EARL de Merchien - wine and beer

2011-12-23T11:20:00.001+01:00

http://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/domainedumerchien.jpg

Jamie Goode's Wine Blogg

They only just discovered JAS, great write up so happy

REAL FOOD FAIR 5 - 8 May 2011

2011-05-12T17:35:00.000+02:00

Back home from the Real festival in Earls Court ,London. Many thanks to J and C for putting us up and some fabulous food , the same can be said for Katy and Nigel had a great night with good conversation and wonderful food. Last but not least Paul and Carol thank you for your great efforts on Saturday and Sunday. Beer sold out again, well done Paul.

REAL FOOD FAIR 5 - 8 May 2011

2011-05-12T17:33:00.000+02:00

REAL FOOD FAIR 5 - 8 May 2011

2011-04-28T18:53:00.000+02:00

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realfoodfestival.co.uk%2F&h=657d7

Exhibitors

2011-03-10T12:03:00.000+01:00

Exhibitors

I think if you follow this link you can see us on the Real Food Festival site But not sure on that!!!

Pruning

2011-02-03T16:15:00.000+01:00

Domaine du Merchien Pruning progresses despite the wet misty and sometimes very cold weather, it has to be done so you just have to get on with it! On a lovely clear sunny day with the buzzards soaring above you and not a sound except for the tractor in the distance there isn't a better place I' d rather be.

Dilemma

2011-02-03T16:12:00.001+01:00

Domaine du Merchien DILEMMA Question,do we bother to send samples for the Wine Gang to sample or will they go through a pre selection and not being one of the great and good ,be put to one side before the Wine Gang even set foot in the region? Or should I go and put the 30 euros (per sample) on the loto?

2011-01-26T09:29:00.001+01:00

Well what a winter so far. For you who have been following the BLOG on our site www.merchien.com or our Facebook page ( just search MERCHIEN) you will know that David predicted a cold cold winter due to the enormous amount of fruit the hedge row produced old wives tells and all that. Well we are certainly in the throes of a cold winter and according to the old locals it is not going to end yet!! (I think I will need some new long johns due to over use and as a friend said to me “Winter draws on my dear”)

Work Load
Work in the vine yard has been a bit slow, mainly due the cold weather, but still had to do markets for the regular clientele but with -10 at St Antonin and Limogne this Sunday not very pleasant but at least it wasn’t raining . Dry cold just makes your face red and bum cold for the rest of the day, the wet get the boxes damp makes the labels crumple and is generally miserable.
News BIG NEWS!
Merchien is finally going officially ORGANIC, starting from this year we are signing up to the ORGANIC movement. The reasons for this are to increase our market place and give us more opportunities to sell our wines. In David’s market in Limogne he is opposite an Organic wine maker and though people taste our wine, like it, see that we don’t use chemicals in the vineyard but because we have no officially label they go across the way and buy the wine without tasting it just because it has a big fat AB(organic) sign on it (I just don’t get it!!). So because of our principals, more marketing opportunities and to get one of those big fat AB labels we are on our way.
The Good News For Us But Maybe Not For You!!
It looks like a chain of shops in the UK are going to stock our wine. As you all know we have been trying to do this for a while, not only for the income (but that is nice) but to increase our visibility and audience in England and Wales, sadly not Scotland yet. So good for us but stocks will start to go. So for any of those who haven’t taken your full allocation for 2010 please order now while stocks last!!! (Always wanted to say that). I have attached a list of wines for you, please don’t delay as I do not want to disappoint.
2010 Wines.
All red wines need Malolactic to take place but way too cold for that and Rose still fermenting very very slowly will probably have to heat it up a bit next week. Really looking forward to seeing how the pure Merlot turns out, this is mine and Zachary’s little baby he really has taken an interest in this wine must be his age! This year will be the first time we have a pure Merlot and pure Gamay along with the old favorite pure Cabernet Franc.
Finally
A Partner In Wine at Domaine du Merchien; Clare Brigstocke for one night only is taking over a Paris restaurant on Friday, 18th February, the meal, a menu découvert featuring traditional English food, is by reservation only. The website is www.lecoindetableparis.com and reservations are emailed to contact@lecoindetableparis.com. If know anyone in Paris who would like to discover the restaurant and Clare’s wonderful food please use contact details.
Health Wealth and good wine drinking!!

Jan 2011 Pruning ????

2011-01-12T17:08:00.006+01:00

Photos of today!! so foggy rainy and grey somewhere in the photos is the vines out back!!
Pruning has started but after the cold snowy, dry underfoot December the temperatures have really warmed up The bad news is it feels like it hasn't stopped raining. With our clay soil its difficult to even walk in the vines let alone prune them. slipping and sliding all over the place with electric secateurs in your hand is not advisable as you can easily cut yourself, that's why so many wine producers are minus a finger!!!
So we have plenty of other things to do to keep us occupied so we won't be sitting in front of the fire reading a good book as many people think we do all winter?

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

2010-12-24T19:05:00.002+01:00

We would like to send Christmas greetings to all of you that have supported us this year, many thanks and we shall raise a glass or two to you tonight ,have a good one and we hope to see you again soon.

South West France Gets Snow As Well

2010-12-09T20:36:00.006+01:00

Well there you go, people said I was mad when I said it was going to be a long snowy winter,see last post? I said this because I can't remember seeing so many berries ,fruit in the hedgerows as this autumn! We all know the old wives tale but this year you could tell there was a difference, a larder brimming full to be harvested and stored away for hard times ahead? So far I've been proved correct but yesterday we had a rest-bite and it was T shirts and 18 degrees but the cold returned today and is forecast to stay, we shall see?We have the horses back for the winter so looking forward to Sunday afternoon, hoping the weather will be kind so we can ride out in this beautiful countryside.

