A short distance from the coast, the estate of Château Saint-Maur Cru Classé covers 100 hectares, most of it planted with vines. The winery enjoys views of the 11th century ruins of the castle in the nearby village of Grimaud from its 21st-century storehouse, which was designed to blend into the landscape while introducing the latest techniques to its production of its Côtes de Provence Cru Classé wines. Fewer than 20 châteaux in Provence have obtained this prestigious designation. You’ll take a tour of the facility, with its three basement levels that extend 10 meters deep, where Saint-Maur makes reds, white and its acclaimed roses. Then it is time for your hands-on introduction to winemaking. Participants will be divided into teams and a specialist will guide you in creating three unique blends, using from single-grape wines -- Gamay, Grenache, Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah – with distinct flavor profiles (fruity, oaky, fully bodied, etcetera). The goal is to create an everyday wine, a balanced, signature wine and a very personal wine. The teams will then make labels for their three different bottles, using their creativity and marketing savvy. The winery’s “jury” will judge the results in a blind tasting. The competition is all in good fun, with the winning blends shared by all the participants.
Take a tour and learn to make a custom blend at the estate whose wines enjoy a prestigious designation.