My Ultimate Culture tour of France is a fourteen day adventure of some of the highlights of French archaeology, art, history and gastronomy. Two of these days are spent exploring the area around Saumur; taking in a few castles and wine estates.
Far from simply being row upon row of grape producing vines, with the right guides the vineyards themselves can be very interesting. Something that struck me on my first visit to the Saumur area of the Loire Valley are the small and somewhat quaint buildings dotted about the vineyards. So noticeable are these that I believe a number of visitors to the area ask about these. These buildings can be seen everywhere, in various states of repair, or disrepair. I am also tempted to say that no two of these are alike – certainly that is what it seems. One that particularly took my fancy can be seen in the foreground of the photograph to the left, and at least two more can be seen in the distance.
These are maisons de vigne, and they once would have provided shelter for meals and rest to the farmers who worked the vineyards during the heat of the summer sun. Now, with more modern farming techniques and less of a reliance on the horse, workers tend to go back to their own houses for lunch and to escape the midday heat.
Scattered amongst the more standard vineyards, those that use the more usual techniques and methods of growing grapes are the vineyards of those who experimented, those who tried something different. One of these vintners was Antoine Cristal, once a very successful draper. Cristal knew some very influential people and was friends with the French President Georges Clémenceau. It is he who is generally credited with introducing Loire Valley red wines to wider market in the mid to late 1800s. Until this time, the Loire Valley was known only for its white wines. But, Cristal is also famous for his ingenious Le Clos des Murs, or ‘enclosed vineyard of walls’.
Most of us who know even the basics of growing grapes know that the quality of wine is said to be greatly influenced by the growing conditions of the vine. The grapes need a good deal of sunlight to ripen, but the roots can get too hot with too much direct sun on the soil. Cristal devised a way to allow the roots to grow in the shade and the grape to ripen in the sun. In his ‘enclosed vineyard of walls’ he had erected a number of walls running east-west. He then placed the roots of his vines on the north side of these walls and allowed the vine to then pass through a whole in the wall so that the grapes would flourish and ripen on the south side. So while the roots are in shade, their ideal conditions, the grapes are ripening in direct sunlight.
When he died Cristal bequeathed his Clos des Murs to a local Hospital, and still today Cristal’s vineyards produce some very fines wines.
Visiting this fascinating and quirky vineyard, and learning of its history, was a real treat and a surprise one one of my visits to the Loire Valley. So unusual is it that I knew it had to be included on the Ultimate Culture itinerary.
Having seen some of the more interesting aspects of the vineyards there is then the production of wine to explore. And after a hot morning in the sun, there is nothing more refreshing than walking into a cool cellar that has been carved into the side of a limestone cliff. Walking amongst the rows of dusty oak vats of maturing wine you get the distinct impression this is how it has been done for ages. And it is this sense of tradition and history that makes taking a tour of the vineyards and cellars such a delight.
For this reason I feel it is imperative that we visit those estates that have been in the same family for generations, and that it is the members of that family who are so passionate about the wines they produce who show you around their estate and then introduce you to their wines. Yes, no visit to a wine producing estate would be complete without some wine tasting.
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