We released our first sparkling wine from Chateau Bauduc this week. It’s available direct from us for delivery in the UK. Here’s the story of the wine in pictures, from the creation of the vineyard to the wine in bottle. They’re the same images that you can find in the Photo Albums on the Bauduc website and Bauduc Facebook page too – I’m just trying to see what works.
Tap, touch or click on a photo to enlarge it and for a description, then use the < arrows > to scroll through.
Clearing the field for the vines in October 2003
A youthful Daniel, our vineyard manager, showing the way.
Preparation takes shape, Oct 2003.
We had to clear a few trees and their roots.
Moving the top soil around for consistency.
Vineyard preparation was same week that Tom was born
Tom with Rick Stein, October 2015
Hole punchers at the ready, Semillon vines
Young Semillon vines, April 2004
It’s hard work, planting vines by hand
Planting the vineyard in 2004. Same year that Facebook was founded,
The team taking care of the vines in 2007.
Trimming the young vines in 2007.
Jump ahead 7 years and here’s the harvest in 2014.
Semillon grapes weren’t over ripe. Clean and fresh.
Our Sophie, 17, is a diligent, hard working vendangeur
The rows are dauntingly long for pickers.
Tractors and traitors for transport the crop
One picked each side, making sure they don’t snip each other
Cremant de Bordeaux has to be picked into crates, by law.
No wonder these crates were cheap. (Smith Haut Lafitte seconds?)
Only clean, fresh and juicy bunches made the cut.
Diana Quinney (granny) inspects the harvest
The rules stipulate that the grapes cannot by squashed. Hence stacks
A sunny but chilly morning for picking
Our 15th harvest together, Gavin, Nelly… and Daniel Ramone.
Hugo B was our harvest trainee in 2014
Nelly backs the trailer up to the winery.
A sunny but chilly morning for picking
The 5000 litre press has an ‘airbag’ for squeezing grapes.
Hugo and Nelly loaded up the press
In go the grapes – it’s called ‘whole bunch pressed’
Hosing down the sticky cagettes, or crates
Sophie tasting the wine after tank fermentation
The tank is temperature controlled for cool fermentation
The wine was vinified – the first fermentation – in stainless steel
We took the wine to some underground cellars 5 miles away
The second fermentation, with yeast and sugar, was in bottle
In theory the bottles are turned by hand to dislodge the lees
In practice, large pallets are turned for the ‘remuage’/riddling
After a year on the lees, the bottles are brought up
The upside bottles have a sediment in the neck of the bottle
The bottles are placed in a moving tray that freezes the neck quickly
Within seconds the neck, with the sediment inside, is frozen
You can see the frozen sediment moving towards the next part
The crown cap is whipped off and the sediment ice cube ejected
The crown cap is rejected, like a mass uncapping of beer bottles.
The dosage is added to top up the contents of the bottle
The disgorgement and bottling unit has around 15 functions
After the dosage, the bottle is moved around to mix the contents
The bottle is now corked up, with wire securing it
With a new cork and cover, the bottle moves towards the final stage
All the bottles are washed
The bottle are then dried properly before labelling
The bottles then have capsules placed over the cork
Front and back labels are added
The bottles are checked to make sure everything is in place
The pallet is secured and beautifully packaged up
And so there’s the story Chateau Bauduc Crémant de Bordeaux