The profession of winemaker : an art of living or a life dedicated to its art.

September 28, 2018, 8:30 a.m., the temperature is cool but the day is forecast to be beautiful. All the harvesters are there to declare the Merlot harvest open at Château des Tourtes.

It’s a new vintage, a new adventure that begins today. The Vignobles Raguenot team is ready and above all happy to reap the fruits of a year, punctuated by rigorous work and various apprehensions. Indeed, the weather can be an ally in our best moments like a bad spell in the most difficult times.

This year, the weather was good and allowed us to harvest healthy and generous grapes, the ultimate reward for the work accomplished.

It is now up to the cellar master to put on his conductor costume and make his vats ring, turn his pumps and make his press vibrate so that his place resonates with the sound of a sweet symphony. The gestures are precise, the looks concentrated, nothing seems to disturb the musicians anymore. They give the best of themselves and do not save their energy in any way, often to the detriment of their hours of sleep.

The moment is sacred, we must succeed in all the vats, all the barrels. Any error may be penalized for the smooth running of the operation.

Eric Lallez, the cellar master at Château des Tourtes, has become an expert in Bordeaux grape varieties over the years. Whether he vinifies them and ages them in white or red, he enhances the wines with the signature that has made the trademark of Vignobles Raguenot wines. v He pampers them, raises them to their best level. But there remains the last score to play. This is orchestrated by 8 hands: salespeople and assistants work to sell the different wines produced. 10 vintages, each year, 800,000 bottles produced are for sale to delight the taste buds of lovers around the world.

All year round, the two sisters of the estate, Emmanuelle MILLER and Marie-Pierre LALLEZ travel to the four corners of the planet to talk about and promote their family's wines. It is with unfailing enthusiasm that you can meet them on different continents and they take you into their world built around their passion for wine, of course, and the people they meet.

Even before being winegrowers or ambassadors of their wines, this family is convinced that wine only takes its true place when it is shared.

So, yes, for all these reasons, the profession of winegrower is an art of living but without ever forgetting that a winegrower also lives for his art.