And the wind created the wine

Provence is not only famous for its fragrant purple lavender fields, the wines of this beautiful region are equally famous. The AOC of the Côtes-du-Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Mont Ventoux, are some internationally renowned wines that come from the sunny vineyards of southern France.

It is, as usual, a beautiful sunny day in Provence when, after passing some sunny vineyards, I arrive on the domain of Stéphane Saurel in Mazan, a true wine village in Vaucluse, at the foot of Mont Ventoux. The domain of less than 20 acres, where Stéphane and his family live, is set on a hillside just outside the center of Mazan with a beautiful view of the village with its church and behind the Mont Ventoux. And here are not even all of his vineyards.

Diversity
‘The vineyards are spread over Mazan but most are located, on the west, on the slope of the hill 'Le Limon',  tells Stéphane when he welcomes me at the reception and also shop, located next to the cave. It’s not really practical but the plots are very varying subspecies and bring diversity in the wines above and provide for enrichment. Thus we have vineyards with a calcareous sandstone soil, a dry and not very rich soil that is suitable for the Viognier grape. On the hill of Le Limon you find clay soils that, like pebble soils, are well suited for grapes that make red wine. It gives a very powerful wine.’

Les Terrasses d'Eole

Stéphane took over the domain, called Les Terrasses d'Eole, in 1998 from his parents and then decided to produce independently rather than to supply to the local cave coopérative '(wine cooperative), as the Saurel family did before. ‘It was quite normal in those days just to be connected to a cooperative. In the late 90's even 80% of the winegrowers in the region around the Mont Ventoux were affiliated to one. "
Since his first harvest in 1999 he’s doing really well. Today, the domain of Terrasses d'Eole produces about 100 hectoliters per year, not only for the French market but also exported to other countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and England but also outside Europe to China and California.

Generaties

Wine is in his blood: since 1950, for about 60 years, the family produces wines in Mazan. Stéphane is the third generation, with his sister Isabella who started to work for Terrasses d'Eole in 2005. Helping his parents since he was a child and originally being an agricultural engineer he decided to work full time at the cave after studying at university.
Why actually the name Terrasses d'Eole? ‘We chose this name for the domain to characterize the vineyards and terraces on the gentle slopes of the hills and Eole is, according to Greek mythology the god of the wind.’

Wind and its wines
Even the wines carry names of the winds in Provence. In the store the bottles of all the different wines are hanging against the wall around a wind rose and each at their own spot according to the wind direction. The most beautiful names like Mistrau – Provencal for Mistral and ruler of the winds in Provence, Mountagniero, Ventoureso, Manjo Fango and Vènt di Damo have acquired a spot on the labels of the Terrasses d'Eole bottles. The Vènt di Damo, a soft and fruity white wine, a true Vin de Pays de Méditerranée, is named after the wind of Ladies (Damo is Provencal for Ladies). This is a soft and warm wind that blows through the vineyards in the summer afternoon. ‘In the past they told that the wind of the Ladies kicked up the skirts of the ladies,’ says Stéphane.
A Belgian couple on holiday in Provence that went to the cave to buy some wine - besides the many restaurants in Provence and the export, many tourists come to Stephanes cave for wine storage – is also standing in the shop. After having listened carefully to Stephane’s story the man takes spontaneously some bottles of Vènt di Damo and submit them to his other bottles. He looks at his wife and says: ‘This wine is surely made for a romantic evening.’

Les Terrasses d'Eole produces mainly red wines: three quarters of the wines are red, a fourth white and a small percentage rose. These are all wines with the AOC label Vin de pays and Côtes du Ventoux, fresh and not too heavy. The wine in this part of Provence retains its freshness and fruity flavors with the wind of the Mont Ventoux which provides cooler nights. Moreover, the vines lose their leaves earlier because of the wind.

Wind and environment
You could say that wind is the red thread within the company. The wind, according to Stéphane, is inextricably linked to produce a good and environmental friendly wine. These passionate winemakers pursue an environmentally friendly wine above anything else. In 2004 an éolienne, a windmill, has been purchased for pumping up water for watering the trees and to clean the ‘cave’.  This éolienne worked so well one year later they decided to invest in a larger windmill to generate electricity.

In other areas he tries to save the environment as well: the cave built by Stéphane and his father 1998 is set on a hill half underground to provide natural insulation. ‘We therefore do not need air conditioners. Another advantage is that from a higher level the harvest of the grapes can be placed inside the 'chai' 9 meters high, through large doors. In this way, we do not use pumps.’

Nature friendly
Stéphane opts for environmentally friendly viticulture, la culture raisonnée ', where from the moment the vines are planted, the quality (notably the ground to rest before it is planted) and respect for the environment (the cultivation of the soil and no use of chemical weed killers) are guaranteed. The vineyard is controlled by an independent technician so that only the necessary interventions are made, which is better for the environment. ‘Hiring a technician is quite an investment, but thanks to her excellent work over the past ten years I have only needed to use insecticide once which relieved the environment.’
Organic wines are not necessarily better for the environment, according to Stéphane: ‘organic growers make use of copper, a natural product of course, thus organic, but with large doses it will affect the ground on long-term.

Stéphane also exclusively provides ‘vins millésime’ which means that no wine is blended with wines from other years. He is therefore willing to make concessions: if it appears that some years bring lower quality wine he leaves the harvest of that year for what it is. This year Stéphane expects a good wine year and he’s looking forward to the grape harvest that starts in October.

Wind rose
The wind, the Mistral according to Stéphane, has laid down after having raged through the vineyards the whole afternoon. Next to the cave is located a Wind rose with 32 winds of Provence. He would soon add a pointer so that everyone including the non-wind connoisseur like myself can see which wind is blowing in the domain. So you know exactly which wind took you to Terrasses d'Eole.