Harvest at Chateau La Rame with House Dog Putschi

Back in Sainte Croix du Mont at Chateau La Rame, under a blazing sun the pickers suffer as much as grapes, vineyards and winemakers. La Rame (the Rock in Old French) was at the Revolution, owned by Baron Vertheuil, Governor of the Ile d’Oleron and Lord of la rame. Cited as the oldest cru and the most famous of the AOC (Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1895 in Bordeaux and Paris in 1900) it was considered at the beginning of the century as a First Classified growth by Bordeaux’s trade.

The afternoons are very hot about 30 degrees Celsius (around 86 degrees Fahrenheit): a spectacular time at the end of September. “Indian Summer” as we name it in the region. There are pickers in shorts, swimsuits and under the arms 2 bottles of water…

“Who would think that this year, the harvest would be finished early October as usual, this is when we usually start,” said Yves Armand at Chateau La Rame. “The concentration is moving very fast, we must be everywhere at once and well organized in the cellar,” he says.

The weather changes like generations of winemakers, “Before we worked to support the chateau, we did not eat to buy a vine,” Today, it’s different. Anyway, the vintage is very early, but the volumes will be low.



Here, there are fossilized oysters under the vines. The rock is near, so very little plowing is necessary. The few remaining grapes left on the ground are not lost for everyone, the dog of the house “Putschi” eats them.



Visit our Flickr page for more photos of the harvest at Chateau La Rame!