2010-11-19T14:25:00.003+01:00

Decuving last cuve thank goodness, not my favourite job! Looks to be a very good harvest, saving some grapes to make some eau de vie before Christmas, picture to follow....David

Got a strange feeling about this winter I think it is going to be long cold and snowy! This year we have had a bumper crop of grapes but not only grapes all fruit and veg has been good , so many people have said what a great crop they have had from the garden and the hedgerows are full of berries, we have discovered two crab apples trees and quince trees we didn't know we had.

2010-11-19T14:22:00.002+01:00

This weeks RANT!!! Why do we get more and more English tourists visiting our lovely outdoor markets, commenting on how nice that looks and taking pictures etc to walk all the way through the market to go and stock up on mass produed wine, beer and plastic cheese at the supermarket, to walk back through the market saying how nice French markets are? Perhaps we should charge them for passing through and put a levy on every photo they take ?...........David

2010-11-19T14:17:00.002+01:00

Can anyone answer why vines like ours have lost all their foliage while other vineyards still have most of theirs? I can only deduce that knowing a little of the systems that are involved in some of the vineyards, is that those that have lost all the foillage are low chemical ,organic whereby the ones still with a lot of leaf have a more conventional chemical policy?

Facebook Merchien

2010-11-04T19:53:00.001+01:00

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Domaine-du-Merchien/121133447945576

Autumn Colours in the Lot in Cahors valley

2010-11-04T19:23:00.001+01:00

Harvest 2010 From Dawn to Dust

2010-10-04T19:24:00.010+02:00

The Day begins Yes that's a vine and they are grapes, so start picking JP"
Keep smiling Tim only 60 tons left to pick
Emma "what are you doing to my vines with such a shaggy dog hair do"
Peter always smiling even though the day is long
Nikki ! my photo will be better and where is that frog you tried to kiss NON NO sorry take a photo of!!!
Whoops Got the order of photos wrong that's David eating his marmite on toast for breakfast , it might be a French Vendage but it will not be any good if the chief doesn't get his very English marmite in the morning

Time for a RANT

2010-09-25T11:35:00.002+02:00

Talking to a good friend,customer and long standing Partner in Wine,yesterday we got round to talking about a new superstore just completed in our local town and how we couldn't understand how people could get excited about this? In the three villages where we do regular markets at the weekend large supermarket chains are trying to build new smaller supermarkets in my opinion to the detriment of the village and the small independant shops still left! I further think that it won't be good for the markets which inturn will have a knock on effect on the bars and resturants?
Going back to my good friend who like me was gob smacked by his sister in law who in conversation on a recent visit said no way she would shop in the local market because she had no idea where the food came from? My blood boils but on saying that it is up to us marketers to educate the public that it is from just down the road and picked at the right time not early to please the supermarkets? Comments please!

Autumn views before harvest

2010-09-20T19:25:00.004+02:00

A selection of views of the vineyard at the start of Autumn along with the lees left in the bottom of the vat after bottling the GM. These are stored along with all the other lees from other cuves and sent to the distillery once a year and is sort of a tax which we have to pay it is then made into industrial alcohol ,I believe?

2010-09-04T21:34:00.003+02:00

Weeding in what we call the big field can on the whole only be undertaken by hand. This means strimming by hand and in extremely hot weather, the weeding machine just can't cope with the old vines. So the rows are weeded twice during the growing season with the last passage taking place in September, although with all the weeds around doesn't look nice and goes against all the text books the vines don't seem to suffer. I think this is due to them not carrying loads of grapes and therefore not being pushed to hard and consequently not being stressed? This is my simple take on the situation but the proof is in the pudding it works!

Summer officially over?

2010-09-02T21:12:00.002+02:00

Well thats what we call tomorrow in our Household, kids back to school after along summer break,it only seems like yesterday that they where helping us in the vines on their first day of the holiday! After not having them here for the last two weeks, tomorrow will be a different kind of quiet I don't know why? but it always is, a new school year , signals harvest fast approaching.

September,time flies by

2010-09-01T15:25:00.002+02:00

Yes only a month away from Harvest and the weeding continues relentlessly only another 100 rows to do! The weather has been kind to us with some unusually hot days above 40 centigrade last week and still 30 degrees at 10PM so the grapes are slowly catching up, having been way behind due to cold May and June. If you want to pick the main weekend will be 2nd and 3rd October many people have asked but not confirmed so we need to know? to arrange food etc. Furthermore, if you left any phone messages last week we haven't got them because the phone line was down from 21st to the 27th so much for a "Professional Contract" repairs within 24 hours!! Of course that meant the E-mail and Fax also so if unsure give us a call because we have replied to all the E-mails we have.Thats all for now back to the weeding!!!

PEACE

2010-08-28T10:17:00.002+02:00

The Gourmand evenings have drawn to a close and our hectic schedule of 46 events in 60 days has come to an end! The next month will be spent getting ready for the harvest and there is plenty to do,weeding by hand in the big field has some way to go and although the 40 degree days over the past week has been good for the grapes its been pretty hard for me. With the grapes lagging behind they have been playing catch up and have come on leaps and bounds with these exceptionally hot days and nights with no rain here but plenty all around us!
With the success of the summer markets we are clean out of CF and JAS and GM and our new vintages of the above will be bottled very shortly, hopefully along with VAT 665 , so allot of work to do. The beer has been even more successful and we can't keep pace with demand so if we have time another one or two brews will be attempted?
Finally we would like to thank all of you that have made it such a pleasant and successful summer, with your purchases and encouraging comments and help ,it makes it all worthwhile, thank you and hopefully see you soon.
P.S. We still have a small stock of the wines we have run out of here, in the UK, so if you would like any of these in the U.K. we are able to supply them duty paid from our store in London,e- mail us for details.

THURSDAY SO IT MUST BE??

2010-08-19T13:49:00.002+02:00

Its Gourmand Time again and the last one in the canton for me at Aujols starts at 7. Could rearrange the first one at Fontanes which was cancelled due to bad weather but I think not, watch this space. Sarah tonight will be at Catus and we will both be at Montpezat tomorrow night for the night market/gourmand evening. See you later?

