Domaine La Grange english

Of animals and men - The La Grange Tradition wines

Our predecessors at La Grange, the Sabatier family not only made wine, they also raised sheep. Even today old drystone walls and stone shelters for the shepherds bear witness of the sheep-breeding times at La Grange. There's even an old stable left.

We revisited this old tradition of sheep husbandry with our Tradition wines. Frisette, the first sheep born at La Grange in modern times takes pride of place on the labels.
We already wrote about the laborious rearing of our own little herd.

François and his son Raphael lovingly take care of all their charges, and this spring, we again had newborn lambs to enliven life on the winery.

Tradition Grande Cuvée Blanc IGP Pays d'Oc
A creamy white wine made from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Tradition Grand Cuvée Rosé IGP Pays d'Oc
The three varieties Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Syrah are united in perfect harmony. An striking Rosé, perfect for summer barbecues.

Tradition Sélection IGP Pays d'Oc
Merlot and Syrah combined to charming elegance.

Tradition Pat Bibal" IGP Pays d'Oc
Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, harvested from our most valuable vineyard: Prat Bibal. Prat Bibal is a typical wine from southern France: Powerful and imposing with dark notes of berries.

Daniel and the retiree's-club of old pumps

(Rolf and Daniel)

After his retirement Daniel from Gabian didn't want to stress his wife at home with his continuous presence; so he was looking urgently for a new pastime.
With seven friends in the same home-situation he founded a retiree's-club devoted to restoring old machines and tools.
He himself has collected and lovingly restored more than 30 old pumps to this day. An old harvester, an old calèche and tractors are being cared for by other club members.

(Daniel's shop and his old treasures)

Of course these old treasures should not be hidden away in old warehouses all the time, they want to be presented to the public every once in a while. The best opportunity for an extensive show was the inauguration of our new winery last week.

The entire retiree's-club came and all the old pumps, some of them older than a hundred years, were fired up and presented to an interested public.The absolute highlight of this collection is an old wood gasifier. It stinks and gives off clouds of smoke but it can still do it's duty. So whenever there's a gasoline shortage - Daniel can help!

Daniel has many funny and touching stories to tell. For example he told me about an old couple who gave him their old pump. It was rotting away somewhere but Daniel managed to polish and repair it. When he showed the old couple how well their old pump worked again, they burst into tears. Suddenly they remembered old times!

The best story is this, however: Like every self-respecting club the retired gentlemen went on an outing to enjoy nature (and probably some time off from their wives). Of course one of the old pumps had to along. Two police officers happened to come by just when the gentlemen started the old machine and the officers didn't like it one bit. They took the whole retirees-club to the police station. The older gentlemen were outraged that their fingerprints were taken on this occasion. The retirees-club thought this to be excessive and scandalous. It's a good thing they weren't taken to jail, because then who should have presented the old pumps at our inauguration?!

Now: Woollen socks from southern France

For a long time Languedoc was a very poor region. Wine, Olives and sheep raising were the means to earn a living for the farmers around here. During the summer months big herds of sheep were driven to the summer pastures in the Cevennes. The autumn months brought them back down to their winter quarters. The old sheep trails are still visible today.

La Grange, too, had it's little herd of sheep. The mangers are still visible in the old stable (la grange - the stable).

This gave our staff, and especially Raphael, who studied animal husbandry, the idea to raise sheep on La Grange once again... And off they went to the next garden centre to buy a garden shed, which was immediately transformed into a stable. I have been wishing for a garden shed for years, but the boss always rejected it for fear of gaudyness. Makes me want to be a sheep at La Grange! But, I have to say, a bit of luxury seems to be good for our sheep.

The five ewes are doing exceptionally well under the enthusiastic care of Raphael and François. This week they had to be shorn for the first time.

The sheperd took the wool away with him but I'm thinking about building a spinning mill here at La Grange. Our own wine, our own wool, handknit socks made from sheep's wool from southern France... I never run out of ideas. And while we're at it, we could also start our own silk production. We already have some mulberry trees, after all.

Medieval Circular Villages (Circulades) around La Grange

One of the tourist attractions around La Grange are the medieval circular villages called 'Circulades'. They have been built in concentric circles, a bit like a snail's shell. The region's aristocrat or noble built his castle on top of a hill and the peasants built their homes all around the castle.

In the event of an attack, the villagers could seek shelter in the castle, often using subterranean passageways leading from the village to the castle. Tourists often fall in love with these medieval houses, they find them to be very romantic. In Fouzilhon, our neighboring village, many Swiss and English bought old houses and renovated them lovingly. The locals often prefer modern houses on the outskirts of town.

Because what seems romantic to tourists and summer guests was part of a harsh life for the locals: The narrow houses often have three storeys, which can be very tiring for the elderly. On top of that the staircases deteriorated through years and years of use and, more often than not, have become quite an obstacle course. There was no central heating, of course, and winters here in Languedoc can be rather cold. So compared to that, a ground-level house with central heating is pure luxury!

Pilgrimage routes to La Grange - via the Château-Abbaye de Cassan

There are many pilgrimage routes to Santiago di Compostella in the north of Spain; one of them was very close to La Grange.

The footsore and weary pilgrims stopped at Château-Abbaye de Cassan, just one kilometer away from La Grange, to be nursed and cared for before they would continue their arduous journey.

The old pharmacy at the Château-Abbaye is well worth a visit and the many medicinal herbs still on display bear witness to the knowledge and skill of the resident monks. Every night they would light a fire in the big old tower so that even the last of the lost sheep would find their way to the safety of the monastery.

Before the french revolution the estate was so magnificent that people called it the Versailles of Languedoc. This glory has somewhat faded but it's still worth a visit today. If you are planning to visit the region you can find more information about Cassan and it's events here. And if you won't make it to France any time soon, you can still admire Cassan on this virtual tour.

Dry stone walls at La Grange

If you take a walk through the vineyards here at La Grange the picturesque old dry stone walls will surely catch your eye. What looks romantic to us today is the result of a lot of painstaking work.

The region was poor and the soil rather barren and stony. People - mostly kids - used to pick up the stones to work them into the dry stone walls, built completely without mortar. Once the soil in one field was clear of stones, the farmers started to plant and grow cereals and wine. Birds, lizards, butterflies and creepers find shelter in these old dry stone walls, who are thus conducive to a uniquely rich flora and fauna in and around our vineyards.

Experts also start to understand that these old walls are very important to the ecological equilibrium of these old vineyards.

When we first arrived at La Grange we found strange indentations in some parts of the walls. At first, we didn't know what to make of them, but they were built for a reason. François, one of our team, explained to us that shepherds used to find respite from the sharp winter winds in these indentations.

The little houses around these indentations gave shelter to the farmhands and gave them a place where they could put their tools. During harvest the farmhands slept in these little houses, because the fields had to be watched even at night. Theft was common in those days. During summer the shepherds trekked to the Vosges. The paths they used can still be found today.