpment, which faces across the valley to neighboring villages. It’s the same sense of benign energy I have felt at another Bio winery in the Region, where I expected to see a unicorn appear from the surrounding woods at any moment.
It’s a chilly, misty December day and we are dressed warmly for the weather. I have made an appointment to visit the winery and meet Sylvie Chevallier on the recommendation of a colleague in the Confrèrie du Raisin D’Or de Sigoulès, the wine confrèrie I have had the pleasure of being a member of for several years. Sylvie Chevallier has a reputation for making good wine, recognized by the Guide Hachette. She is also someone who is recognized for her significant contribution to the area through her community work over the years.
December is a busy time for winemakers and so I appreciate the opportunity to visit this winery, which I did not know about previously.
As it turned out, Sylvie had other vineyard priorities she had to attend to on the morning of our visit. Undeterred, we have the pleasure of meeting her husband Marc. Over a coffee and warmed by the wood burning stove in their office, we settle down for an interesting conversation with Marc about wine making at Château les Hauts de Caillevel.
Several things stand out from that conversation that imply to me that here are two people who are risk takers and confident in their vision of making their own path in the wine-making world.
After completing their oenology training, they learnt about winemaking on the job with the help of external, experienced wine consultants.
They include in the suite of grape varieties that they grow an indigenous grape variety in the region called Périgord Noir, which has a lower alcohol by volume percentage than the typical varieties. In this way, they believe they are responding to the trend of consumers wanting to enjoy wine but with lower alcohol levels.
They grow Chenin Blanc, a grape variety more usually associated with the Loire Valley in France and in South Africa. According to AOC regulations, this variety can be blended in small quantities in the Bergerac Region white wine and Sylvie and Marc use Chenin in this way. They also make a 100% single varietal Chenin Blanc wine outside the AOC Bergerac Wine Region framework. I am interested to taste this as Chenin Blanc produces some of the greatest white wines in both Touraine and Anjou-Saumur in the Loire Valley. It’s a white wine that ages well.
We have a wide-ranging conversation and exchange of ideas about wine making both in France and Canada. We also talk about the trend to organic winemaking and the overall reduction in chemical usage, whether vineyards are formally certified Bio or not, that is widespread across the Bergerac Wine Region.
Towards the end of our visit, I ask Marc what was the biggest surprise in being a wine-maker over the years? His immediate response was the effect of nature and how one is at the mercy of the weather. His view is that wine-makers have to be a fatalist to accept what the weather brings. It’s an important reality check to hear this comment. I expect that wine makers also have to an overarching sense of optimism to cope with the unpredictability of nature.
After a pause, Marc also comments that the other surprise for him is how difficult it is to market wine due to various complications in the related processes. He feels this is a real issue for the smaller local wine producers, who can have difficulty making a living.
We run out of time to taste the wines of Chateau Les Hauts de Caillevel and so a return visit in 2018 will be planned. We do take a quick tour of the tasting room and I buy several wines including the 100% Chenin and a 2015 red, called Ebène, which is a Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend, to enjoy at home.
The Suite of wines from Château les Hauts de Caillevel
I appreciated Marc’s candour about the realities of being a wine chateau proprietor. Having the opportunity to visit and speak personally with winery proprietors in this way is for me, what makes wine come alive; recognizing that flow from grape to glass.
Inspector Bruno Courreges, gourmand, wine lover and local chief of police lives in the Périgord, SW France in the small town of St Denis, where he knows everyone and their secrets. He enjoys a peaceful life with his vegetable garden, horse, ducks and hens and defends the local community, its people and traditions against threats that menace the traditional way of life.
Inspector Bruno also has a weakness for intelligent, independent minded women.
Without question, then, he would be supportive of the women winemakers of Bergerac.
While I, and I am sure many others, would greatly enjoy meeting Inspector Bruno, there will be no such opportunity as he is the fictional creation of Martin Walker. For myself, I feel I have become acquainted with Inspector Bruno from reading the novels.
Inspector Bruno mystery series by Martin Walker
I have met Martin at a couple of wine events in the Dordogne. After reading the following article in a local Dordogne English language newspaper, The Bugle, I decided to write to him and ask if I could reproduce his article about women wine makers of Bergerac on my website. He has graciously agreed to this and I am very pleased to include his article below.