2010-08-12T16:46:00.000+02:00

Harvest fast approachs and we've got so much to do beforehand, so to make things easier and because people are booking flights already we need to know who is participating or would like to participate? Food needs to be planned and the cooks need to know how many to cater for.The main event will take place over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd October but we will be picking the week before in small parties if you prefer. Any questions give us a call. 05 63 64 97 21 or Sarah portable 06 16 07 075 39.

Doesn't time fly???

2010-08-12T13:42:00.002+02:00

Well its Thursday again,GOURMAND NIGHT.I'll be at Lalbenque and Sarah will be at Saint Pierre Lafeuille,so don't be late! Besides all the events we are attending work continues in the vineyard ,the grapes are just beginning to change colour and the weeding by hand never seems to come to an end, a bit like painting the Forth Bridge!!
Hopefully next week we will start to bottle our new wines one already in the Guide Hachette,VAT665, also JAS pure Cabernet Franc and the Gamay Merlot blend.

Its Thursday so it must be belmont St Foi and Cieurac

2010-08-05T14:02:00.002+02:00

Its cloudy but who cares it Thursday and Gourmand Evening time again, I'll be in the little village of Belmont St Foi and Sarah will be at Cieurac next to the Chateau. Don't forget your knife fork plate etc. See you later?

SIXTEEN YEARS!!!!

2010-08-03T16:50:00.001+02:00

For sixteen years we have woken up to views like this and we never get tired of them , how lucky we are!

Its Tuesday so it must be Lalbenque?

2010-08-03T15:28:00.002+02:00

Tonight we will be at lalbenque night market and Gourmand Evening working as usual, but we will take some time out to celebrate Sarah's %$£@_* birthday and our anniversary of being here 16 years ,hope you can make it.The book is now closed for bets on the position of our stand since Sarah ,has Zac with her and he may get a better place? If not you will find us next to the band or furthest away from the tables possible but just in the commune? See you later??

August starts with a bang of thunder,wet and horrible

2010-08-02T12:15:00.004+02:00

Well after a very long dry spell we managed a bit of bright weather to get our Sunday Markets off to a good start for the month of August,however, it didn't last long! With so many things going on in the afternoon throughout the region most of them became a washout as the heavens opened and the rain came down! The Fete de Battage at ST Antonin was particularly affected,but Zac managed to take some pictures of some of the tractors but not allot else! He did manage to film the horse drawn walnut press if your interested,sorry about picture quality.

Gourmande Evening at Saillac

2010-07-30T10:08:00.002+02:00

A very pleasant evening at Saillac with it being not too hot or cold, a little disappointing that our stand was so far away from the main tables and other stands that hiking boots and rucksack was a near necessity. However , we've only been here 16 years and although have taken part and supported the gourmande evening since their inception we know our place, either by the band(impossible to talk to your customers) or so far from main proceedings that we might as well be in the next village. Anyway it was nice to see so many friends and customers make the hike out to our stand for supplies.
See you all next week, check the blog for venues and dates and by the way for the Lalbenque night market on our 16th anniversary and Sarah birthday, we won't say which one and yes she will be working We will be running a book on our location and of for those of you in the know ,we are going for a Frankie Dettori straight seven!!!! See you next week?

DON'T FORGET??

2010-07-29T16:00:00.000+02:00

Check out the previous blog for this evenings Gourmande events ,don'tforget your plate ,knife etc

Dyos the dog and the vines after a short back and sides

2010-07-27T21:19:00.003+02:00

Dyos the dog and the vines after the sides and tops have been trimmed and mowed inbetween now only need to cultivate between every other row before passing once again with the weeding machine.

Montpezat and The Guardian

2010-07-24T09:48:00.004+02:00

Bit tired this morning after a late night at Montpezat Marche Gourmande Evening ,photos to follow ,Many thanks to those of you that turned out for a very pleasant evening and your comments on how much you like the wine, especially the new Roses. More events next week just read the blog previous to see all dates and locations. Hopefully we will have a new Green Pig beer ready for later in the week, keep your fingers crossed!
I nearly forgot the Guardian, Sarah was quoted in the Newspaper today in the Article on Quercy, her comment along with the other comments from ,I presume people who live here were probably in my opinion the only correct information .Having lived here for 16 years ,I can and have seen lots of changes ,particularly in the British population. To say it is undiscovered by the brits and any other incomers and that includes the French is obviously written by somebody who doesn't know the area at all ,but I stress this is my opinion,comments please??

FONTANES GOURMANDE EVENING.

2010-07-22T10:08:00.003+02:00

For those of you that follow the blog and are living near here or on holiday in the region you will know it is raining and has been all night and according to the meteo will do all day? So due to this the Gourmande Evening at Fontanes has been cancelled for this evening.
However, if you are at a loose end and want to visit and stock up on Merchien Products we will be open all day to answer your questions and give you a tasting ,we look forward to seeing you.

SPARGING THE GREEN PIG

2010-07-21T12:54:00.000+02:00

TRIMMING THE VINES

2010-07-21T10:51:00.003+02:00

2010-07-20T13:49:00.002+02:00

PREPARING THE MASH

2010-07-20T11:09:00.002+02:00

Beer today gone tomorrow?

2010-07-20T08:43:00.002+02:00

Well we are brewing again today ,this time the Green Pig or Doree as previously known. We will be posting some pictures throughout the process, due to the hot weather many people it seems turn to a nice real ale to cool themselves down.

The New humain in the Merchien Farm

2010-07-19T20:24:00.000+02:00

This is our new dog called Dyos. He comes from the SPA of Lyon and we have had him now for three weeks. He is 20 months old, we always have great fun with him and he is settling in well. He has 2 walks every day;morning and night. Yesterday my parents and I took him to Labenque Brocante, it was the first time out in the town for Dyos away from the farm he was very excited but realy scary for us with all the brocante and other dogs. Anyway we had to one day...

Sophie-tor Meakin

ITS HOT!!!

