Oenologist The People of Wine

By. Jiles Halling
Making wine has, literally, been a part of the landscape in Champagne for hundreds of years and these days it’s not unusual to meet wine makers whose family history goes back many generations, but even in this impressive company the history of Champagne Lionel  Carreau is way out of the ordinary.
The Carreau family has been associated with wine since 1543 when a distant ancestor was winemaker at the Abbey of Mores in the small community of Celles-sur-Ources and you’ll find Champagne Lionel Carreau in the same village to this very day. The brand itself was created much later, but the family’s savoir-faire has been handed down from father to son, and now to daughter, for many generations.
Of course there are lots of long-established, small grower champagnes in the Champagne region but it’s not just because of the history of the family that Champagne Lionel Carreau is … [Full Article]

They say that great things come from great adversity and that is certainly true for Erick de Sousa who, from modest beginnings in the Côte des Blancs area of Champagne, is well on his way to building a global reputation for Champagne De Sousa.
It was Erick’s grandfather, Manuel a native of the Portuguese town of Porto, who first visited France to fight in the First Word War. Soon after the war he came back to Champagne to find work – there was plenty to rebuild in this corner of France that had been badly damaged during the fighting.
Manuel died at the age of just 29 leaving a widow and 4 sons. In due course the eldest son, Antoine, married a local girl, Zoémie Bonville, and learned the art of growing grapes. Again war intervened and Antoine spent 2 years as a prisoner in Germany. On returning home to the … [Full Article]

By Gian Carlo Casparis
Hidden in the holiday region of Bündner Herrschaft, just an hour east of Zurich, we find the fifth generation of winemakers, Martin Donatsch, gazing at the acres of his vineyards and thinking of the ways to achieve the production of his high-quality iconic wines. As a winner of 2010 and 2011 world champion Pinot Noir producer, this young man has already made his name, and the name of the region, well known thanks to his Pinot Noir “Passion.”
These awards crown not just Martin’s skillfulness and knowledge, gathered while doing a vocational training as a winemaker all over the world, including Australia, South Africa, Bordeaux and Spain, but also a family tradition that is over 100 years old, as it is only with joined effort, that they have managed to create something so savory that every avid wine drinker and collector will enjoy.
Thomas Donatsch, … [Full Article]