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The People
The Harvesters All the grapes for our appellation wines
are harvested by hand. It takes 24 harvesters two weeks to do what
a mechanical harvesting machine does in a single day. Our harvesters
are highly trained, experienced regulars who know how to select
only the best grapes. Some of them have clocked up as many as ten
harvests in succession with us.
Catherine Tournié represents the scientific expertise of the Dubernet
Laboratoire d'Oenologie, one of the world's leading oenological
laboratories, and has been advising the vineyard for nearly 20 years.
She is a regular visitor, and comes by every three days during harvesting
and fermentation. She also participates in the blending of our wines,
alongside Georges Pauli (below), Eric Vialade (above) and the maestro
himself, Marc Dubernet of the eponymous laboratory.
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Château Rives-Blanques | |
Mack Van Tong used to be a member of our 'Dream Team' of harvesters - the most
meticulous of our workers, who were charged with picking and sorting
the grapes for our top wine. On Ahmed's retirement as foreman after
three decades of working the Rives-Blanques vineyards, this hard-working
soft-spoken Laotian was his obvious successor. Mack has come to
know every vine, every stone, and every peculiarity of our microclimate
like the back of his hand, and is a valuable and much respected
member of the team.
From
passion to profession: Jan and Caryl Panman lived and worked
in a dozen countries on four continents before Limoux's wines and
its beautiful countryside stopped them in their tracks. They are
involved in every stage of the wine-making miracle, but their facility
with languages has condemned them to being primarly in charge of
sales. (Caryl is responsible for this website, so any complaints
should be directed to her.) 
Consultant
Georges Pauli is the latest, and a most important, addition
to the team. Oenologist and agronomist, Technical Director of the
renowned Chateau Gruaud Larose, he is known throughout the land
primary for his work with Bordeaux Grand Cru and Premier Cru Classé
chateaux. With clients from New Zealand to South Africa, he manages
a visit to Rives-Blanques every two weeks to advise on even the
smallest details of our land management and wine making, and we
are proud and honoured to have him on board.