2010-07-12T17:44:00.002+02:00

Well I never it seems like only a couple of weeks ago when everyone in the market had decided the summer wasn't going to arrive ,well its here now and everybody without exception is saying its too hot and wishing it would get cooler! What a difference a few weeks make!!!

Check us out at the markets and gourmande evenings in july and august

2010-07-05T15:53:00.002+02:00

Cahors Night market Monday 5 July
• Castelnau Montratier Marche de Producteur Wednesday 7 July
• Castelnau Montratier Marche de Producteur Wednesday 14 July
• Labastide Marnhac Lot Of Saveurs Thursday 15 July
• Castelnau Montratier Marche de Producteur Wednesday 21 July
• Saint Medard Lot Of Saveurs Thursday 22 July
• Fontanes Decouvertes Gourmandes Thursday 22 July
• Montpezat de Quercy Marches gourmands en Nocturne Friday 23 July
• Castelnau Montratier Marche de Producteur Wednesday 28 July
• Saillac Decouvertes Gourmandes Thursday 29 July
• Caillac Lot Of Saveurs Thursday 29 July
•
• Cahors Night market Monday 2 August
• Lalbenque Night Market Tuesday 3 August
• Castelnau Montratier Marche de Producteur Wednesday 4 August
• Belmont St Foi Decouvertes Gourmandes Thursday 5 August
• Cieurac Lot Of Saveurs Thursday 5 August
• Cajarc 1st Journeé du Goút (Safran) Tuesday 10 August
• Castelnau Montratier Marche de Producteur Wednesday 11 August
• Lalbenque Decouvertes Gourmandes Thursday 12 August
• St Pierre Lafeuille Lot Of Saveurs Thursday 12 August
• Castelnau Montratier Marche de Producteur Wednesday 18 August
• Catus Lot Of Saveurs Thursday 19August
• Aujols Decouvertes Gourmandes Thursday 19 August
• Montpezat de Quercy Marches gourmands en Nocturne Friday 20 August
• Castelnau Montratier Marche de Producteur Wednesday 25 August

• Each Saturday morning at Lalbenque
• Each Sunday morning at Limogne en Quercy and St Antonin Noble Val.

2010-07-04T20:54:00.001+02:00

2010-07-04T20:46:00.000+02:00

Another hot weekend and biting well?

2010-07-04T18:48:00.002+02:00

Well as I write this at nearly 7pm its still 30 degrees outside in the shade, what a change? Sixteen years in France and this has got to be the most unusual weather wise so far, after a very long winter very little if any spring just when everybody was saying are we going to have a summer this year? It happened, virtually overnight, so from one minute wearing a fleece which is unheard of in May let alone June and to be honest very rarely seen in April. What's happening well all I know is that the mosquitoes are biting, for somebody who normally doesn't get bitten I'm making up for it this year!
I can only assume because of all the rain and cold weather in April thru to June all the small ponds that are normally dry by now are full this year and have been for a long time thus providing the perfect environment for the mosquitoes to breed.

Conforming, why would we want to, I'm talking about Merchien Rose? For those of you that know our wines and our efforts towards change you probably know what's coming? Our Roses over the last 16 years have always sold out and many customers come back year after year because they like it! We have always had a battle because the local tasting panel in my opinion sees different as wrong not just as different. Over the years besides the Rose, the JAS is the classic example always a problem to get it through the Agreement( piece of paper needed to officially sell it as a Vins de Pays) a tasting panel and a lab analysis, even though it passes the lab test the tasting panel says it doesn't conform this has happened with a JAS in the past which went onto gain a silver medal in the national concours in Paris, coincidently the only one for our department, so it seems the problem is local not national?
My conclusion to this is to make it as what used to be called Vins de Table, no tasting panel required, therefore no fee to pay for tasting panel, downside very few competitions to enter? We don't want to take this route but it may be the only way? What we can't understand is, for example in what was Vins du Pays du Lot, there are some forty different varieties of grapes allowed so if you have an unusual blend , with forty varieties you have got to admit that's a lot of different combination and any unusual blend tasted will automatically not conform so my answer is do away with the tasting panel after all they could be open to corruption and at the end of the day if the wine passes an analytical test its a matter of taste, let the market decide? Your comments would be appreciated!!

Damage caused by the Hail on 16th June

2010-06-29T17:31:00.000+02:00

In my hand is a stem with what would of been a brunch of grapes if it hadn't been broken off by the hail and heavy rain. Many wine makers were hit much harder than us and only time will tell what this means for the harvest at the end of September beginning of October?

After wires lifted and epamprage

2010-06-29T14:58:00.001+02:00

Vines before wires lifted and Epamprage

2010-06-29T14:56:00.001+02:00

When the vines have grown sufficiently enough they are trapped between two wires to stop them breaking in the wind and rain, to aid air circulation and to to make the passage of the tractor easier . At the same time the process of Epamprage takes place, this is the removal of any growth on the main vertical stem and also around the stem head thus preventing energy going to something non productive and making the passage of air around the plant easier aiding the prevention of disease.

2010-06-23T14:48:00.000+02:00

Got me thinking! CHANGE.

2010-06-23T11:34:00.002+02:00

Second post of the day mainly because I fell off a ladder in the chai the other evening and twisted my ankle so hard to walk at the moment.After first blog this morning was chauffeur driven to the wine lab to drop off some samples for analysis so had plenty of time to enjoy the route since my father took the scenic way, thanks Dad. When we first arrived and saw the amount of erosion caused in the vineyards after heavy rain which I had previously encountered while working in America I decided to plant grass on every other row to stop this occurring. It also meant that the tractor could pass through the vines in wet conditions not picking up soil which would pack between the back wheels and the wheel arches. This is because it is a vineyard tractor and has very little clearance between wheel and arch but if allowed to occur without cleaning out the tyre would eventually burst!!

The main reason for all this, is to say while in the car I realised that when we first arrived in France 16 years ago I think we were one of the first to plant grass between the vines, at the time we were told that we were mad because it would reduce our yield!! yes quality not quantity, how many times have I had to explain that?

