Life
in Mas d'Intras n° 6 - PDF
version here
THE
DEPARTURE OF EMMANUEL AND MAGALIE
Emmanuel,
who left the company in January 2010, is well and fulfilled
his wish of working as a cab driver. He is very much appreciating
his new job.
In May 2010 his place was taken by Raphaël, a childhood
friend of Sébastien, also living in our village. Raphaël
and Sébastien take care of the vineyard and the cellar;
they enjoy working together and form an efficient team.
After the departure of her husband, and adapting to his new
work schedule, Magalie also decided to leave. We understand
her choice and her need to turn the page at the same time as
her husband, but we miss her kindness and her efficiency. We
hope she will soon find a new job as a waitress, which is what
she wants and enjoys.
Magalie's place was taken by Gaëlle, a young lady living
in the Ardèche, who already worked with Marie-Julienne
(Sébastien's wife) and Valérie (Denis' wife).
Magalie and Emmanuel, just like their children, often drop by
the office to say hello and we sure hope they will continue
to do so.
In January 2011 we have organized a dinner in honor of Emmanuel
and Magalie, because both have been very important for the Mas
d'Intras. They worked here for almost two decades… and
that's a lot of time!
THE NEW TEAM AT THE MAS
Denis (working at the Mas since 1986), Sébastien (at
the Mas since 2005) and Ida (since 2003) have now been joined
by Raphaël and Gaëlle to form a new team of 5.
Papi Alphonse and Mamie Françoise continue to help whenever
they can: Alphonse (82 years) likes to run errands and Françoise
(79½) often drives the kids to school … They both
are in good health and enjoy an active retirement!
HARVEST
2010 :
EVEN BETTER THAN 2007 !
After a very good year 2009 and a rather difficult but still
tastefull vintage 2008, 2010 will produce an even better quality
of wine than the outstanding year 2007. You can discover the
first cuvées of 2010 at our "Open days" on
march 4th, 5th and 6th 2011.
CONVERSION
TO "ORGANIC":
Things are coming along...
We're
in the 2nd year of conversion to organic agriculture. The 2010
harvest is the first to come from a complete year of conversion.
The vintage of 2012 will be the first to officially carry the
stamp 'AB'..
SPREADING
OF COMPOSTED GRAPE POMACE
The
wineyard withdraws organic materials and minerals from the soil
in order to grow and to produce grapes. That's why it is important
to add soil elements from time to time that maintain it's structure
and fertility. For years we have reduced these soil amendments,
but now we want to regenerate our soils. And this is why we
have applied composted grape pomace.
It is an organic soil improver made from grape stems and pits
that were separated from the juice before the vinification or
after the pressing, mixed with lees that were separated from
the wine after the vinification. This pomace is composted in
our own area, at the distillery in Vallon-Pont-d'Arc.
Not only do we like the compost, but also the fact that it is
produced so close and with our own waste.
WHAT
WE ARE PLEASED ABOUT...
Enthronization of Denis in the
"Society of Knights of the Ardèche Vine"
On November 27th, 2010 the enthronization of the "7 Knights
of the Ardèche Vine" took place In the Castle of
Vogüé. Among the new members were our friend Henri
Blanc, former inn-keeper and author of cookbooks, our neighbor
and friend Jérôme Volle, vintner working for the
Cooperative Wine cellar and active defender of agriculture in
the Ardèche, and Denis, proud to share this honor with
these people that he respects a lot.
Moreover, our Syrah 2007 found it's way into the 2010 edition
of the Hachette Wine guide and our Cabernet-Sauvignon 2007,
Gold medal Winner in Paris, has been selected by the "Gilbert
& Gaillard" Wine guide with 85 points out of 100.
SHALE
GAS
SHOULD WE BE WORRIED ABOUT GAS DEVELOPMENT?
Most of you did receive my email in January, informing you about
the planned exploratory shale gas drilling in southeastern France
2011. These drillings were supposed to start here in Valvignères
and Villeneuve de Berg and then little by little occur in a
large part of France. On short terms (2012) these exploratory
drillings will result in gas development all over Europe.
The exploration drilling technique has been used in the USA
and in Canada for 10 years and has already caused ecological
disasters. The communities around Valvignères are mobilized
against the project. The community councils voted against exploratory
drilling but that doesn’t mean they've won. The financial
stake for the international firms is enormous. This is not like
a farmer grinding his land and finding oil. If development is
financially profitable, no one will ask for our opinion and
wells will be drilled all over!
In a time of Environmental Summits, renewable energies and reducing
Greenhouse gas emissions, this
is going totally against all values that have been emphasized
for more than a decade.
Because this is a very sensitive issue, Denis wrote a summary
on our website for your information. You are free to form your
own opinion and act according to your conscience. Since early
February ‘SOS’ and ‘solidarity’ are
no vain words in our area. The people of Ardèche are
standing together and there are many interesting exchanges of
ideas!
You can find my little summary directly on our homepage www.masdintras.fr,
beneath the address, and also in ‘The vineyard’
and ‘Environmental information’. Go here.
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