Domaine du Grand Mayne

Domaine du Grand Mayne is in the Côtes de Duras Appellation, south of the Dordogne River and to the east of Bordeaux.

In 1985, when we bought the property, it was an abandoned vineyard. WineShare was launched the next year, in 1986: that was the year we made just 200 cases of wine, vinified in a single vat and stored in the barn that adjoins the house of Michel Coutin, the vineyard manager.

It has now been totally transformed into a showpiece winery and vineyard. Nearly 80 acres of land have been planted with over 120,000 vines. Modern technology - both in the vineyard and in the winery - enables us to make award-winning wines of which you can be proud.

Domaine du Grand Mayne is now one of the top vineyards in the Côtes de Duras, producing a quarter of a million bottles of wine each year. It was awarded one of the top awards: a 'Coup de Coeur', in the Guide Hachette, the French wine-buyers bible, in 2001.

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Château Constantin-Chevalier

Constantin-Chevalier is a beautiful château in the Côtes du Luberon, in the foothills of Provençe. With nearly fifty acres of vines, the situation is ideal for making quality wines. The gravely soil resembles that of the great vineyards of the Rhône valley and the modern wine cellars are housed in thick walled buildings dating back to the 16th century - ideal cool conditions for making and maturing wines in this sunny part of France.

Allen and Marie-Laure Chevalier bought Château Constantin-Chevalier in 1990. They fell in love with the house and bought the vineyard that came with it. Olive groves and oak forests (in which secret stores of truffles may be found) separate the slopes of vines. For the Chevaliers it was a complete change in lifestyle - exchanging the sophisticated world of a Paris advertising agency and a house in Versailles for the life of a vigneron in Provençe.

They were enthusiastic pupils, attending winemaking courses and rapidly embracing the culture and love of the countryside and the vine. Allen has one of the top local wine-makers - Daniel Peraldi, President of the Oenologist Association of France for the areas of the Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Provençe and Corsica - as his consultant. They work together with the goal of producing some of the best wines within the appellation: a goal that has already been achieved and acknowledged in prestigious competitions and tastings.

That is why the earlier vintages reflected the traditional styles and grape varieties that were inherited with the vineyard. It is in recent years that the real improvements and investments - both within the winery and in new plantations - have begun to make significant changes to the wine. Château Constantin-Chevalier now makes the wines of the South: Provençal in charm, Rhône in style.

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Castello Vicchiomaggio

Federico Matta had developed a business selling wines - first, mainly French, and then Italian - to London restaurants. Those old enough to remember the 50s will recall those bottles wrapped in straw being ferried around in vans proudly proclaiming F.S. Matta, for Federico had grown his business into the largest Italian specialist importer in the country. He went public, was taken over by Beecham and returned to Italy.

Then, in 1964, Federico had the opportunity to buy Castello Vicchiomaggio and did so without hesitation. The estate was in very poor condition but with a dedicated planting programme of Sangiovese, the grape of the area, he and his son set about restoring its reputation to its 17th century past when the great Italian academic Francesco Redi extolled the wine in his book Bacco in Tosana (Bacchus in Tuscany).

On his father's death John took over the winemaking responsibilities, while his wife Paola (in addition to bringing up 4 children) took on the task of developing the castle itself as a venue for local receptions and holiday accommodation. His assiduousness has been rewarded, for he was declared Italian Winemaker of the year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in 2002.

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Château de Pizay

Nestling in the heart of the Beaujolais region, Château de Pizay is one of the most important estates in Beaujolais with 65 hectares of vines. The château, which was first built in 1030, with alterations through to the 14th century, is now a luxury hotel with 65 bedrooms, prestigious reception rooms and a fabulous gourmet restaurant. However this is a separate business from the vineyard, although WineShare members will receive an especially warm welcome if they choose to stay there.

The charm of the vineyards of Château de Pizay is that the wines are so completely different in taste and style, compared to the other WineShare vineyards: Gamay for the reds, and rosé wines, Chardonnay for the white wines. The WineShare wines are Beaujolais red, white and rosé with an exclusive label.

But the bonus is that Château de Pizay is so beautifully situated in the undulating Beaujolais hills that it also owns sites in the superb Beaujolais Cru appellations of Morgon, Brouilly and Régnié - fine wines which you can include in your WineShare order. Pascal Dufaitre has been in charge since 1983 and is recognised as one of the top wine experts in the region. Under his careful management top quality, award-winning wines are being produced.

He is now adopting an organic approach to growing grapes and, since 1988, only natural compost has been used to fertilise the vines. Your WineShare vines are in a parcel of vines that is being treated organically - another very exciting development in WineShare.

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