Note the birds in the lower section which correspond to the sites directly above

With so much thinking about the vineyards, I’ve buried my head in book after book. I had told myself that I wouldn’t open the Lavalle book unless it was for something important since the binding is nearly gone. I have recently decided to have either a new binding, such as what the Danguy et Aubertin 1892 has, or some sort of leather book holder.

As I was saying, I was to not open the book unless it was for good reason. Well, I’m finally having a website setup by a professional. And, we’ve been looking at some of these old photos in the books to be inspired. I decided it was about time to scan the lithograph of Gevrey-Chambertin from the original Lavalle book so I could stare at it longer without worrying about opening and closing the book. What is interesting in the litho is the method of identifying the vineyards. Small birds are to be found at the bottom of the page with the vineyard name next to it. If you follow in a straight line just above the bird below, you will find a bird in the depiction as well in the proper vineyard. Interesting, yet simple concept. Anyhow, please enjoy the litho.

Cheers

‘How are the vineyards looking?’

I decided to take a few shots from the different vineyards sites Maison Ilan sources from. This is important not only for entertainment, but also to track the vineyards progress.

Berries are filling in, with the caps completely pushed off.

Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru 'Les Chaffots'

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 'Aux Charmes'

Le Chambertin Grand Cru

Enjoy the pics!

Looking down the hill of Les Chaffots towards Clos Saint Denis

Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru ‘Les Chaffots’ is the only premier cru vineyard that I currently source from. It’s location is quite interesting as it is just above Clos Saint Denis and just above and to the left of Clos de la Roche, both Grand Crus. Part of the current Clos Saint Denis was actually at one time Les Chaffots. At just over 25-30 years for the vine age, these vines are also the youngest that I currently source from. The terrain here is the most littered with limestone of the three as well. The quality of fruit here speaks for itself when tasting the wines. I’m very excited to continue working with this fruit. Just two weeks ago, we visited the vineyard and I took a few shots.

Enjoy!

*Note that the Morey Saint Denis is Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru ‘Les Chaffots’ (a much longer name)

Besides checking the wine through analysis, I’ve been busy with a bunch of things. Setting up the cable, phone service, tearing into the massive garden in our courtyard (which will double as the are for processing fruit during harvest), and painting have been major tasks. They’ve all been fun though. Really, I’m serious. Going from an empty house in Burgundy to changing over a garage to a cuverie, filling up a very old cave with your wine, getting your refrigerator together along with beds is major. Everything I tinker on just makes me so happy and my wife and daughter seem to be enjoying my handywork…though my painting can use a lot of practice.

Today, it’s raining, so there will be a small break in the paint workshop. I still have a lot of painting to do. Hopefully the rain will let up tomorrow so I can get back to work. There is a fair amount of 1950′s green on the walls which I am in a hurry to whiten up.

The garden is coming along as well. There were weeds much taller than me, at around 7 feet tall. All of these were ripped out by hand as I didn’t have the proper tools to fit the timing of my increasing impatience. I also cleared out a nice strawberry patch as it had decided to run wild throughout the garden. Sad to see them go, but I’ll plant more soon. Next, I bought some trees. Clementine Mandarins, Lemon, Pear, Cherries and a few herbs. Today a friend and I were set to roto-till the garden and plant some grass (between painting, of course) but the rain pushed the plans until another day.

Thankfully through all of this my wife has been watching Isabella, our daughter while I ran around getting things done. Isabella even helped pick some weeds with me, dandelion by dandelion. She’s much more precise than I am. Hopefully she is free during harvest.

Cheers

]]> http://blog.maison-ilan.com/2010/06/08/painting-gardening-and-just-a-bit-of-winemaking/feed/ 0 Maison Ilan AnalysisJuin2010-1 http://blog.maison-ilan.com/2010/06/04/life-in-burgundy/ http://blog.maison-ilan.com/2010/06/04/life-in-burgundy/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:58:08 +0000 Ray Walker http://blog.maison-ilan.com/?p=1126 ]]> How long have I been wanting to write this entry? Words cannot do justice to the way this feels. Saying ‘let’s go home’ and meaning Nuits-Saint-Georges in a real bell ringer and something that has actually kept me up at night thinking about. Before leaving to Burgundy from Northern California, I often thought about what this would feel like. I’m not quite sure that it matches up with how I thought it may be. Its all a bit more….real.

So, how is life in France? Things are going well. I’m sitting here and thinking about the calmness of it all. There is indeed a different pace to it all out here that really meshes with my personality. Not my California personality, my new French personality which is much more patient, into nature and a glass of wine at lunch.

