This is a link to a webpage so you watch the videos without having to return to the email.
We are offering a zero emission delivery service of within 3 miles of the centre of Newcastle working with ZMove, which at the moment only works in the stated range, see map below. If in doubt contact us and we will check with the company. They deliver in clusters of clients to reduce their emissions, so you may have to wait, they will communicate with you and arrange a time that is convenient with you, the person accepting the delivery must be 18 years of age or over.
The charge is £5 per carton, deliveries timetable Monday-Saturday 9.00 to 17.00, we would require your address and telephone number and ZMove will contact you to organise your delivery.
They have a standard charge which allows for one delivery only. If you are not there at the arranged time the wine will be returned to the warehouse. You will then be responsible for collecting it or I will deliver when I am in the UK or pay for another delivery.
If you request a refund this will be made less any charges that I may have incurred.
On arriving back from our Summer visit to the UK we had to walk through the vineyards in our village looking for signs of flavescence doree on the vines. We have to do this by law, starting at 7.00am-12.00am, walking a distance of 16.3 km, not a sign was found searching for insect infection.
Then we were offered lunch at Domazan by the organisation responsible for the survey. Domazan is one of the four villages producing Signargues Village.
Forecast of the harvest 2019 was a shortfall of between 30% and 50%, because of the heatwave and lack of rainfall for four months.
Ban des Vendanges at Avignon
Le Ban des Vendanges at Avignon is organised by Les Compagnons des Côtes du Rhône who organise events to promote Côtes du Rhône and Avignon which is the capital of Côtes du Rhône.
The choir of Côtes du Rhône singing the Coupo Santo (the anthem of Provence sung in Provençal) As the confréries come out of Avignon Notre-Dame des Doms Cathedral after having a mass for the harvest. I have known several of this lot for about 25 years, the man right of the second accordion from the left is Pierre Pappalardo, an oenologist retired now but a legend in his time.
The person responsible for playing the bells wears ear protectors if you watch the following video you will understand why.
The confréries walking to the Rocher des Doms from the cathedral in Avignon.
Michel Chapoutier said that the harvest was going to be that small so any measures that Trump may make would be ineffective resulting in laughter from the audience. The vice-president of the union pointed out that agriculture represented 50% of the economic activity of the department of Vaucluse. We are in the Gard on the opposite bank of the Rhône, it will be similar here, tourism must make up a large part of the remaining 50%.
Place du Palais the square in front of the Popes Palace
Place de l'Horlage where the civic buildings are the townhall and the opera house.
Harvest
The harvest normally lasts over 4-5 weeks, starting with early white varieties and vineyards selected for rosé. Then Syrah, later Grenache and Cinsault, towards the end later varieties: Mourvèdre and Carignan and selected vineyards. Usually highly structured, you can only harvest when you are allowed to.
This year once the white and rosé were finished they allowed us to harvest everything apart from the late varieties as we wanted, but insisted as soon as possible. The problem was not just that it was a very small harvest but it was getting smaller by the day as the berries dried out and began to shrivel.
We were working just over 2 weeks starting before six in the morning in the dark and working more than 12 hour day for six days a week. It looks as if we are going to be 20% down, we had a reserve of of 3,800 litres from last year that we used.
François Hollande visits Avignon
During September François Hollande visited Avignon for a meeting at the Popes Palace, he stayed at the Mercure hotel which is just adjacent. It is where my daughter Emilie works, she was responsible for welcoming him to the hotel surrounded by his four bodyguards.