In September 26 vintage cars and 52 car enthusiasts from The Irish Veteran & Vintage Car Club visited Gérald at Domaine for a private wine tour & wine tasting.
Pat Meehan from The Irish Veteran & Vintage Car Club writes the following of their experience.
In September our club ran a motoring holiday to the Loire Valley in France a total of twenty six cars and fifty two car enthusiasts. The event was a great success helped in no small way with ten days of glorious weather.
The highlight of the trip was our visit with
Gerald Beaumont at
Domaine de la Paleine, a vineyard in Le Puy Notre Dame some 20 kms south west of our base in Saumur.
Gerald was most helpful meeting our cars at our hotel where we were staying and leading the party to the Domaine where we all met in a spacious car park prior to our tour of the vineyard.
Geralds expert knowledge of the wine making process was soon evident - from the planting of the vine in the chalky soil of this region to the final bottling, labelling and packaging of the finished product.
He explained the way of allowing grass to grow between the plants to encourage the vine roots to search for water essential for growth of the
chenin vines in this vineyard (an area of over 30 hectares).
The wine produced here is of a high quality, described as full bodied and fruity.
The equipment is of the highest modern standard, from the stainless steel vats to the expensive French oak barrels.
We were impressed with the wine cellars running for nearly a mile under the Domaine giving a constant temperature of 12.c.
Modern machines for turning the bottles compared with a hundred year old wine press once operated by a single donkey were well photographed.
The wine tasting was most enjoyable, again Gerald explaining the young to mature varieties produced in this Domaine - red, white, rosé & sparkling.
At the end of a most interesting two hour tour we were pleased to purchase some of this excellent wine.
Our host Gerald Beaumont and the staff were most informative helpful and friendly. A wine tour which we highly recommend.
Pat Meehan, The Irish Veteran & Vintage Car Club