My second observation is the disappearance of the village bakery because the lab is over an hours drive away , each way from home, I used to go early in the morning thus before breakfast so on route I used to stop at one of the many bakeries depending on which day it was to get my breakfast along with a loaf for the day. Since for the last year this task has been taken over by Sarah, I was very surprised to see two of these family run business's closed with the shops up for sale! I think this is very sad and even in this rural area the supermarket is taking over, progress I hear some of you saying, not on your nelly!!! France is changing and in my opinion not for the better.

Grass or No grass

2010-06-23T08:11:00.002+02:00

From the pictures below ,sorry about quality but it really was that dark! You can see the difference between planting grass every other row and not planting any grass at all.where you can see the grass I have passed with the tractor after the rain and have hardly left a mark ,as a posed to the dark picture with no grass which several days after the rain was impossible to pass.

2010-06-22T20:44:00.000+02:00

2010-06-22T20:43:00.000+02:00

Merchiens' sheep flock arrives!!!!

2010-06-18T12:57:00.002+02:00

Merchien now have a flock of sheep, all two of them named Baa Baa, Molly and their mate Sean the goat. Don't blame me it wasn't my idea, that is to name them! It is my idea to get the sheep to provide us with meat so we know where it comes from ,to add to our turkeys that arrive on Monday. The second reason is to make my life easier, they will be used to weed in the vines at times of the year when it is permissable, part of our never ending drive to be green and sustainable. Pictures will follow shortly I promise!!!

Its always a Saturday!!!!

2010-06-12T12:31:00.002+02:00

Throughout the growing season for those of you that don't know the vines generally need to be sprayed ever 10 to 14 days depending on the weather and growing conditions. Last year and again this year it seems that due to bad weather and unfavourable conditions it always falls on a Saturday to do the spraying some pictures will hopefully follow shortly along with some of the damage that occurred over the last few days , that is if we can get the camera to work? Watch this space!!!

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!!!

2010-06-11T19:23:00.002+02:00

I can't remember a start of June like this? Last night we had continuous heavy rain with periods of hail thrown in just for good measure ! Needed to spray vines this morning after the hail but very wet under foot,more than 80mm and it looked like it was going to rain at any time which it did late afternoon. The vines don't look like they have been affected to much but they need to be sprayed as soon as a dry spell gives us enough time to get on the land and the tractor can move? Will be ready to see what tomorrow brings? Would love to have put the photos on that I promised but the camera seems to have been affected by the rain!

And somebody said it was going to be a hot SUMMER

2010-06-09T12:39:00.002+02:00

Its all in the title,Sarah for some time has been coming back from market whether it be Lalbenque or St Antonin and saying that the word is that it is going to be a hot summer? Well we are into June now and I'm still waiting! we have had some hot days but no prolonged periods. Last night and up to midday today we have had heavy rain with some periods of extremely heavy rain which has meant soil has been washed off fields onto nearby roadways, we haven't had this because we have planted grass between the vines for this reason amongst others.
Haven't managed to walk in the vines yet but a bit worried about the wires being down and the excessive wind and rain could of caused some breakages? Will check later and report back with pictures , if it ever stops raining.

Weeding again

2010-06-03T17:07:00.003+02:00

No chemical weedkillers are used in the vines and haven't for 15 years ,this means weeding takes by hand and with the machine that is shown in the video. The job is more time consuming and consequently more costly, furthermore, some people would say the vines don't look as neat and tidy as of those that are treated with chemicals,however, to coin a phrase used by Jancis Robinson in her book Wine Course,Sediment in a bottle is not a bad sign but a sign of a producer who worships quality above cosmetics. I would use the explanation for the odd weed ,but walking amongst the vines you find all the good bugs, ladybirds etc that help keep the pests down, this doesn't happen in vines when lots of chemicals are used rather the reverse a very sterile environment and therefore,the need to use more chemicals to keep the pests at bay,the viscous circle then continues!It must be said that this policy runs in-conjunction with us not pushing the plants hard to achieve high quantities but that of quality not quantity,thus not stressing out the plants, its simple really, common sense!!!!

Your kind words?

2010-05-24T17:43:00.002+02:00

Many thanks to Jem for his kind words and have taken his advice,purchasing a extra pair of knee pads just incase he would like to have a go next time he is over? Furthermore just like to thank his better half for the jar of Apple and Molasses 2009, excellent vintage,only problem the jar was a little on the small side!!!

Back breaking work

2010-05-22T10:05:00.002+02:00

The weather is now looking more like summer and besides the never ending task of weeding we also have to take off any excess shoots from the stem and head of each plant, many people use weed killers to kill off those shoots from the stem but because we don't use them we do it the traditional way,by hand,which obviously takes much longer.

Back to work

2010-05-18T18:22:00.003+02:00

Earls Court and the Real Food Festival seem a long time ago and the real work of weeding and tending the vines has started again and for the first day today the sun was out and it was warm ,most unusual since we are half way through May!! The cold and wet weather of the previous two weeks hasn't semed to of damaged the vines but it certainly made the weeds grow!The pictures of the Cab Franc behind the house show this very well and some more pictures will be taken of the weeding machine working and the rows after being weeded. The vines are due for another spraying and details of what and why along with pictures of the process will be put on the blog in the next few days.

The Naked Chef visits Quercy and Progress?

2010-05-15T11:11:00.002+02:00

This week we see that Jamie Oliver visited our neck of the woods, albeit he didn't visit us personally he was taken truffle hunting by a very nice old gent using a pig ,who just happens to buy wine from Sarah!!Thats the gent not the pig! It was nice to see that Jamie picked our part of the world to visit but then those of us that live here often forget how lucky we are to live in a place that has so much going for it in the food wine and general way of life stakes. We of course don't bang on about it to often,else you all would want to live here and of course the dream would die? What I mean by this is that things are changing rapidly.For example, the need for a big supermarket in every town or large village, having lived in Britain I have seen what it has done to the local Baker, Butcher, general store etc and it is happening in 3 of our local towns(LARGE VILLAGES) it will kill the high street with its local shops selling local products and ship in its own alternatives from further afield!!! Progress not in my book,the ash cloud should happen more often, the local shops would be relatively unaffected while the multinational supermarkets would soon start to have prolems with supply?

