Venture to allow wine lovers get their hands dirty
Frenchman Stephane Moreau and his Irish wife, Natalie Gleeson, have set up a new wine club, GrowYourWine, to take Irish wine lovers on wine holidays.
“GrowYourWine members can track the progress of their vines online, learn more about the craft of wine-making along the way, take part in the festivities around the grape harvest, and finally receive a case of wine made from their very own grapes, which can even be picked up directly from the vineyard in the Vendee region of Western France, on the Atlantic coast,” Stephane said.
Stephane and Natalie believe that by opening up vineyards the venture will be a big hit..
“The idea for GrowYourWine came out of a encounter I had with a winemaker in the Vendee,” Stephane said.
“As he began to tell me all about his wines and how they were made, and as I watched him get more and more excited and emotional as he did so, I suddenly realised that there’s a lot more to the culture of wine than this drink that ends up in your glass – enjoyable as it is – and that there’s no-one better placed than the winemakers themselves to let us in on its secrets.”
Natalie, who is originally from Tipperary said they have fallen in love with Vendee.
She said: “Since we believe that wine can be a great starting point when it comes to discovering a region and its culture, we want GrowYourWine members to come to love the area too.
“This less well-known part of France is only a few hours drive from the Roscoff or Cherbourg ferry terminals, near Nantes, and it has a lot to offer to tourists as well as wine, including spas, golf courses, beautiful beaches, exciting cuisine and many traces of the region’s rich historical past.”
While the GrowYourWine team are for now focusing on the Vendee, they have plans to extend their wine adventures to other wine-producing countries around the world.
Stephane said: “Our dream would be to travel to a different vineyard every harvest season.”
