A Year in Burgundy Page #4

Burgundy egg surprise

with a Montly.

All that and more.

And entertainment!

Some people

have come 2000 miles (3000 km) for this dinner,

like these Russian generals.

All this in honor of the wines

of Burgundy.

When should you

start to pick the grapes?

Everyone has to make

their own decision.

If possible,

avoid the full moon, it's generally agreed.

It's usually around 100 days

after the vines have flowered,

but that depends on the

kind of weather you're having.

In 2011, the summer turned wet

and cold.

The vines, which had been three

weeks in advance in June,

now slowed down.

The harvest was still

going to be early, but how early?

August the 20th?

September the first?

You have to watch the sky,

because rain

is the decisive factor at this stage.

Normally the Burgundy harvest

begins down south in Mcon,

where it's warmer.

And so it was in 2011.

On August the 25th,

Dominique Cornin gathered

together

a motley band of students and locals,

and set out for one of

his most valuable vineyards.

But there's tension in the air.

It's still only August, and

many of the grapes are ready,

and a major rainstorm

threatens.

These are high value grapes.

They're being grown for the

ancient Hospice de Beaune.

Dominique can't afford to lose

any of these.

He's personally out in the fields,

all day long, on the tractor.

And so the harvest begins

three weeks earlier than usual,

and the weather forecast

is terrible.

But rain isn't the only

problem.

What if it turns to hail?

[Michel speaking French]

When you hear the thunder,

youre often looking out of the window...

Youre looking to see if its rain

or little hailstones. Or large ones...

Little ones arent bad, but big ones...

The problem is that,

during a storm,

even if you cant see the hailstones...

...the hail can be falling very close by,

on vines only 200 or 300 meters away.

So after the storm, you take the car

and go round the vines

to see if theres been serious damage.

The only thing to do is

to cut the grapes immediately,

before disease gets into the fruit.

Its crazy.

You call the grape-pickers

and hit the ground running.

Youve got to pick those grapes.

[narrator]

On August the 31st,

Thibault gets an E-Mail

from the laboratory.

Their very best grapes

are ready to pick,

but storms are forecast,

and their grape-pickers

won't arrive for two days.

Michel talks to the lab.

[speaking French]

I admire people who keep calm...

Sure, you never know

if theyre really calm inside, I mean.

But my fathers always been very stressed

and I have to say, me too.

Thibault? I hope hes a little less so...

After all, it doesnt help, does it?

So the problem is whether

it will rain on Thursday evening...

OK, thank you. Ill see you soon.

Thanks again. Goodbye.

[narrator]

The decision's made.

They'll harvest

the Grand Cru Btard tomorrow,

and the family will have to do

all the work.

The Btard is the most valuable

land the Morey-Coffinets own.

Just up the road from their home,

it produces superb Chardonnay.

But in this sea of vines,

they only own six rows.

The question is... which six?

All that marks their last row is

a knotted piece of cloth.

The task at hand is for five people to bring in

the entire crop,

before the grapes heat up

in the noonday sun.

Picking grapes

is back-breaking work.

You get into a rhythm.

As the sun rises,

the chatter dies down.

Before they

get too hot,

the grapes are rushed back

to the winery.

They're given

a quick inspection,

and then they're on the way

to the wine press.

White grapes are crushed

immediately,

and the juice is separated

from the skins and bits of twig

That is, when you can get

the machine started.

This is what will

turn into a Btard Grand Cru,

after 18 months of fermentation

and tender loving care.

Today it's just grape juice.

In two years time,

it'll cost you

more than $200 a bottle.

The juice is immediately pumped into

stainless steel holding tanks,

to keep it cool.

That way, fermentation

won't begin too soon.

Already, perhaps,

the expert can tell how good

the eventual wine may be.

The worst thing

about the summer of 2011

was that the rain came

too close to the harvest.

[Sebastien speaking French]

The vines are growing too fast,

weve had too much rain.

The grapes will be too big,

and are at risk...

...of mildew. Or rot. Or both.

Botrytis the bad kind, not the noble rot.

What we need is like yesterday: a brief shower.

Up to 25 or 30 mm of rain...

...and a bit of sun and heat.

Not 40C, like in 2003.

30 or 35C degrees maximum, like normal.

[narrator]

But you can't wait too long,

or the grapes will spoil on the vine.

So, on the 28th of August,

the Gays made their final

preparations for the harvest.

Family winemakers need to do

everything themselves,

from planting new vines

to light welding.

Everything has to be ready

for the big day,

right down to the beds set up

for the grape-pickers.

And then,

it's a waiting game.

Waiting for the perfect day

to begin.

By the end of August,

all over Burgundy,

fleets of white vans

are on the road.

The harvest is in full swing.

An army of temporary workers

will be assembled,

some of them old hands,

some of them new.

At Sebastien and Michel Gay's,

they sign in,

and then it's out to the fields

It's Michel, Sebastien's father,

who runs things in the field.

His problem, in this vineyard,

is hail.

Many of the grapes

have been damaged,

and that's why

they started here, to save the crop.

So, the hail...

The damaged part

must be scraped off like this...

This is what the hail does.

This grape has burst.

You can see the seeds.

The hailstones go right through the leaves.

[narrator]

9:
30 am:

first break in the day, time for a hearty snack.

French grape-pickers

expect to be well-fed,

and Michel's one of the crew.

It may be only 9:30,

but that's

no reason not to have a drink

and make a few friends.

9:
45:

The first batch

from the hail-damaged vineyard

is on its way

back to the winery.

Sebastien's in charge here.

He can't afford to let

any of the damaged grapes

get through the sorting

process.

[speaking French]

About 50% of them have got problems.

One half of the vineyard

got most of the damage.

Most of these are fine.

There are still a few

which need to be taken out.

Another problem with hail,

when the grapes are ready...

...is that they get damaged

and grow scar tissue.

After fermentation, the wine can taste like cork.

We call it the taste of hail.

It can ruin the wine.

[narrator]

20 miles (32 km) north, in Vosne-Romane,

it's cooler, and they haven't

started the harvest yet.

Christophe Perrot-Minot

wants to wait 'til the last possible minute

to get the maximum flavor

out of his grapes.

He and his winemaker

take samples for testing.

Note, it's the owner of the Domain

who does this work personally.

Christophe knows every row

of vines in over 20 vineyards,

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