Weather Home and Away

2010-05-13T17:24:00.002+02:00

Well just about recovered from the trip back, ferry delayed for 3 hours then stuck in Paris for 2 hours. Glad to get home to some warm weather, I think not! since getting back its been raining nearly all the time and its very cold can't remember weather this cold in May before ? Pictures of the vines will be posted soon but must first wait for the rain to stop. Observations from London will be posted over the next few days so keep watching.

2010-05-12T19:28:00.001+02:00

Middle

2010-05-12T19:24:00.004+02:00

2010-05-12T19:19:00.000+02:00

Real Food Fair 2010

2010-05-12T19:01:00.000+02:00

Well, we arrived back at Merchien3.30 this morning, having wasted the whole of Monday, a so called Trade day at the Real Food Fair, the only problem in our and many other peoples opinion was that the trade didn't turn up for whatever reason? For other exhibitors who where not as fortunate as us and had to fork out for an extra days accomodation, food and travel plus the wasted day they won't be happy bunnies and it could reflect on participating next year?

We would like to thank all our friends for making us so welcome, Jem and Cathrine , Emma Kathy and Nigel you made us so welcome and even gave us a bit of a holiday! It was great to see all of you that took up our offer for free tickets on Sunday and Monday and hope you enjoyed the show, your comments please! Encouraging ,was the number of people who bought last year and had returned this year to seek us out to buy and tell us how much they enjoyed the wine and why on earth haven't we got suppliers in Britain?

For the first time we were displaying our beer now known as green pig and pink pig and after a dismal first day we decided to give tastings ,which is rather difficult with bottled beer ,but to cut a long story short it sold out with a day to go and comments were extremly positive!!!!

Glad to be back

David

Hillbillies are coming to Town

2010-04-30T12:29:00.002+02:00

The Real Food Festival at Earls Court in London is nearly upon us, 7th to 10th May,we are busy trying to finish all our work here in time to drive upto London on Tuesday next to set up ready for the show starting on Friday. Anybody wanting a free ticket for the Sunday or Monday we have a limited stock and will hand them out on a F.C.F.Served basis so if you want a great day out and meet the hillbillies from the deep south west of France and even better want to purchase some wine or beer or place an order, you better get in touch fast!!! Hope to see you soon,David

2010-04-26T21:39:00.003+02:00

Jamie Goode, he of the wine gang fame asked could we be included in the natural wine groupment last year. Well it’s so debatable what natural means, something different to whoever, you choose to ask?

For me its using the natural flora and fauna to encourage the good bugs to overcome the bad bugs in simple terms!!!Seeing these orchids growing in the vineyard is great, they encourage the good bugs ,ladybirds etc. I will print some pictures of some of the vineyards that use purely chemical weed control and chemicals to kill any growth from the stem, yes it works, its cheap and its quick but as far as I’m concerned it makes a totally sterile zone which the bad bugs manage to reasserts their numbers before the good bugs can take control unless you re apply the chemicals, a viscous circle as far as I'm concerned occurs and its just a recipe for using more chemical weeedkillers.
We've steered away fro this over the last 15 years and even our technician, who is pro chemical has admitted that our system has worked, as long as we don't push for higher yields we are O.K. Its common sense really I see the same happening with the modern dairy cow for example it comes back to the old adage of everything in moderation!!!!! and if you push things to hard they get stressed and then are open to attack!!! Your thoughts please.

2010-04-26T19:47:00.001+02:00

2010-04-10T10:28:00.002+02:00

Time seems to fly by and there is never enough time to get everything done, either that or Sarah and I are just getting older and can't do as much? Sad news to report is that Patapouf our rescue Newfoundland from Paris who has been with us for six years,sadly went missing a couple of weeks ago and hasn't returned nor has anyone seen him! He was around 12 years old so a good age for his breed, but it is very quiet without him, those of you who knew him will know what I mean.

Vines around the house have now been attached and work continues on the big field it could be called late but we don't mind as it doesn't produce loads of quantity and its easier for us to see what we are doing.

The late spring has helped us in the sense that the grass and weeds haven't started to grow as quickly as normal but as many of you will know if using chemical weed control this wouldn't be a problem, however, by mechanical means and by hand it is both time consuming and costly and is about to start. An article that a friend has read has got us thinking? somebody has been using sheep to graze between the vines, so if anybody has a couple of spare sheep give us a call and you can have some free grazing.

BOOK NEWS

Many of you who know us well will be aware that Paul Strang, the foremost authority on the wines of the South- West of France has just gained an award for his new book Wines and Winemakers of the south west. For those of you that haven't heard of this man look out for this new book and also his wife's cookery book on the South west Goosefat and Garlic ,a must for anyone who likes the food down here, and who wouldn't!!

March Workload and Weather

2010-03-30T19:21:00.002+02:00

Well its the end of March and after just a couple of warm days last week we are back to cold wet weather and the heating on again!! It really has been along winter but work continues and we still have pruning to do in the big field, however,the fields by the house have some attaching to complete and one has already been cultivated! Pictures will follow shortly when we get some nicer weather.

If its wet there is plenty of work to do in the winery with the Roses about to be bottled along with a new JAS and CF, furthermore, we have just about ran out of Doree beer so if the rain continues we will be brewing on Thursday.All this has to be completed soon or it won,t be ready for The Real Food Show in London in May!

2010-01-09T19:20:00.000+01:00

Best wishes for 2010 and as we say, Health ,Wealth and Happiness to you all.

We would like to thank everyone, who has supported our Domaine over the past year, we are most grateful.

