Claude Papin auditions for the remake of Lawrence of Arabia (Chaume)

I'm not sure whether yesterday afternoon temperatures of over 31C broke any records but certainly a number of producers said that this is the hottest late September they remember. Here are some scenes from yesterday.

Typical mix of ripeness in a bunch of Chenin (Chaume)

Vincent Ogereau (Domaine Ogereau) with 2011 Rosé de Loire (Grolleau/Gamay)

Treading Cabernet in vat at Mark Angeli 

 Martial and Mark Angeli

Some producers cool down their vats - Mark cools his pickers

Mark Angeli finds inspiration...

Chenin Blanc in Claude Papin's parcel

On Tuesday our last visit in Anjou was to the Clos le Grand Beaupreau, the Savennières vineyard shared by Vincent Ogereau, Yves Guegniard and Claude Papin. We were there to see Yves and his team make a first tri (selective picking) there. After the decidedly miserable weather on the Monday afternoon (light rain) Tuesday was gloriously sunny, although not as hot as the previous week had been.   

Yves with some of his pickers

Grapes in Vincent Ogereau's parcel

Claude Papin@the tasting room of Pierre-Bise

During our tasting last Saturday with Claude Papin at Château Pierre-Bise, Claude talked about the unequal struggle between large companies making industrial blends and the small producer making wines that reflect their terroir as well as the vigneron's personality. The large companies have such resources of communication.

Although it is true that the large global companies do have big communications budgets, in this age of the net all is not as uneven as Claude imagines. Properly used the net can be a fantastic resource for the small producer. I fancy that Claude very rarely if ever surfs the net. Yet a Google search on Claude Papin reveals 9980 references. I can't promise that every reference refers to the owner of Château Pierre-Bise but the vast majority appear so to do. If Claude can garner nearly 10,000 references by neglecting the net (no website or blog), how many more people might he reach if started to take up the advantages the net offers.

Château Pierre-Bise

A Google search on Château Pierre-Bise brings up even more results: 35,000. This compares to 301,000 results for Gallo wines and I suspect that Claude's advertising budget is nowhere near 11% Gallo's spend. The picture is a little different from searches on Able Grape. Claude Papin has 2240 results, Pierre-Bise – 5910, while Gallo notches up 90,605.

Claude may feel that with a good number of references on the net for minimal effort he might as well continue to concentrate on his vines and not be diverted by the net. However, this purely passive role doesn't necessarily allow Claude and Château Pierre-Bise to get their particular message out on the net.