DOMAINE DE LA SOLITUDE The wine-making process for white wines White wines have always been produced at Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Each producer elaborated a small quantity for private consumption and a few initiates. The Avignon popes where most likely precursors in this activity. It was probably the wine used during Mass. The oldest documents in our possession concern the Châteauneuf white wines brought to the pontifical court. Over the last forty years, the production of white wines has greatly increased. The Solitude is no exception to this general rule. In response to our fine Anglo-Saxon clientele, we produce a significant quantity of white wine. At this time, the Clairette, the white Grenache, the Bourboulenc and the Roussane varieties are the foundation of our vineyards. White grapes are harvested only in the coolness of early morning. This permits us to complete the initial fermentation stages while avoiding too much exposure of the fruit. The collected grapes are intact, and sorted fresh into small 30 kg crates. The fruit is then crushed immediately. Respected and handled with care, the fruit is not subjected to pneumatic presses. The must then flows into small vats. It is kept at a fairly low temperature to avoid the beginning of the fermentation process. The following day, the decanting takes place, which filters out large floating particles. Generally speaking alcoholic fermentation begins rapidly. During this transformation, the temperature is kept under 20° centigrade. Once the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the wines are kept sur lie (on their fine sediment) in 52 hl inox vats. After several months, the wines are bottled. Around Easter, the young wines are available for sale. A second batch, depending on the vintage, is made into wine and aged six months in oak casks. Our clientele's input will determine the evolution of this procedure.

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	EARL DOMAINES PIERRE LANÇON
	Domaine de la Solitude - BP 21 84231 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cedex - France Tél. 04 90 83 71 45 Fax 04 90 83 51 34 e-mail: solitude@mnet.fr