Before ranting on we would like to explain a new slant to the BLOGG !!
We want it to be more than just a vineyard, more on are philosophy of why we are here and the way we wish to live our lives. So we will try to explain what and why we are doing certain things in the vineyard because it has become apparent that what is routine and mundane to us is of interest to others. We will also try discussing wine topics and new rules and regulations, furthermore we would like to discuss topical points that are relevant to our way of life.

What has become very apparent over the last 12 months particularly in a credit crunch is that producing wine; that has over a period of 15 years won countless awards and acknowledgements counts very little when trying to appeal to a wider audience. The mass media and independent merchants seem to want a sure thing! So an unknown wine produced by a unknown (non celeb) in an unknown appellation in an unfashionable region is very difficult to get any coverage. But we will keep on trying.

Where we have failed, so far, our dog Patapouf has succeeded, he is to grace the pages of Decanter Magazine February issue. Unfortunately the wine doesn’t come from an area posh enough area to be featured in said publication?
So the quest continues for small unknowns like us, we won’t become fashionable until we reach a wider audience and we can’t reach a wider audience until we become fashionable, does chicken and egg ring a bell!

Any comments or ideas welcome, as we fear that many of these smaller appellations for wine and other regional products for that matter will disappear. We are losing our shop window, with street markets in France, the tradition of customers visiting the Farm, the 35 hour week in France and supermarkets generally not opening on a Sunday (though not for long if Sarkozy gets his way) this shouldn’t be the case but we do seem to be going that way. Supermarkets and materialist living is going to be the down fall of French rural life .

This also has become particularly apparent over that last year with the 3 locations we regularly have a stand at the market having campaigns against large supermarkets being built on the out skirts of the towns/village we feel along with others this will be very detrimental for the towns/village , markets, local family run shops and businesses in the town and ultimately the life of the village,

Before we came to France we both lived in towns where the local street market and family run shops and businesses were closed because of supermarket being built and dominating all before them.

So please think twice before you put your whole life in hands of the supermarkets, besides the farmer being dominated by them, the environment collapsing with food being brought from the other side of the world, the newsagent, chemist , butcher, baker ect… not being on the high street anymore NOW they will do your banking , insurance, internet server and credit card…..

Have you ever thought what would happened if the supermarkets went the same way as the banks did last year. Where would your life be….

2009-12-01T15:01:00.000+01:00

You are invited to view a photo from Sarah's photo album: Movies

FOR A LESS BLURRY VERSION PLEASE GO TO YOU TUBE AND SEARCH FOR MERCHIEN or double click on this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=648_fw_P5Ss . THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH PICASA ITSELF WHICH I CANT RECTIFY. ENJOY!!

View Video

2009-10-05T16:17:00.004+02:00

GRAPES READY TO PICK BY HAND

FIVE DIFFERENT CEPAGES

If you look at them carefully you can see how different shape the bunches are, well we can, can you????

2009-10-05T16:12:00.000+02:00

Septembre 2009 David checking the quality of the Grapes

2009-06-25T18:59:00.002+02:00

Urgent Message !!!

Have YOU emailed us from the 1st June to 25th June PLEASE email again as due to an error compressing the file the above dates are missing . lost somewhere in the computer, you would have thought that wasn't enough room in the machine.

Don't you just love these machines .

I am SORRY

Sarah

Hail Stones

2009-06-22T22:41:00.000+02:00

Hail Stones The Winemakers nightmare

And these were the small ones!

When they hit the vines (especially in spring time when the vines are just setting the grapes) a hit by a hail stone can cut straight through the new growth , leaving you with just a green stalk.

Luckily for us these hail stone missed us !

But my Dads car looks like orange peel every panel is dented!

2009-06-22T22:27:00.000+02:00

Earls Court First day !!
All set up and ready to go!

Smiling faces and new white Tshirts!

You should have seen us at the end of the day.

Tshirts not quite so white and smiles not quite so bright!

Real Food fair London's Earl Court

2009-06-22T22:24:00.001+02:00

Busy Busy

2009-06-22T21:47:00.005+02:00

It has been a long time since our last blog!!

Mainly a trip to London , Real Food Fair , Earls Court which was only over a weekend but the months leading up to this was full on. Why? I hear you say , we decided to change the labels and our logo!! make a new beer and bottle it, fine tune two of the Rose wines and Hint of Pink which by the way isn't quite pink hey ho! worked in the vines weeding 60,000 plants and paper work re wine going to UK with duty paid.

Then when all was getting up together we lost the memory card for the camera so couldn't take any photos to down load.

Anyway this is our excuse for not updating.

So here goes

Buds appear and the season starts all over again

2009-04-22T17:47:00.002+02:00

Customers ask when is your quiet time and we answer there isn't one but to be fair if there was one it would be now.

But with not using lots of chemicals the workload is greater because more time has to be put in with the hand weeding etc. Its a great time of year with cool misty mornings and warm afternoons.

In the vines today we heard nightingales singing (this is the male we have been told) the wild orchids look amazing ( I will take some photos tomorrow) and the sun on our backs is lovely after such a long winter.

The vines are just starting to show there first leaves, quite a delicate time as a frost now could ruin it all or a hail storm which Lalbenque had last Friday. I was told the hail covered the streets like snow.

Pruning 32,000 Vines

2009-03-04T12:20:00.004+01:00

Pruning Vines.

As you can see from the video , David prunes with electric sectuers (though he does use manual as well) this helps with a clean cut and for us to go faster.

When we prune we select a main branch from last years growth, the critrea for this is ; a healthy light colour branch that had grape bunches last year , pencil thickness with 5 to 8 buds which usually works out to be about half a metre long.

A reserve branch is also kept , this will have only 3 buds and about 8 to 10cm long, we do this in case we have a late frost or hit with disease, this reserve usually survives giving us a few bunches of grapes but more importantly a main branch for next year.

We have found over the years we can spot which branches we will keep and which branches we will cut away within the first glance as we work towards each vine.

