Another sunny morning, one of many bright, warm days in early October and Wink and I were off to the wine region of Savoie to see for ourselves how the grape harvest  was progressing. We also wanted to visit a couple of wineries to find out what the vignerons think of the 2010 vintage.

Ready for the vintage above the clouds in Savoie

The mist was clinging to the road in the valley but as soon as we drove up to the little hamlet of St-Pierre d’Albigny we burst into sunshine with views of autumn-tinged vines.

Our first visit was to Domaine Saint Germain where one of the brothers who own the winery, Etienne, was just sending his team of pickers to harvest some of the last grapes. Cheerfully he told us that, once again, the vintage had been saved by the fine, warm weather of September giving the grapes a chance to reach full ripeness and maturity after what had been a poor summer.

In the delightfully chaotic, but organised cellar we tasted juices, some fermenting, some ready to start.

I appreciate the excitement of the winemaker when the grapes are safely gathered in to the cellar and are starting the next part of their journey to becoming wine. He becomes a nanny, a teacher and a proud parent as he watches over the evolution of sweet juice to a delicious liquid!

We went with Etienne to look at the vines in their adjacent vineyard.

The only grapes left to pick were the late-ripening Mondeuse, the most famous red wine grape of Savoie.  We examined the handsome bunches (no sign of rot) and tasted a grape or two. An indication of the ripeness is when you bite into the pip, it doesn’t taste bitter.

Before we left, Etienne showed us a few wines from previous vintages. I particularly enjoyed the Domaine St Germain Mondeuse, Le Pied de la Barme 2009 Light red (very typical of this variety) with lovely ripe, warm red fruits on the nose. Dy, with attractive red fruits on the palate, and bags of tannin. This wine needs a few years’ bottle age but will be a beauty from a top year.

It was just a short journey to Les Marches, to the Restaurant Saint André where we enjoyed lunch by the Lac Saint André.

The lake is a popular destination for tourists, fisherman and walkers.

It was then a short drive up beside Mont Granier to the little hamlet of La Palud to see if we could find more happy vignerons.

We arrived at Domaine Giachino to discover a hive of activity as everyone had  just returned from the penultimate day in the vineyards, and were unloading Mondeuse grapes into the fermentation vats. And, yes, we met two very happy winemakers!

David Giachino, left, now sporting a neat set of whiskers, is one of the two brothers of the domaine. The be-shorted Jacques Maillet shares the pleasure of a good vintage as well as the facilities of the Giachino winery.

We watched all the bustle, enjoyed some samples of juice before going to the calm of the ‘cellar’ to taste one or two previous vintages. I was very taken with the Giachino Apremont 2009 with its lemony sherbet  and zesty minerality.

With just a morning’s harvesting to be done on the Sunday to complete the 2010 vendange I am sure the harvest lunch will be an occasion of great celebration, grateful as everyone is for this year rescued by the Indian summer.

I have posted a short video of the bustle at Domaine Giachino on YouTube

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On our journey home we went up to see Louis Magnin’s very old vines above Arbin where the Mondeuse grapes looked in fine fettle.

A lovely day in Savoie was made all the better by seeing all these vignerons with smiles on their faces, especially after the gloomy predictions they had made during the indifferent summer.

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Do have a look at Wink’s post: Wine days out in the French Alps

Secateurs all ready for next year’s harvest!