About + Useful information
Our French Vineyard.
My son and I, are lovers of France and French wines.
My father introduced me to wine at a very young age as he was a lover of France and it's wines.
His work took him there often and one of his early purches while in Paris was this delightful piece done in Crayon by Georges Reydon. Unfortunately it was stolen from my home in France!My son and I, are also lovers of France and French wines, I lived there for 20 years and my son was born in Cahors.
My life in this sector started in 1966 when I was accepted as a trainee manager at the National Liberal Club in London.
I was fortunate enough to be taken down to the wine seller which was extensive, and it was stocked with wines, some of which had been laid down in the 1940s.
At this time the club was men only. There was a ladies lounge off the entrance hall but women were not allowed any further.
So my adventure with wines was started.
My family had two hotels in the county of Cornwall, England and they both served quality wine from France as well as Spain and Chili.
I took over the management of one of the hotels from my sister and extended the cellar stock - well what wine lover wouldn't
After some years my parents decided to sell the hotels and my brother-in-law and I moved into another area of hospitality, Nursing Homes.
We ended up with three and they were a great success.
One day a man appeared out of the blue and offered to buy the nursing home! Well it isn't often that sort of thing happens.
So after a lot of negotiating during the next few weeks with Westminster Healthcare and their American backers, we eventually came to an agreement.
I took over the management of one of the hotels from my sister and extended the cellar stock - well what wine lover wouldn't
After some years my parents decided to sell the hotels and my brother-in-law and I moved into another area of hospitality, Nursing Homes.
We ended up with three and they were a great success.
One day a man appeared out of the blue and offered to buy the nursing home! Well it isn't often that sort of thing happens.
So after a lot of negotiating during the next few weeks with Westminster Healthcare and their American backers, we eventually came to an agreement.
So now it was time to take a break from business and indulge my other love, my yacht and sailing, so I spent some time in the Med, Sailing around
the islands and doing what you do on a yacht in the sun.
Enough of having fun, it was time to get back to business, so I bought a small farm in France, near Cahors.
The land had several plots of Chasselas grapes which make a sweet white wine. My first vines.
We never did make any wine from the grapes, we just sold them on, but it did get me thinking.
I spent 20 years in France. and my son was born in Cahors in 1991.
In 2008 I started a UK company - Stovold Construction Service Ltd since I had gained a contract to build a stable complex near to where we lived in Castelsagrat.
As life would have it, the financial crisis of 2008/2009 caused French banks to tightened credit conditions and the loan for the stable complex was cancelled as was our contract.
I therefore started selling welding equipment and industrial gases from a base in the UK. We are still in operation to this day.
I had done my training in the hospitality sector so when a friend suggested I should take on the lease of a pub near St Albans I thought it was a good idea, so I did.
This provided us with a home, a business, and a chef, to prepare food but above all, access to some exceptional fine wines, I bought most of them from Tony Laithwaites, and I would highly recommend him.
Life has it's twists and turns, and Covid-19 in 2020 did me no favors, and here I am now wanting to put my energy, knowledge and expertise into a Chateau wine estate in France.
Enough of having fun, it was time to get back to business, so I bought a small farm in France, near Cahors.
The land had several plots of Chasselas grapes which make a sweet white wine. My first vines.
We never did make any wine from the grapes, we just sold them on, but it did get me thinking.
I spent 20 years in France. and my son was born in Cahors in 1991.
In 2008 I started a UK company - Stovold Construction Service Ltd since I had gained a contract to build a stable complex near to where we lived in Castelsagrat.
As life would have it, the financial crisis of 2008/2009 caused French banks to tightened credit conditions and the loan for the stable complex was cancelled as was our contract.
I therefore started selling welding equipment and industrial gases from a base in the UK. We are still in operation to this day.
I had done my training in the hospitality sector so when a friend suggested I should take on the lease of a pub near St Albans I thought it was a good idea, so I did.
This provided us with a home, a business, and a chef, to prepare food but above all, access to some exceptional fine wines, I bought most of them from Tony Laithwaites, and I would highly recommend him.
Life has it's twists and turns, and Covid-19 in 2020 did me no favors, and here I am now wanting to put my energy, knowledge and expertise into a Chateau wine estate in France.
One of our Nursing Homes.
Our French Vinyard - Cahors
The phylloxera crisis 1863 - 1890
The phylloxera crisis was a devastating epidemic of a microscopic insect that attacked the roots of grapevines in Europe in the mid-19th century.
An aphid-like insect from North America destroyed most of Europe's vineyards, causing a crisis in the wine industry.
1863–1890, with the first cases in France and a greenhouse near London.
The insect was introduced by Victorian botanists who collected American vines. It spread across Europe, reaching Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and South Africa
The crisis forced winegrowers to replant and change their agricultural practices. In France, wine production fell from 84.5 million hectoliters in 1875 to 23.4 million hectoliters in 1889.
Vineyards were replanted with hybrid vines, grafting French stems onto phylloxera-resistant American roots. This led to the modern wine industry as we know it today.
You can read more here
Our French Vinyard - Cahors
The meaning of
"Château"
"Château"
So there can be no confussion!
In the wine industry, "Château" refers to a property or estate that includes the buildings, vineyards, and wine.
it's not necessarily a Castle.
This designation became more common in Bordeaux, after the French Revolution, starting around 1860.
it's not necessarily a Castle.
This designation became more common in Bordeaux, after the French Revolution, starting around 1860.
In 1857, France introduced its first trademark law.
This stipulated that a distinctive feature (such as a “château”, “abbaye”, “clos” or “mas”) should be added to the wine estate’s traditional name.
The commercial success of wines mentioning “château” prompted all estates in the Médoc to adopt the word.
Many other wine estates also adopted the word “château”; first in the South West, (Cahors) then in the Loire and in the Rhône.
The commercial success of wines mentioning “château” prompted all estates in the Médoc to adopt the word.
Many other wine estates also adopted the word “château”; first in the South West, (Cahors) then in the Loire and in the Rhône.
Don't miss out
Register your interest now:
Register your interest now:
OR
Copy and Paste our email address as below:-
our.french.vineyard@gmail.com
OR