Tag Archives: Head Start Apprentice

France, Travel, View From The Vineyard, Wine

Head Start: Part Three, Harvest at Château de Campuget

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Now slowly progressing through more parts of the business, Hallgarten’s Head Start Apprentice, Amica Zago, has just returned from working a vintage in the south of France. Château de Campuget borders the Rhone Valley, Provence and Languedoc, marrying traditional elements from all three regions – an ideal opportunity to learn and get hands-on in the winery and the vineyard.

Following on from my fantastic few months spent in the Marketing team, I was able to embark on a once in a lifetime opportunity to work a harvest and gain an insight into the world of winemaking in the South of France. This was to be at the amazing Château de Campuget with Franck-Lin and his wonderful team.

Being able to witness the winemaking process and track the wine from the vineyard, to the tanks to the final product is a chance that Hallgarten has allowed me to undertake as part of the ‘Head Start’ Apprenticeship Scheme, and is an invaluable experience to anyone going into, or already working in the world of wine. Working a harvest gives you a complete understanding and appreciation of the product you are working with. And after a very long train ride, I was about to embark on this winemaking journey.

What you think would be the glorious world of making wine soon jolts you back to reality as the alarm goes off at 3:30am and long shifts are the norm – not that I was complaining!

Starting work in the very early hours of the morning, everyone comes into the winery on time and with a smile on their faces; winemaking is a job you do out of love rather than just as a job! The working day starts with the harvesting machine in the vineyard, picking the grapes and filling the tractors’ trailers, ready to be weighed and then dropped into the crusher – step one of the wine making process is now complete.

Before working a month in a winery, I had only made wine in a garage in Hertfordshire in the simplest form! Going to France and working in the winery with a full team and equipment you realise how much more there is to making incredible wines, than in a suburban garage winery. Every morning when you first start, then again at midday, you have to test the density of the wine in the tanks using a hydrometer also checking the temperature of the wine. The results are then passed back to the oenologist.

What did I learn?

There was so much to learn and I was able to put what I had already learnt from my Degree in Wine Business from Plumpton University into practise. Franck-Lin was keen to answer all my questions about winemaking enabling me to increase my knowledge immensely.

Something I didn’t know was why the grapes are picked in the early hours; this is because the grapes are cooler, reducing the risk of oxidation and also means that the grapes don’t have to be cooled while in the press.

I now understand the benefits of pumping over and the correct techniques required to produce good quality wine consistently. It was interesting to learn that different wines require different pumping over times, some require aeration during the pump over and others (for example zero sulphite wines) are not allowed the aeration.

What was my best part of my harvest experience?

Other than working alongside the most fantastic team in the prettiest of settings, my favourite part was definitely analysing the wines. On a daily basis the wines are analysed (sometimes more than once) on the alcohol percentage, pH level and total acidity. This is so that the oenologist can then work out whether any other ingredients (such as Malic Acid, Tartaric Acid or nutrients) need to be added to the juice. Wine analysis was very interesting to me as you were able to see how by adding certain ingredients balances out the wine. It was fascinating to analyse a wine in the morning, mix the ingredients recommended by the oenologist, adding them to wine while pumping over and then re-analysing and seeing and tasting the difference.

I can’t wait to taste the finished wines from the 2020 Chateau de Campuget vintages which I helped to make!

Annual Tasting, Tasting, Wine

Head Start: Part Two, Marketing Department

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As part of Hallgarten’s Head Start Apprenticeship scheme, inaugural recruit, Amica Zago, has just finished her spell with the marketing team before embarking on a vintage in the South of France. Reflecting on her time in the team, Amica has learnt a lot about the marketing function in the business, from PR and communications, to events and awards.

The Head Start scheme is an 18 month long programme to develop the future talent of the wine industry, providing a 360-degree perspective of the wine sector from vineyard to table.

After the three amazing months in the Customer Service Team, I moved over to join the Marketing Department in January and have been working and learning alongside various sub-teams including communications, buying, events and brand management.

