The first wine Laurent actually made was this La Pause from 45-year old Loire Gamay grapes. After the harvest, the grapes are fermented in whole bunches with the stems, which adds silkier tannins and rounds out the wine if the acid is higher in a particular vintage. It was aged in various wood barrels from September to February before it was bottled. Laurent says, he tries to forget how he makes the wine, so he can start fresh every year. Food wise this is quite flexible and is fantastic with a fresh salad or grilled fish.

The Grüner Veltliner grapes for this month’s sparkler grow on a mix of loess and various rocks. They are between 30 and 55 years old. They have been pressed immediately after harvest and 30% fermented in wood barrels. Without any filtering or additives, the juice was bottled and left to finish fermentation. What you get is a very mineral-driven wine, with slight fruity undertones and mild acidity. It works well as an aperitif or equally well as a food wine with anything not too spicy.

The grapes for this wine grow on an almost 2-meter high pergola system, which is used to retain more moisture in the clay and limestone soil. With a fairly acidic grape it “drains” some of the acidity away. As a bonus this also helps with keeping diseases away. After they harvest the grapes, they sit for a couple of hours with their skins and then press them by gravity. After fermentation, the wine is aged in used oak barrels for up to a year. What you get in the glass is a beautiful darker orange wine with some notes of overripe stone fruit, honey, and wild herbs. This will pair perfectly with Greek food like bifteki or fried calamari.