American father and son duo who've settled in France to live the winemaking dream
About Ryan and Joe O'Connell
This father and son team are showing the French how winemaking is done!
They moved over from the States, bought a vineyard in rural France and set about making wines with bags of determination and drive! Going against the French experts advice they had their own ideas on winemaking
Judging by all the fantastic reviews from hordes of Angels (and even from the likes of Jancis Robinson) their gamble has payed off and we're chuffed we've discovered them!
"When we upped sticks and left the States in 2004, we were just regular people who drank a lot of wine. We realised that it would be more cost effective for us to just make it ourselves!
A lot of people think that vineyards are a big investment, but we're saving tons of money when you think of all the overpriced garage wines we were buying in the States.
Working in the vines and winery is really rewarding. Much more rewarding than working in an office. You just go out, breathe fresh air, work with your vines, and drink a bunch of delicious red wine.
Tasting the fruit of your labour with friends, family, visiting strangers etc is far more fun than ever imagined.
What are our five key philosophies?
Wine is made in the field before it ever gets to the winery
If somebody says that making wine is easy, you probably don't want to drink their wine
Fining, filtering, forcing (and other things that start with F) are for people who are in a rush to bottle. For real wine, you've got to be patient
Sulfites suck!
Gravity is awesome. Use it. Pumps are for septic tanks. Avoid them
We're also quite a Green pair. We live in the middle of the vines and see them on a daily basis, monitoring the weather and their development. We only treat when necessary and we opt to use synthetic products when they are more effective and ecologically sound. We find a beautiful balance between the green of the vines, the reddish-brown earth and the blue sky i.e. we're not just certified rule-followers who fit some bureaucrat's definition of organic!
A lasting thought for you...
The guy who works harder, laughs harder and drinks harder... he's got good wine.
Enjoy the wines, and come and visit us if you're ever nearby (11620 Villemoustaussou), we'd love to meet you!"
2012 New Years Resolutions:
1. Drink more wine.
2. Spend less money.
http://www.nakedwines.com/pitch/120/detail.htm
Good news, everybody. The marketplace is back in business.
You get 2 Trah lah lah and 2 O'Syrah from 2009. Then we throw in an aged O'Syrah 2006 and Proprietor's Reserve 2007. Admit it, you want to know what our wines taste like when they get older, but you never manage to keep them in your cellar long enough to find out. Well we know your weakness (and we love it). So we kept a few bottles back and aged them and now we're finally letting you have them. You won't believe how these wines have evolved since we first joined Naked. So head to the marketplace before supplies run out!
made my face screw up every time i took a drop but did not let breathe so left a while and sorry but Im really not keen but hubby seemed to get used to it after 1st glass. It was not like any wine I've tried before and not keen to try again.
Just my kind of wine, big, bold, bags of fruit. Needs a little while after pouring to round out a little and is better with food than on it's own, but still hugely drinkable. At 8 quid a bottle it's great value too.
Apple Strudel from the fridge. Sharp apple, cloves and cinnamon.... distinct flavour which took sometime to decipher. Would we buy again - yes delightful free bottle, thank you Naked Wines...
Just my kind of red! Medium to full bodied, more bitter than sweet, and loads of flavour that washes over your tongue and lingers very pleasantly without drying. Perfect for a hearty, meaty dish on a cold winter's night!
