Last week we celebrated Les 5 du Vin’s second anniversary at its birthplace: the Salon des Vins de Loire in Angers.

Now we are two

Our cooperative blog was conceived at lunchtime in the Salon’s press room over a bottle of Bourgueil Rosé from Pierre-Jacques Druet on Tuesday 2^nd February 2010. There followed a remarkably short gestation period of just five days before Les 5 du Vin was launched on the world. This may be a record as even the mosquito takes 10-21 days from gestation to birth. Three mammals – the Virginian opossum (Didelphis marsupialis); the rare water opossum, or yapok (Chironectes minimus), of central and northern South America; and the eastern native cat (Dasyurus viverrinus) of Australia – only require between 12-13 days.  (See: http://www.enotes.com/science/q-and-a/which-mammal-has-shortest-gestation-period-which-286221).

Our midwife: Pierre-Jacques Druet (Bourgueil)

The initial Les 5 included Jacques Berthomeau but he vacated his Monday slot to be replaced by David Cobbold about a year ago. I guess inevitably it has taken a while to really establish Les 5 du Vin. We didn’t pass 50,000 visits until May 2011. However, our readership has expanded considerably over the last few months, particularly since October 2011, and we are now just short of hitting the 100,000 mark.  

During our birthday party at the Salon, kindly organized by Clair de Lune, a young student, who is just starting a blog on Muscadet, asked me for tips on successful blogging and how to build an audience. Although I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers, I was able to offer some pointers.

Make sure you post regularly. It doesn’t matter whether you decide you want to post every day, or every three days, once every ten days etc. Whatever your preferred frequency, keep to it. Don’t be an erratic and sporadic poster. 

Have something interesting and different to say – I include photos and videos here. Choosing to specialise rather than a general blog helps, so opting to blog about Muscadet assists in setting you apart from the hundreds, if not thousands of blogs out there. Specialising inevitably reduces your potential audience but should secure a more faithful and regular readership and audience numbers, although important, are not everything.

While Les 5 du Vin du Vin doesn’t specialise, though the focus so far does have a decided Gallic flavour, our blog does have a point of difference by being a cooperative with each of Les 5 having our own day of the week (or in the case of Michel – two!) to post. It helps that we have developed our own espirit and that we get on well together – enjoying each other's company when we are able to meet up.

80% des 5 du Vin

Some further suggestions: make a point where possible to reply to comments on your blog. Use social media to promote your blog: announcements on twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc. can help to spread the word and your message. It also helps to have someone check your blog for typos and infelicities.

Finally it can help if the world’s most influential wine critic decides to demonise you – ‘This Blogger’. However, the chances of becoming ‘Ce blogueur’ with a blog dedicated to Muscadet in all its forms are probably remote!    

Further to our teatime celebration we four (Michel was unable to make Angers this year and was sadly missed) went to Le Tire Bouchon on the Place de la Visitation to discuss a few items of business.

de Neuville, Crémant de Loire

A bottle of Crémant de Loire assisted our discussions that included details of our forthcoming visit to Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil in mid-June. David, our chef de voyage, will be announcing details later on the blog. Hervé has already announced our other big decision: to have a series of guest writers for the Saturday slot.

We are delighted that Franco Ziliani (Vino al Vino), alias Il blogger, will be our first guest next weekend. Franco will be followed by Lincoln Siliakus (Vinosolex), a motorized Australian living in the Vaucluse and then by Alexandre Truffer (Romanduvin) from Switzerland’s Vaud. 

 Gérard Pelletier, Le Relais, Angers

Then on to Le Relais, Angers' long established quality restaurant, run by Gérard Pelletier (front of house) and Christophe Noël, banging the pots and pans.   

Here we were joined by our guests – Johan de Groef (http://ivv-vl.skynetblogs.be/) and Chris Kissack (The Wine Doctor)  – for our fine celebratory dinner inspired by moderation.

Un Bière
2011 Zwanze – blend of beer and Pineau d'Aunis from les Vins Contés and brewed in Brussels by Brasserie Cantillon.

Les Vins:
2004 Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Bruno Cormerais in cru communal style

2008 Le Feuillé d'Or, Anjou, Catherine and Philippe Delesvaux

2009 Côtes de Toul, La Chaponière (Pinot Noir)

1980 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château de Beaucastel

2005 Les Rayelles, Coteaux du Layon Rochefort, Château Pierre-Bise

Soirée inspired and overseen by Moderation

Two year olds love hamburgers, especially if they are made with foie gras!

  Jim

Je m’adresse aux multiples AOP et autres IGP ; et même tant qu’on y est aux vins de France du Sud. Attention, car si vous n’y prenez garde, la dénomination Côtes Catalanes, il y a peu de temps encore fort discrète, va devenir la première IGP européenne à revendiquer autant de Carignan sur ses étiquettes. J’en veux pour preuve le tout dernier flacon du genre déniché par mon ami, le caviste Georges Guilhot de la Place des Poilus à Perpignan.

Georges Guilhot, caviste à Perpignan. Photo © DR

Bon, certes il y a de ma part un brin de favoritisme puisque les auteurs de ce vin, Paul et Muriel sont Milhe-Poutingon, originaires du Comminges, sont depuis 20 ans basés aux portes de Tresserre, dans les Aspres, probablement pas si loin de nos propres vieux carignans, ceux qui donnent un confidentiel « Puch », pardon au passage pour cette auto pub. Malgré cette proximité, j’ai mis du temps à savoir qu’ils faisaient, eux aussi, une cuvée de pur carignan.

Photo©MichelSmith

Le domaine compte une bonne vingtaine d’hectares, dont une large part consacrés aux amandiers. Les carignans du Domaine des Barbats (ndlr : en Catalan, « barbats » désigne des vignes sauvages que l’on a greffées et non des barbus comme je le pensais en arrivant ici il y a longtemps…) couvrent un peu plus d’un hectare sur un versant tourné vers le Canigou, le dos à la mer. Les vignes, qui ont 20 ans, ne sont pas si âgées que ça, mais elles sont taillées de manière à produire peu. Éraflé, le raisin cuve 28 jours, le jus fermente sous l’action de ses propres levures et le vin séjourne en cuve ciment 5 à 6 moins avant la mise qui intervient tôt.

Photo©MichelSmith

Un Domaine Els Barbats 2010 issu de raisins bio, bien à l’image du millésime, frais et équilibré, bien tendu pour céder au langage actuel, simple, mais suave et tenace en bouche en dépit d’une pointe d’oxydation et d’une finale très légèrement âpre qui va probablement s’adoucir si on attend un an ou deux. Le vin, tiré à 3.500 exemplaires, est fait pour les grillades en plein air, les volailles en particulier. Prix : autour de 7 € départ cave. 

Michel Smith