Once all the dead wood is pulled away we take the main branch and wrap it around the wire, we do this as to train the vines so that the new growth grows upwards and the bunches of grapes hang down, making it easier to pick either by hand or machine.

We will show you throughout the course of the growing season how this vine progresses ,to give you an insight into what happens as we go through the year.

2009-02-16T20:48:00.006+01:00

This is the piece that was in Living france this month sorry about the quality of the image and the order but I am sure you will understand.

2009-02-16T20:34:00.002+01:00

Just thought I would let you all know about a new wine book out this summer.

Paul Strang is acknowledged as the foremost authority on the wines of the south west of France and is a firm supporter of Domaine du Merchien since our beginning

FORTHCOMING IN JUNE 2009
South-West France
The Wines and Winemakers
Paul Strang
Photography by Jason Shenai
Between Bordeaux and the Spanish border, reaching east to the Massif Central and the river valleys of the Dordogne and Lot, and south to the foothills of the Pyrenees, lies a unique and little-known viticultural landscape. South-West France is a wine lover’s paradise that cultivates an astonishing array of grape varieties, many that grow nowhere else, and produces a fascinating assortment of wines. In this book, Paul Strang covers the South-West with enthusiasm and keen expertise, providing a history of its wine industry, including a near collapse and unlikely rebirth, and introducing readers to a region that seems to defy globalization. The outstanding local wines—made by idiosyncratic growers motivated by a passion for their profession—range from inky Tannats to honeyed late-harvest Semillons. Intrepid readers are invited to rediscover this beautiful part of France, already well known for its cuisine, castles, and cave art, for its earthy and intriguing wines.
Paul Strang is the author of Wines of South-West France, which was named one of 1994’s best wine books by Decanter magazine, and Languedoc-Roussillon: The Wines and Winemakers, as well as Take 5000 Eggs: Food from the Markets and Fairs of Southern France.
FORTHCOMING IN JUNE 2009
Copub: Éditions du Rouergue
400 pages, 7.5 x 10.5”, 30 color illustrations, 50 b/w photographs, 14 maps
£26.95 cloth, 978-0-520-25941-6
To read more go to: http://go.ucpress.edu/Strang

Finding truffle with the dog

2009-01-29T14:35:00.004+01:00

Found ONE!!!!!

truffle market lalbenque

2009-01-29T14:21:00.002+01:00

The snow at merchien!

2008-12-29T17:45:00.007+01:00

Merry christmas!

This is the snow at the domain du Merchien on boxing day . Just 3 month ago it was harvest, hard to imagine the change in such a short space of time?? It just gives those of you that visit us in the summer and ask the question whats it like in the winter a taster. We will try and show you the work over the winter period both in the field and the chai to show you a year in a vineyard!!

2008-12-18T19:57:00.003+01:00

Just had to show off my first ever cooked HAM!!!
Wiltshire ham can not beet it!! there says a wiltshire lass

Cork not plastic

2008-12-08T21:51:00.000+01:00

Forest In A Bottle = Natural World BBC2 8:00pm

As most of you know we only use cork for our bottles and hopefully always will. Our motto is supporting the natural Cork forest of the World and not the petrol chemical industry.

If we do not support the cork producers the forest will die!! cork is renewable .

Please consider this when drinking a bottle of wine with a plastic stopper or screw cap.

David has been saying it for years, use CORK maybe now it will become fashionable and we will all benefit.

Maybe Domaine du Merchien with our little bit of eco-ness will also become fashionable.

Please watch the program if poss. and give us your thought on our BLOG http://merchienwineandbeer.blogspot.com/

David and Sarah
www.merchien.com

2008-11-23T19:13:00.000+01:00

Loading the pressed grapes into trailer for the distillery.
After the pressing of the fermented grapes we have to keep all the pressed grape skins and send to a distillery to be made into industrial alcohol, this is a sort of tax we have to pay(yet another one) if we do not arrange for the "marc" to be sent than the customs have a right to come and take finished wine.

This marc is also used to make 'eau de vie' slightly different way of distilling to give a hint of fruit but still very alcholic. In 2001 we sent some marc off to a man in the village to make us some , we still have loads left very good to keep a cold away!! the locals say a tot aday keeps a cold away.

2008-11-19T21:20:00.002+01:00

What a Night.............. Wake me in the morning!!

2008-11-14T18:02:00.001+01:00

This is MER - CHIEN (aka Patapouf)

Ready for a night out!!!

Watch this space for the morning after!!

2008-11-14T17:34:00.001+01:00

YET MORE GOOD NEWS FOR OUR AWARD WINNING WINES

Not content with our yet to be released VAT 665 being nominated for Guide Hachette 2009, our Cabernet Franc 2005 has made it to No 1 too.

Wine Report 2009 (Tom Stevenson) has placed the Cabernet Franc 2005 as the Best Bargain in the South West France section. This is the second time we have appeared in the Wine Report, the last time was in 2005 where we then got Best Bargain and Top 100 most Exciting Wine Finds.

The Guide Hachette award was a real surprise too. As we hadn’t actually bottled the VAT 665 when the closing date was approaching, we debated whether we should enter or not as in reality, with no bottle age, the finished product would be far from ready but we knew it had definite potential as it was going to be as good as the 2004 which had been nominated in 2007.

In the end we succumbed, quickly bottled half a case and sent it off, hoping that they would see its potential, which we knew it had. You could have knocked us over with a feather then a large buff envelope plonked itself down on our doormat and David got the surprise of his life when he opened it

Quercy brewery news

2008-10-31T12:44:00.001+01:00

Quercy brewery news

David and Sarah will be brewing again shortly, so hard to keep up with the demand!!

2008-10-28T20:16:00.001+01:00

Making sure it is in the right place

2008-10-28T20:16:00.000+01:00

Pushing the cage into position

2008-10-28T20:15:00.001+01:00

Pressing under way

2008-10-28T20:15:00.000+01:00

A better view of the press