‘The Bugle, June 2016
The women winemakers of Bergerac by Martin Walker
Along with the Universities of Bordeaux, Padua and Melbourne, the Davis campus in California is one of the world’s great wine schools and last year for the first time, half of the graduates were women. And our own Bergerac region is remarkable for the number of women making terrific wines.
Not all of them are French. The legendary Patricia Atkinson of Clos d’Yvigne may have retired but the wines she made are still being produced by her successors. Le Rouge et Le Noir may be the best known, a classic blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon but I also enjoy the wine she called le Prince, a blend of merlot and cabernet franc. And her book, The Ripening Sun, is strongly recommended as one brave woman’s account of a triumphant and often lonely struggle to make prize-winning wines from scratch.
Not far from her vineyard at Gageac-et Rouillac near Saussignac is Chateau K, where the Norwegian Katharina Mowinckel may have given up her dream of becoming a world-class horsewoman, but now makes first-rate organic wines. The original name of the Chateau was Fougueyrat, but knowing that Scandinavia would be an important market, she decided that Chateau K would be easier to pronounce. And the Chateau K wines she makes are very good indeed, as you might expect from this lovely corner of the Bergerac. Her cheaper wines, called simply K, are also good value.
My friend Sylvie Chevallier produces lovely wines at Les Hauts de Caillevel, prize-winning Monbazillacs, charming wines and very serious red wines indeed. I was honoured to be on a jury where we were able to recognize the quality of her wines and then I had the pleasure of getting to know her when we were both promoting Bergerac food and wine in Switzerland, when the traveling Lascaux museum was on show in Geneva. And now Sylvie has been elected the apolitical chair of the tourism committee of our regional council, a fine choice. I just hope it leaves her sufficient time to continue producing her splendid wines. And like more and more Bergerac wines these day, they are bio-organic certified. She calls herself ‘a peasant winemaker’ but her wines are noble indeed.
Brigitte Soulier at Chateau la Robertie makes wines so good they are served at the Vieux Logis restaurant in Tremolat, my own favourite place to eat. Her Monbazillacs are a treat but I have a great fondness for her red wines, which add a little Cot (the old Perigord name for Malbec) to the usual Cabernet-Merlot blend.
If you have not yet visited Caro Feely at Saussignac, you should. Caro runs wine courses and lunches and with her husband Sean makes very fines wines indeed. If you get hold of their red wine called Grace, treasure it for a few years. But also enjoy the view from their home over the Dordogne valley all the way to Bergerac.
Chateau Feely, home of Caro Feely, one of the women wine makers of Bergerac
I had the pleasure one evening at Sean and Caro’s home of meeting their neighbor, Isabelle Daulhiac, who with her husband Thierry make some of the best value Bergerac Sec white wines that I know. I cannot possibly leave out Nathalie Barde of Chateau le Raz or Sylvie Deffarge Danger of Chateau Moulin Caresse (a name that perfectly describes the smoothness of her red wines) but I am running out of space.
And then there is our local TV superstar, Gaelle Reynou-Gravier of the Domaine de Perreau at St-Michel-de-Montaigne, in the Montravel district of Bergerac. She is the model for Gaelle Dumesnil in the latest version of Le Sang de la Vigne (Blood of the Einre) French TV series. In the latest episode, she is the inspiration for the role of the childhood sweetheart of one of the stars of the series. But the real stars are her two special wines, a wonderfully deep red called Desir Carmin and an enchanting Desir d’Aurore, which I consider the best Chardonnay wine produced in the Bergerac.
I should add that she is more than lovely enough to play the role herself, but having a wife over thirty years and two daughters, I have been thoroughly schooled in the dangers of being a sexist. But each of the women I have cited is as lovely and delightful as the wines she makes, and I offer up my thanks to le Bon Dieu that such magnificent women made such splendid wines.’
A note about Martin Walker, author of this article:
Martin Walker, author of the best-selling ‘Bruno, chief of police’ novels, is a Grand Consul de la Vinée de Bergerac. Formerly a journalist, he spent 25 years as foreign correspondent for The Guardian newspaper and then became editor-in-chief of United Press International. He and his wife Julia have had a home in the Périgord since 1999 and one of his great hobbies is visiting the vineyards of Bergerac.
We returned recently to the Royal Academy of Art in London to attend the Anselm Kiefer exhibition and, as suggested in my last post, to follow it up with a tasting of the new RA English wine selection of Davenport Limney Estate sparkling wine.
