Dear Friends ~
During my month of travel to France and England, I enjoyed meeting many people and visited several vineyards. I especially looked forward to meeting Robert Eden, the inspiration behind Chateau Maris. During my research, he stood out as someone who had a unique view about developing wines and creating a new way of looking at vineyards. His unusual approach brought a vineyard back from what seemed like an unrecoverable situation to success.
I wanted to speak with him because his commitment to saving the planet and all parts of the environment “spoke” to me. Also, I could envision my books’ main character, Louisa, who loved growing plants, working in such an environment for her college internship.
Luckily, Louisa doesn’t need to worry about speaking perfect French to work in France. Will can practice with her and bring her up to speed. 😀 And, Robert Eden and his assistant, were so helpful!
Hope this isn’t a spoiler for you! I’ve had it in my mind from the beginning that Louisa would complete her Bachelor’s degree in viticulture and enology by interning in France at a great vineyard.
So, without further ado–I’ll introduce you to Chateau Maris in Southern France in the village of Felines Minervois.
BLANKETED with . . . MANURE:
HOW CHATEAU MARIS SAVED THEIR VINEYARD
Biodynamic, organic, sustainable and a “force for good,” Chateau Maris is one of the few vineyards in the world that adheres to strict standards. And after an inauspicious start, they now win awards for their wines.
Robert Eden, the “visionary” and co-owner of Chateau Maris, is British, but his career involved selling wines. Owning a vineyard was his dream. Unfortunately, the previous owner had inundated the vineyard Eden purchased with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. After two seasons, the wine they produced was terrible.
He set about remedying the situation, starting with the soil and every other element of cultivating grape vines in his vineyard. His French neighbors reacted when he tried one effort to revitalize his vineyard after he brought in many tons of manure.
“The Brit shows up and what does he bring in? Shit.”
He turned everything around and, consequently, received certifications for sustainability, which involves biodynamic, organic, and eco certification.
Chateau Maris also holds a B Corporation certification, which “are businesses that balance purpose and profit. Legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment, they are driving a global movement of people using business as a force for good. . . When you drink a bottle of Maris, you are supporting sustainable agriculture, fair wages, community engagement and helping to reduce climate change.”
Their wine “cellar,” where they process, age, and transform the grapes to wine, is now housed in a building built of hemp bricks made with limestone. The idea of having a hemp, plant-based building material was Eden’s idea. Hemp bricks make them self-sufficient, carbon negative, and naturally insulated.
The vats where they age the grapes are concrete, not electrically conducive materials to avoid convection currents.
Seeing the world as their ecosystem, Eden considers his workers, his neighbors, and even the pollinators as part of the elements of the vineyard. They are gentle in their methods.
The results are phenomenal. Decanter, a recent world-wide competition of over 18,000 wines, chose two Chateau Maris wines with each scoring 95, winning a Gold award for their La Touge and Les Planels 2121 vintages.
On March 6, 2023, The New York Times also rated Maris’ Pays d’Oc Rouge IGP 2020, 14%, $14.99 highly─and quoted the Vintners Alliance, New Rochelle, NY, “Pays d’Oc is a great region in the south of France for wines that don’t conform to the stricter rules of the Languedoc or Roussillon appellations, which makes sense for Maris, a kind of maverick producer who grows organically with a focus on biodiversity and the environment…This bottle (70% Merlot, 30% Syrah) is juicy, concentrated, refreshing and excellent value.”
Chateau Maris’ Grande Café Occitan is in the village of Felines Minervois, near where the grapes grow. And, of course, Chateau Maris serves their wines at the café.
I wish you happy holidays and joyful times with family and friends!
If you’ve been hoping to read Love at First Sight, I have a special on Amazon! Mark your calendar, watches, alarms, and other electronics!
For just over a day, starting on December 21st, you can purchase the ebook of Love at First Sight, the Louisa’s Vineyard prequel at Kindle Direct Publishing for $.99! Give yourself the opportunity to do something fun for yourself this holiday season!
Mark your calendar and set your alarm! Don’t miss this. You’ll even find a link to the special bonus epilogue at the end of the ebook and printed book.
And speaking of calendar─I wanted to thank my webmaster by giving him Christmas off. (The day after Christmas is on the fourth Thursday of December, so I’d be making him work on Christmas Day to post my next blog.)
Instead, my second blog for this month will be next Thursday, December 19th. I promise to write something special for you, my loyal reader!
Enjoy your holidays!
And, please share your thoughts on the blogs─questions, comments, ideas in the comments sections that are now shown after each blog!
Happy holidays to you! No matter what holidays you celebrate!
