Grape harvesting in Côte Roannaise

Published 7 / 09 / 2022 Reading time: 7 min

In September, history repeats itself in the heart of the Côte Roannaise vineyard. The harvest period begins for an average of 15 days depending on the estate. Thierry Désormière, winemaker of an 18-hectare estate in the town of Renaison in the Loire department, agreed to answer our questions to shed light on this harvest and processing period.

During this period, the Côte Roannaise recorded more unrest than usual. The bunches fall under the prompt gesture of the pickers. The porters roam the aisles with determination and the tractor drivers look great in the high and beautiful green vineyards.

Pickers, carriers and tractor drivers are all grape pickers. Domaine Desormière has 55 this year. A forwarder has to manage about 8 pickers. The number of pickers also varies according to the size of the estate.

In addition to the late frost and episodes of hail, this year the winegrowers suffered from drought. But according to Thierry Desormière, the rain came at the right time and in good quantity. The vines were therefore not affected by the heat and the drought.

Les vendanges en Côte Roannaise à Renaison — A picker empties his harvest © Clovis Huet / RT

Harvesting: This is the action of picking all the fruit from the vine, which can be done manually or with agricultural machinery.

The harvest in 4 stages

All year round, the winegrowers pamper their vines. Indeed, from the month of December, the winegrowers plan the volume of bunches that they can possibly have. The vines are then monitored throughout the vegetative cycle, by managing the foliage or the load. This is very important work because the more demanding the winegrowers are, the better the end result.

1^st step : In the vineyard, the pickers pick up all the bunches,
2^rd step : The tractor driver brings the harvest to the vat room,
3^rd step : Sorting is carried out before placing in vats,
4^rd step : The passage in vats varies according to the desired cuvées. Between 8 and 20 days for the more full-bodied cuvées. Rosés and white wines go through direct pressing.

Characteristics of Côte Roannaise wines

Red, rosé and white wines

There is a difference in grape varieties and manufacturing.

Red : Only Gamay Saint-Romain à jus noir can obtain the AOC Côte Roannaise. It macerates for 8 to 20 days depending on the desired result.
Rosé : no maceration, it's direct pressing, hence the pink color.
White : it's the same system as the rosés, it's just the grape variety that changes. There is no AOC Côte Roannaise designation for white wines.

Brut, dry and sweet wines

The difference between these wines is the percentage of sugar per litre. The longer the fermentation, the sweeter the note will be with the sugar of the fruit.

DID YOU KNOW ?

All the roundups of fresh grapes without alcohol are stored to make compost, to spread in the vines. For all the roundups that have fermented and are distilled, they go to the state. We have storage bins throughout the Côte Roannaise during the harvest. They make daily trips to a big distillery in Beaujolais. The State also recovers some of the materials that settle at the bottom of the tank to make 90° alcohol for pharmacies.

The Côte Roannaise vineyard

In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, between 400 and 480 meters above sea level, the Côte Roannaise stretches over 20 kilometers, one of the southernmost vineyards of the Loire Valley, radiates over the foothills of the Madeleine mountains. Surrounded by meadows, fruit trees and villages with a sacred character, these vines express themselves at the roots of the Loire. They take advantage of the mild climate as illustrated by the famous coasts of Bouthéran and Montplaisir. Located in a hilly countryside with varied species, their fruits produce a unique grape variety allowing the production of AOC Côte Roannaise wines.

The particularities of the Roannais grape

Gamay Saint-Romain is a grape variety created especially for the Côte Roannaise. You will not find it anywhere in France. It was created in relation to the soils, it grows straighter and produces less than a standard Gamay in Beaujolais. The wine will have a much spicier finish which is very greedy and in keeping with our territory.

Rencontre vigneronne au Domaine des Palais à Ambierle

Le GOOD PLAN of the TEAM

The Winegrowers Meetings, visits / tastings in Côte Roannaise

In the middle of the vineyards or around a barrel with a glass of red wine in hand, chat with a passionate while tasting delicious local products. During an exclusive visit of 1h30 in the heart of the AOC Côte Roannaise vineyard, discover these women and men who pass on their taste for work and make you taste wines steeped in history. Confidences, manufacturing secrets and anecdotes will punctuate these very privileged exchanges. Find out more

How many harvests does it take to make 100 liters of wine?

It takes 135 kg of harvest to make 100 liters of wine in Côte Roannaise.

5 questions to Thierry Désormière

Thierry and Éric share the chiselled slopes of the Côte Roannaise with the other winegrowers and shape the vines so that they give the best of the terroir. Owners of Désormière family estate, labeled " Vignobles et Découvertes“, they promise an attentive welcome to all experienced epicureans, oenophiles and curious by nature who wish to discover the wine-growing know-how and the Roanne terroir.

Les vendanges du domaine Désormière sur la Côte Roannaise — Thierry Désormière © Clovis Huet

What excites you about your job?

We like to work the vines, produce our grapes and create our own wines. We are passionate about both vines and wine. To obtain a good wine, you need a good raw material that you get by working carefully.

The philosophy of the estate?

Tradition above all, we believe in our terroir and our grape varieties.

The grape varieties you grow in Côte Roannaise?

Gamay Saint-Romain is the local grape variety, creator of our AOC red and rosé wines. We also work with Chardonnay and Roussanne for our white grape varieties, with which we produce Vins de Pays d'Urfé. The Chardonnay brings mineral and round wines as for the Roussanne, they are more expressive and very aromatic wines. We work on the purity of the product, no blended wine

The perfect food & wine pairing for a tasting?

I would choose an AOC Côte Roannaise red wine. We are now known nationally and internationally thanks to the AOC Côte Roannaise. It is a fairly confidential appellation in its configuration but very promising, great chefs defend it! My choice is therefore on a Montolivet, the terroir cuvée. It is a full-bodied wine where the fruity character is present because it is a Gamay. Spicy, mineral notes make this wine more complex. On tasting, it goes perfectly with grilled meats and more particularly a Charolais steak.

Your favorite season?

Autumn, since it is the culmination of a job, is the harvest season. The period when we also work hand in hand with restaurateurs. We also hold trade fairs to introduce our previous vintages. All periods are interesting, the seasons are all dense but autumn is the reward of the whole year!