Guide Oenotourisme Béziers 2018 Oenotourisme Béziers 2018 | Page 39

La cave historique de Maraussan Cooperative winery OF THE VIGNERONS DU PAYS D’ENSÉRUNE PIONEERS OF WINE PRODUCTION COOPERATION The cooperative winery in Maraussan was the first of its kind in France in 1901. Their wines are of high quality and innovative GLOSSARY Foudre  Cask Large-capacity barrel for wine-making or ageing (between 10 and 200 hectolitres or more) in oak or chestnut. VPE - Vignerons du Pays d’Ensérune Grouping the municipalities of Cazouls les Béziers, Maraussan, Maureilhan, Nissan lez Ensé- rune, Montady, Capestang, Puisserguier, Poilhes, Cazedarnes and Lespignan From its creation, its aim was to find the means needed to create an independent sales network for wine merchants. A cooperative member rented a shop, five casks and a pump were lent to them by property managers and for the first meetings of the board, a table was borrowed from a neighbour and each member brought their own chair. Thanks to their desire for independence, the winegrowers of Maraussan soon learnt the lessons of modern marketing. It was absolutely necessary for them to organise their sales, know their clients, adapt to them and determine quality criteria for their products. They also perfectly understood the context in which this new project needed to be developed. Thanks to the railways, which gave them access to the Paris market, they were already selling 8 times more in Paris than in the rest of France after only 4 years. Later, they bought cask-wagons and installed a winemaking cellar near Maraussan station, which no longer exists today. During his visit in 1905, Jean Jaurès was impressed by this cooperative movement and even purchased a share. The members of the cooperative today are still as inventive and innovative as always, the worthy heirs of their ancestors. They are facing the future by planting resistant grape varieties. The principle of equality lies at the heart of this organisation, with one man one vote and the same power for all, regardless of the size of their property. 39 It’s true that 600 cooperative members putting their heads together is a rich resource in itself. They also introduced new varieties like Marsanne, Malbec and Marselan. “The latter owes it originality to the cross between Cabernet Sauvigon and Grenache Noir. This yields a complex wine, full of colour, aromatic and rich in supple and harmonious tannins”, explains Xavier Landes. In addition to his role as administrator for the cellar, he is also President of the IGP Coteaux d’Ensérune Syndicate, and his favourite vintage is from the “Ensédune” range, made with the famous Marselan grape variety. Things are going well at VPE and Xavier hopes soon to resume the walks in the vineyards and share his passion with visitors. The cooperative members want to develop a programme of events to help people discover their wines and know- how. This shows the desire of the winegrowers of the Pays d’Ensérune for sharing and conviviality. 2 WINERY SHOPS ROUTE DE NARBONNE – 34440 NISSAN-LEZ-ENSÉRUNE 04 67 37 00 31 55 AV JEAN JAURÈS - 34370 CAZOULS LÈS BÉZIERS 04 67 93 89 21 AVENUE DE BÉZIERS - 34310 CAPESTANG – 04 67 93 30 11 Open year round., from Tuesday to Saturday vignerons-enserune.fr Les Vignerons du Pays d’Ensérune FOR OENOLOGISTS To conserve an uncorked bottle wit- hout harming the quality of the wine too much, store it in the fridge after properly re-corking it. But be careful - only for a few days! You can also use a vacuum pump, which are inexpensive and easy to use, to conserve it for a few more days.