We were pretty close to a bubbly paradise @MetroWines last week when Hugues Romagnan dropped by, talked, tasted and taught.
Hugues Romagnan has been Export Manager at Pol Roger since 2012. He studied Political Sciences and Economics obtaining an MBA at Lyon Management School and a Master at Dijon Argo Engineer School. But the passion for wine came from his grandfather, a winemaker in the Rhone Valley. When he is not traveling the world bringing the magic that IS Pol Roger to his anxiously awaiting customers, Hugues lives in Reims.
John Grochau is such a likable, easily accessible guy, that he has been interviewed a LOT of times and told his extraordinary story as many. He has already been asked all the fun stuff: what would you be doing if you did not make wine; what would you drink at dinner aside from one of your wines; what's your favorite wine region apart from Oregon? And he has movie reviews on the Grochau Cellars website. So there!
Francoise le Calvez Interview
Saturday, 16 April 2016 00:00"It's a family business!" We spoke with Francoise le Calvez as she poured and discussed five of her wines under the Coupe Roses label.
Francoise and her enologist husband, Pascal Frissant, work Coupe Roses in the Minervois Appellation with passion and state of the art technology. But in the end, as Francoise reminds us, a "it's family business."
Francoise began her journey into wine with her father. The PH of the soil in the vineyards was not optimum. Her father found a soil researcher who concluded that "the roots were not going deeply enough to have the best expression of the soil." The problem was resolved but it is a constant labor of love. "We are always working on the soil," says Francoise, because when you get right down to it, "it's all about the soil."
I met Bruwer Raats two years ago at a wine pairing lunch. His commitment to his winemaking was immediately obvious but, as the conversation went on, his commitment to his land, his community and his family were equally obvious. And by the time that last Cabernet Franc blend crossed my palate, you could say with certainty that RAATS Wines and RAATS were class acts.
We talked with Bruwer Raats on travel by SKYPE from Stellenbosch @MetroWines on April 2nd. He, with his son in tow, had pulled over on a tree lined road to take the call and talk with his fans. Now, that's dedication and just down-right nice! Bruwer lead us through a tasting of Chenin Blanc Original, Old Vine Chenin Blanc, Red Jasper, Cabernet Franc and his mega-HIT, Compostella.