A quick refresher about this English wine is that it is produced from Pinot Noir and Auxerrois grapes. Davenport Vineyard is an organic winery in East Sussex and the 2014 winner of the United Kingdom Vintners Association (UKVA) Vintners Trophy for their sparkling wine.
We enjoy a glass of Will Davenport’s Limney Estate sparkling wine with a light lunch of green bean salad in the newly opened Grand Cafe at the Royal Academy.. Perhaps not a conventional wine and food pairing yet it worked well and we enjoyed both. This light gold coloured English sparkling wine has substance; is dry, smooth, and rich in flavour with just the right amount of bubbles. As I drink this wine, with its apple aromas on the nose, it opens up to the classic baked biscuity taste. Enjoying all these characteristics, I immediately have that joie de vivre feeling.
A successful and light-hearted conclusion to our visit to the grand scale and diverse exhibition of works by this contemporary painter, sculptor and prolific artist.
References: Royal Academy of Arts, London www.royalacademy.org.uk
I am idly glancing at the Cyprus Mail newspaper one day earlier this year and come across an article about English sparkling wines. In a moment of quiet reflection, I realize that I am mainly writing about French, Canadian and Cyprus wines but not paying attention to what is happening with wines in my homeland! With United Kingdom wines now on my radar, I decide to look for an opportunity to try English and maybe Welsh wines on our next trip to the UK.
Such an opportunity presents itself this spring. A visit to a favourite place in London, The Royal Academy of Arts, established in 1768 and housed at Burlington House in Piccadilly, followed by lunch with a long time friend at their new restaurant, The Keeper’s House, provides the perfect occasion.
An example of exhibitions at the RA – Royal Academy of Arts, London
We each have a glass of Chapel Down white wine, a clear, shining white with good acidity and full of apple flavours as befits a wine from the great English apple growing area of South East England. This Pinot Blanc 2010 was a refreshing complement to our fish lunch.
Subsequent exploration of Chapel Down winery reveals that it is one of the top English wineries. It won several trophies in the annual wine industry 2014 English and Welsh Wine of the Year Competition. This competition is organized by the United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA), and apparently is the only competition in the world judged entirely by Masters of Wine.
Chapel Down Winery – an English winery
The United Kingdom Vineyard Association (UKVA) website is a mine of information. In reviewing it, I learn an important definition when considering wines from the United Kingdom.
“English or Welsh Wine is made from fresh grapes grown in England or Wales and produced in UK wineries. All of the UKVA members grow grapes to produce this type of wine.
British Wine, however, is not the same thing at all. It is the product of imported grapes or grape concentrate that is made into wine in Britain. “British” wines are not wines as defined by the EU which specifies that wine can only be the product of fermented freshly crushed grapes.” (UKVA website)
An important distinction to avoid making an unintentional wine faux pas when either buying or ordering UK wine.
But I digress.
Back to The Keeper’s House at the Royal Academy. A conversation with an employee reveals an interesting twist to their menu preparation and wine and food selection. They not only design their menus to reflect the changing seasons but also in some small way to reflect the essence of Royal Academy exhibitions. Like most major art galleries, the Royal Academy restaurants take great pride in presenting good value food and wine selections.
The new seasonal menu is being developed and fine-tuned. Along with the seasonal change in food selections, comes a change in wine offerings which helps showcase different wineries.
The new wine selection includes two wines from Davenport Winery in East Sussex. The Davenport Horsmonden 2013, is a dry white made from a blend of 5 grape varieties. The wine notes indicate that there are nuances of lemon and nettles; I can’t wait to taste this!
The selection also includes the Davenport Limney Estate sparking wine produced from Pinot Noir and Auxerrois. Davenport is an organic winery and another prizewinner in the 2014 English and Welsh Wine of the Year Competition with their sparking wine the first organic sparking wine to win a trophy.
Davenport Vineyards – an English winery
The next major Royal Academy exhibition runs from September 27 to December 14, 2014 and features the works of contemporary German artist, Anselm Kiefer who is an Honorary Royal Academician. Some say his art is rooted in his beginnings: the end of the Second World War and the start of the new era in which we are still living.
Regarded as a colossus of contemporary art, and “one of the most imaginative, original and serious artists alive” (RA Website/The Guardian), this exhibition of the work of Anselm Kiefer has all the hallmarks of an intriguing visit. A post-visit glass of quintessentially English wine will surely encourage a stimulating discussion.
So having had a brief introduction to English wines what about trying some Welsh wine I ask myself?