Yesterday, I spoke with a friend who asked me to ask my wife if things felt comfortable in France, if things felt ‘right’. The response from my wife made me realize further that we made the right decision. Sure, the wine is tasting great  -why shouldn’t it – but the goal is to be happy, right? And, hearing that my wife is happy just means the world to me. To see my daughter smiling as she rides the carousel in Beaune really means a lot to me. I want both, you know. The dream and the practical life. Greedy? Sure. But, I am quite thankful to have it this way. I know it is a blessing, and I intend to make the most out of it.

Moving forward, life in Burgundy has been much much more than just drinking wine, cheeses, beautiful landscapes and great food. Well, maybe just a bit more. As it turns out, there isn’t too much difference in life in Burgundy (so far) versus life in California. For example, there are movie theaters, McDonald’s (can’t eat it in either place for too long), bad drivers, too many tourists (not me!), nothing on cable, poor cell phone coverage, expensive gas (gazoil) and there are so many places that are within a two hours drive or train ride.

Alright, honestly, things may be a bit different. The movie theater in Nuits has just one movie playing. If something is playing, you better go quickly. There is usually just one showing a day. Sex and the City just replaced Prince of Persia and I’m not too thrilled about that at all. Next, shopping carts here are crazy. They have no locked back wheels so each wheel spins completely. Sounds like its not a big deal until you try to steer one. Next, everything is closed on Sundays, or whenever the owner doesn’t wish to have a shop open. This is fun when you drive an hour to go somewhere and the place is closed. Don’t complain, this is France! Next, speed cameras on the freeway bite into some of the fun which I had when I was younger and more Californian.

Not all is lost, wifi is fast, food can be cheap, television can be free (aside from bonus subscriptions), people care about saying hello, the air is fresh, there are always sales at the supermarket, meats, cheeses and pastries are to be found everywhere and life here is much easier for families. There are countless things that have stood out as reasons why I know things will continue to go well here in Burgundy. All in all. I am just happy that my family is happy and that the wines are steadily advancing. Playing out the realities of one’s dreams can never be too hard on your spirits. This is something that occurred to me while I was struggling to pull up a massive tree in my garden last weekend. The work towards something you believe in can never be in vain. Knowing this puts a great deal of things into perspective for me.

Well, with my wifi now up and running I will be sure to post more updates.

Cheers!

Well, I just kept thinking of oak and fermentations. The smell of it really. I couldn’t wait to smell the cave. When I left after moving the barrels from Saint Aubin the cave smelled of…cave. Just days before, my cave had been filled with nothing but broken bricks, pebbles and dirt.

Opening up the cave doors in the pitch dark night was really an experience. I used my phone for light. Upon opening a cool draft coming from the cave brought a smile to my face. It had been seriously hot that day and having a cool cave was quite welcome.

Walking in I noticed the smells. Beautiful! The cave now smells like home. Things were still tidy, but I’m sure I’ll have much to tinker with. I later remarked to my wife that it now smells like a real winery. She actually looked surprised and replied that it is a real winery. I’m not sure how to describe that moment, but I can tell I will remember it for the rest of my life.

Cheers!

Crazy. And, with the amount of time remaining in California seeming to disappear I have started to do a California bucket list. Last night: sushi and pinot noir. Watching an IMAX film is on there as well. Hopefully a suitable movie (read: Not Freddy) will come up so we can experience IMAX again before leaving. There are a few other things, we like Fleur de Lys in San Francisco. I’ll be going to NikeTown to buy some nice basketball shoes (for a change) since I intend to play a bunch of basketball in France with my friend Jean-François Rateau who is more – ahem – mature than me and much more fit, sadly. Anyhow, what has occurred to me is that my California bucket list is pretty short. I’ve done a lot here, had a lot of fun. Yet not much comes up as things I just need to do one last time, or as something I have yet to do here. Alright, I will admit, I did plan to take Christian, my wife (closet Cab lover) to Napa for the third time. Oops, with just weekend left, can’t do that one.

Well, at this point, I can’t really guess at to how much all of our lives will be affected and I am quite enjoying the suspense.

UPDATE: The container needs to be exchanged. Seems someone moved a car in the container and the car had a bad oil leak. The oil is roughly 4 feet across and the fumes are blowing like crazy!

This should be fun.

Cheers!

The last month or so has been a quiet busy. There was no rushing about, no constant checking my watch or worrying about days disappearing. I looked on towards May, it felt so distant. Now, we are in the thick of it. Boxes have been crammed full (‘yes, honey…I packed them carefully’) and shoved away into oblivion. Did I really tell someone not two weeks ago that moving isn’t all that bad? I really should keep more of my thoughts to myself. Meanwhile, the juggling act continues. Infant daughter in one hand, packing tape in the other, things have managed to fall – or get crammed – into their proper place.