During my time in Marketing I had many interesting jobs and tasks to undertake on a daily basis. One of these included writing five blog pieces which have been published on the HN Wines Blog, including an article on Lebanese wines and one on sweet wines.

I was also responsible for writing our internal communications keeping the team updated on wines that had recently featured in press publications. Something I personally found exciting was reading the press releases I had written featured on Harpers Wine and Spirit news website on Hallgarten’s signing of contracts with both Goodwood and Ascot Racecourse, and Hallgarten’s impressive WSET course pass rates.

I was also tasked with several larger projects to work on throughout my secondment. My major project was evaluating press coverage and the influence it has on our trade customers’ purchasing habits. For this project I researched various publications containing mentions of wines from Hallgarten, breaking these down to regional and national newspapers, trade publications and articles sourced from events. Then looking at each individual write-up and seeing if there were spikes in sales after the publications. From doing this, I learnt so much about the world of PR and media, and how a recommendation or comment really can influence purchasing habits.

Another area of the Marketing Department I got to experience first-hand is events. While in the team I was able to attend and assist the team in many events including tastings organised by wine bodies, the Annual Tasting and Minerality: Steve Daniel in Conversation with Dr Jamie Goode, the latter of which was live broadcast on Instagram. At the Hallgarten Annual Tasting I had the role of mentoring the Plumpton College students who were pouring at various producer tables. While at the tasting I also had a recorded conversation with Peter Richards MW about the Head Start Apprenticeship which has been included in Peter Richards’ podcast; Wait, wine can be a career?! (well worth a listen!).

Now, my next adventure as the Hallgarten Head Start Apprentice is taking me to France for the whole of September to work and experience the harvest at Château de Campuget, an exciting producer sitting on the border of three great wine regions – Southern Rhône, Provence and Languedoc.

Food, France, Tasting, Travel, Wine

The Sweet Treat!

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Forget the chocolate, forget the cake, a glass of dessert wine is exactly what you need! After the long Easter weekend, Hallgarten Head Start Apprentice, Amica Zago, has put pen to proverbial paper on all things sweet and luscious, as well as reminiscing about a trip to the world-renowned region of Bordeaux.

From I’m not talking about the thick, heavy, super-sweet dessert wines here, I’m talking about the elegant wines with rich and luscious honey characteristics. These are the true sweet treats!

Sweet wine encompasses a wide range of styles; including sparkling, late harvest, noble rot, passito, ice wine and this isn’t even all of them! There are so many countries and regions with numerous grape varieties (both white and red) and winemaking practices being used to produce these stunning wines. Now, I’m not going to talk about all of these because, well, we just don’t have the time! However I would recommend to try as many styles as you can, each one style is unique and all as wonderful as another.

After a trip to Bordeaux, my relationship with sweet wine had done a 180! Before my wine trip, I would have said I hated the style and if I had to taste it I would most definitely always spit! But, going to Bordeaux, the home of Sauternes, and tasting the sweet wine in a small restaurant in the heart of St Emilion, my life had changed forever.

Sauternes wines are great as an after dinner treat (either to replace a sweet or drank with lemon puddings and cheesecakes). The wine can also be drank when the cheese board comes out, the sweetness of the wine combined with the saltiness of the cheese creates a beautiful balance. However, Sauternes extends further than dessert. In France, it is often drank as a wine pairing to many starters, one of the main food pairings is with foie gras which many may not think of as a perfect pairing, but I for sure can tell you, it is one of the best food pairings I’ve ever had!

A Sauternes to indulge in is the Château Suduiraut, Castelnau de Suduiraut which is an excellent example of a great Sauternes with stunning candied fruit character and a hint of minerality. This is the perfect ‘sweet treat’.

Since visiting Bordeaux, I have tasted many different sweet wines from a range of countries and I am always more and more impressed by them. Whether I’m drinking them on their own, with a dessert or with a savoury dish, I am always surprised by how much I love them now after hating them for so many years! I can’t imagine going back to a time where I wouldn’t drink sweet wine.