Our visit to the UK includes a brief visit to Wales and in particular to the wind swept beaches of the Gower Peninsular in South Wales.
The wine swept Rhoshilli Beach, Gower Peninsular, S. Wales
What better place to taste some Welsh wine! We do this at Fairyhill hotel and restaurant located in Reynoldston, Gower. A review in Moneyweek Magazine/The Guardian recently noted: “for foodies and wine lovers, delightfully informal Fairyhill is a Welsh institution”.
Fairyhill hotel nestled in the woods in the Gower Penninsular, S Wales
Fairyhill Hotel terrace garden
Fairyhill is famous for their deep-fried cockle canapés which are served in a small dish in the same way as one would serve peanuts. These are a favourite of mine not only because they are delicious but also because they remind me of my childhood visits to Wales. We enjoy the cockles as we decide on a wine to drink with dinner. To pursue the idea of sampling Welsh wines, we order a bottle of Rosé from Ancre Hill Vineyard, Monmouth, a more recent winery whose grapes were first planted in 2006. A light (11% ALC/VOL) wine with strawberry overtones, this Rosé could be a summer sipping wine.
Ancre Hill Vineyard – Monmouth, Wales
Fine Wines Direct UK, who represent Ancre Hill Vineyard, describes the winery as follows:
“The Ancre Hill Estate, which is situated in Monmouth has a unique micro/meso climate, on average it gets a quarter of the rainfall of Cardiff and plenty of sunshine hours to ripen the grapes. With huge plans to farm Bio-dynamically and with plans to build a state of the art winery, this award winning Welsh vineyard continue to grow from strength to strength, with the first vintage of the Pinot Noir now available on allocation.”
As we finish our visit to the UK, I realize my window on English and Welsh wines has been opened by a couple of inches only. There is clearly much more to learn and appreciate to get the full view of this industry.
History indicates that vineyards were first established in Britain during the 300 years of Roman occupation. Organizations such as the Royal Academy of Arts, Fairyhill and others are providing wine lovers with the opportunity to taste contemporary English and Welsh wines. They are increasingly getting the recognition they deserve.
References:
Royal Academy of Arts and the Keeper’s House Restaurant
I arrive at Terroir Feely/Chateau Haut Garrigue to talk to the co-proprietor, Caro Feely about their winemaking and wine tourism business. On my way here, walking down the country lane towards their farm past the Saussignac Cemetery, dignified yet colourful with the many pots of commemorative flowers, I reflect upon the niche that Caro and Sean have carved for themselves in the highly competitive wine making business.
Terroir Feely
Sean and Caro have been in Saussignac, a small village in the Bergerac wine region in the Dordogne since 2005. That was the year they changed their life and moved from corporate lives in Ireland to become wine makers in the Dordogne. Their initiation to their new life is a compelling read in Caro’s book: Grape Expectations: A Family’s Vineyard Adventure in France. It’s a page turning book and the reason for my sense of awe when I meet this low-key yet dynamic couple.
Autumn view from Terroir Feely
Always intrigued by the process through which people create major life changes, I read Caro’s book with this sense of enquiry in mind. Caro and Sean embarked upon a new lifestyle of considerable uncertainty: no wine-making experience when they started, language barriers, the burden of French bureaucracy, two small daughters to raise and a host of other challenges. Yet, they had personal qualities of perseverance, adaptability, optimism and drive together with experience in marketing and financial management. These personal attributes and competencies have stood them in good stead. On top of this, their passion for the life-style, the land and region, and organic, sustainable and now biodynamic farming has fueled their energy to make it all happen.
Learning to make good wine wasn’t enough to succeed. Caro has said that the transition to their new life was “beyond hard”. They soon realized that they needed to diversify in order to survive financially. This in turn led to the creation of French Wine Adventures with wine courses; wine walks with vineyard lunches, the Harvest Weekend, and the building of their ecological accommodation at the vineyard. Their brand new swimming pool opens this season. In other words, they have created a biodynamic virtuous circle of wine making and wine tourism.
Terroir Feely/Chateau Haut Garrigue is a Certified Biodynamic farm of approximately 10 hectares under vines. Demeter, the internationally recognized biodynamic certifying body, certified Terroir Feely/Chateau Haut Garrigue as biodynamic in 2011 following their organic certification from Ecocert in 2009. In addition, The Great Wine Capitals Network recognized Terroir Feely as the Regional Winner for Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices in 2013. Their wines are also gaining recognition for quality.