With time running out, I have embraced my (not so) hidden excitement. It truly is an odd thing starting a winery on the other side of the globe and simply leaving, only returning to check in with topping up here and there. Having a friend who is an oenologist working at an analysis lab is quite valuable in this situation. Rest assured, the wines have been well looked after. Back to my last thought. It is quite a feeling to leave something you have worked so hard on. As it is, it has probably been best this way. I am the type that goes to the cave to eat lunch by the barrel to ease my obsessions. It doesn’t work by the way. Once the wine is in barrel, you wait…and check, and wait some more until you can’t stand it…and then you wait until you almost forget the wine is actually meant to be placed into a bottle and enjoyed.

Well, having endured the months of flying to and from France while having the wines cozy beneath our vacant house in Nuits-Saint-Geoerges, we are finally about to move permanently from California. No exclamation point needed. I’m a bit too tired to make use of it anyhow. With just under two weeks remaining we are trying to say farewell to family and friends and really making it a point to enjoy what little time we have left in the US. Bitter sweet? Nah, wouldn’t go that far. But it certainly is quite the feeling to leave behind everything that you know.

Well, back to work….

Cheers!

I started with Pimsleur audio cds which I rented from the library. I also bought a few French text books. While I knew almost nothing of the lessons which accompanied them, it was interesting to see what someone else would see while sitting in an actual room, taking a proper course of study. Next, I went to livemocha.com. This site is excellent! There is a strong community of people around the world that are both learning as you are, and a good many that are generous enough to offer free help in their native language…the one you are learning. I found that there course outline of word/picture association was quite similar to Rosetta Stone. I didn’t wish to spend for RS so LiveMocha was a big help.

At this time, I noticed that I could hear a pattern in French, a rhythm if you will. When you notice this for yourself, it is easier to keep up with the sounds which are forming words when someone is speaking. Also, if you practice this rhythm yourself, native speakers will be able to understand you better. I have found that when a non-native speaker is speaking French it isn’t just accent which can through off communication. If your rhythm is off, it can be quite difficult for the other person to understand you. With this in mind, I subscribed to TV5 Monde, a French Cable station through Comcast Cable. Seeing the body language and specific gesturing which went into French was endlessly helpful. After this, I bought a few more French books, French for Dummies, etc. Also, I bought an Instant Immersion book and set of audio cds which allowed me to learn by reading while having something to listen to as well.

After this, I subscribed to Netflix to watch a bunch of French movies. I would toggle the subtitles off/on to see how much I could pick up without the subtitles on, rewinding and having the subtitles on to check to see if I was simply full of it. Most of the time, yup, I was full of it, and completely wrong. But, who was to know? I just found out Why I was wrong and went about getting better. Hearing all of these different voices in French allowed me to be able to understand a good many styles of speaking French as well as affording me the ability to be able to switch gears when someone spoke differently than myself. Shortly after, I bought a bunch of old French wine books so I could speak ‘wine French’. Tools, methods, observations, etc are easier to speak about when you are using the specific words for that context.

Finally, Rosetta Stone. Worth the money? Sure. But, I would suggest that this software is best used along with some of the other material to make sure you have a solid foundation for spelling, grammar, etc. Throughout learning, I was never shy about using 110% of the French I knew. Meaning, I would guess at some words I would assume would follow the pattern. In a lot of situations, it worked wonderfully. Others…not so much. But, people were always very friendly helping me along with a smile and the proper way to get my words out in the right order. Many times, the person I was speaking with would ask me how to say something in English (asking in French) and the word was written exactly the same and only pronounced just a bit differently than we would say it in English.

All in all, it is amazing at times when it occurs to me just how much French is in English and indeed how much English is in French.

Alright then, back to studying for me.

Cheers!

A few changes will begin to take place in 2010. We will of course make the wines in Nuits-Saint-Georges, where we will live. The fruit sources from 2009 will stay under our control. Le Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin and Morey Saint Denis – Les Chaffots will be with us for a good many vintages to come. Think decades.

Also, I am officially on the hunt for some Chambolle-Musigny and some Vosne-Romanée fruit (1er Cru) along with more Gevrey-Chambertin (either 1er Cru or Grand Cru). Don’t get too excited….many others are as well. Still, wish me luck. The garage…I mean cuverie will be set up with mostly to exclusively wooden fermenters. Also, barrels are being set up for this year, all 1 year used oak, same cooper, same forest, same toast level, hopefully same impact on the wines creating an level starting point to show the individuality of each site. That’s right, I won’t be buying any new wood this year. As for leveling the playing field, I felt this option better than 100% new oak across the line. 1 year used oak still has a surprising amount of oak influence (taste, texture, grip, etc). I am also looking at changing the way I buy fruit from weight purchases (actually we use the amount of grapes in kg to produce 1 barrel of grapes) to hopefully buying fruit by maximum hectare yield. This allows me to drop fruit to my preferences while ensuring the owner that they will receive top dollar for their vineyards production.

Well, back to work.

Cheers