Burgundy Terroirs:
Wines of Maison
Louis Latour
By Susan Lanier-Graham
O
ne of the highlights of the
recent Food Network South Beach
operated. The family is from AloxeCorton, a small medieval village where
the Latour family has been making wine
Wine and Food Festival (SOBEWFF)
since the 17th century. Today, the family
was the wine seminars presented by
has property throughout the Côte d'Or
Wine Spectator and hosted by Bruce
where they raise Chardonnay and Pinot
Sanderson, the magazine's Senior
Noir grapes.
Editor. I attended three seminars
tactics to combat erosion in the
vineyards.
The Winemaking
Process at Domaine
Louis Latour
In many ways, the winemaking
process today at Domaine Louis
Domaine Louis Latour is a champion of
Latour is much as it was in the
environmentally sound farming. As
earliest days. The grapes are still
Louis-Fabrice Latour said, "Terroir—the
harvested by hand, placed in
soil— is the most important factor in
wicker baskets and taken to a
great wines." Rather than using
selection table at the winery.
chemicals in the growing process, Latour
There, as the grapes move slowly
employs biological methods whenever
generation to run the company. It
along a conveyor, workers sort
possible. The winery works to ensure the
them by hand to eliminate any bad
was a magnificent tasting of six 2009
biodiversity of the Pinot Noir and
grapes. After the sorting, the
Louis Latour Pinot Noir offerings.
Chardonnay varieties, uses alternative
grapes go into a destemmer, then
disease and virus controls rather than
drop into copper wagons and are
insecticides, uses biological protection to
taken by elevator up a floor at the
combat pests and works toward early
winery so that gravity is used
Domaine Louis Latour is one of the
intervention to prevent diseases such as
instead of pumping. After that, the
few wineries in Burgundy still
mildew. It is important to the family that
grapes go into one of the more
completely family owned and
they practice aggressive conservation
than nearly four dozen 100 year-
during the festival, including one
examining the Burgundy Terroirs and
wines of Maison Louis Latour. Our
gracious host was Louis-Fabrice
Latour, general managing director of
the winery and the eleventh
About Domaine Louis Latour