Best of Wine Tourism 2013 Award
I ask Caro what draws people to visit them at Terroir Feely/Chateau Haut Garrigue. She doesn’t hesitate to respond:
“ We are passionate about what we do and we create a personal experience for people. We share common interests with our visitors. We are eco-friendly; we make certified biodynamic wines; we have ecological buildings. People come to enjoy the vineyard and participate in our Harvest Weekend which is the first weekend in October.”
We talk about wine farming practices and their evolution from organic to biodynamic status in 2011.
Caro explains that it takes 3 years to convert to biodynamic status. Farming practices are introduced in which the vineyard is cultivated as part of a whole farm system. It involves making and using preparations for the soil and plants from plant and manure materials as well as caring for the vines and the soil according to the biodynamic calendar which suggests times to sow, harvest, prune in synch with phases of the moon. She tells me that since they have been following the strict biodynamic approaches that more orchids have appeared on the farm as well as greater biodiversity. She also believes these practices have benefitted their wines!
Caro says that until she saw the difference biodynamic practices made to their farm, she thought that biodynamics sounded like “dancing with the fairies”. To gain a better understanding myself, I subsequently looked up various sources and websites including: Demeter, various Rudolf Steiner sites, Berry Bros and Rudd Wine Merchants. There is a lot of material about the subject.
In brief, biodynamic agriculture originates in the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher and agronomist who lived from 1861 – 1926. He gave a famous agricultural series of lectures in 1924, which predate most of the organic movement. The principles and practices of biodynamics are based on Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual philosophy called anthroposophy, which includes understanding the ecological, the energetic and the spiritual dimensions in nature. One of Rudolf Steiner’s greatest admirers was Maria Thun (1922 – 2012) who created an annual biodynamic gardening calendar that Caro refers to on the Terroir Feely/Chateau Haut Garrigue website.
The name Rudolf Steiner was familiar to me because of his influence in education. Waldorf Schools which originated from his humanistic approaches to education are in evidence today in about 60 countries.
From a viticulture perspective, biodynamics views the farm as a cohesive, interconnected living system. For a vineyard to be considered biodynamic by Demeter, the vine-grower must use the 9 biodynamic preparations described by Rudolf Steiner. These are all preparations made from plants or manure and applied to the plants and soil.
Biodynamics in viticulture is growing and is practiced by farmers in several countries including France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Chile, South Africa, Canada and the US. While organic and biodynamic farming doesn’t guarantee great wine, it appears that there is a tendency for wines made with these farming practices to be more highly scored by consumers with respect to expressions of terroir, balance and more vibrant tastes. Tasters indicate that biodynamic wines are more floral in flavour.
In general, there is a continuum of farming approaches progressing away from industrial practices that rely on chemicals towards using fewer chemical interventions and introducing more sustainable practices leading to organic and biodynamic approaches. Farming interventions are regulated in the EU, as elsewhere, including the use of mineral substances like copper and sulphur which are permitted in all approaches to wine farming along the continuum– it’s a question of degree.
Literature about biodynamic wine making refers to Certified Biodynamic wine making and also to wine makers who practice “broadly biodynamic” farming approaches. This implies that they subscribe to and follow many of the biodynamic practices yet do not pursue the biodynamic certification. From our observation visiting many wine makers, this translates into the ever-increasing attention to improved agricultural practices, which is positive for the land, the farmers themselves and the consumer. Caro and Sean have gone that step further in following the rigorous standards for their farm to be Certified Biodynamic.
Caro tells me that; “ …the Bergerac Wine Region has the highest number of organic wine producers in France after Alsace.”
All to say that the dialogue around farming practices is increasing and the interest in biodynamics is growing. In a competitive wine world, it’s worth noting that over the past 10 years there has been significant growth in the sales of biodynamic wines as consumers shift their interest to biodynamic and sustainable practices.
It’s 9 years since Caro and Sean made their major lifestyle and career leap of faith into wine making in the Dordogne. Since 2007, they have been practising biodynamic wine making, achieving their certification in 2011. I have tasted their wines several times over the years and I particularly like their Sauvignon Blanc, “Sincérité”.
Terre de Vins 2013 recommendation
Caro and Sean have been generous with their time talking to me about their vineyard adventures to date. I close my notebook and say my goodbyes. It’s time to let Caro and Sean get back to their work.
References: Royal Academy of Arts, London www.royalacademy.org.uk
