This year at D-Vine, we have decided to highlight the ten key stages that ensure you enjoy fantastic wines with your D-Vine – from grape to glass. Some of these stages take place behind the scenes, but they are nevertheless essential. Here we take a look at the first stage, which is the selection and creation of the wines.

The Importance of Selection

Driven by a Search for Diversity

At D-Vine, our chief wine adviser Béatrice Dominé is responsible for wine selection. For Béatrice, a good selection must be representative of the diverse styles of wine produced in France and around the world. Consumers don’t all have the same taste when it comes to wine. It is therefore important to provide for a clientèle which, depending on the region, local culinary traditions and season, may want different wines. We need to cater for this variety  with wines with different profiles.

Wines with Promise

In terms of selection criteria, D-Vine wines must be promising and have potential to evolve. The D-Vine provides a wine with aeration equivalent to three hours of decanting. Since oxygenation has an ageing effect on wine, it brings a wine in its youth to the phase of maturity.

Developing the Selection

Just seven years ago, nobody had heard of D-Vine. We therefore chose to work with well-known estates and producers whose wines were good illustrations of the major appellations. Two unknowns would have been too much for the consumer. Since people were unfamiliar with the D-Vine, they had to be familiar with the wines. Today, our selection has grown thanks to the work of Béatrice, with the support of sommelier Laurent Derhé (Meilleur Ouvrier de France). It features over 70 listings, including both iconic and lesser known wine estates and appellations.

A Unique Wine Made to Match Our Vision

Playing an Active Role in Selection

Because at D-Vine, wine is at the core of our business, we have decided to become even more closely involved in the selection process, with an even more hands-on role. To achieve this, there was no better way than to create our own wine. So in January, we decided to create our own blend at Château Lagrézette. The aim was to take an active role in the selection process by creating a wine that corresponds perfectly with our vision and image.

It is not our intention, of course, to produce the blends for all our wines and turn ourselves into winemakers. We have full faith in our partner producers and they are of course the experts when it comes to winemaking.

A Team Effort

In January, our chief wine adviser Béatrice and two co-founders, Thibaut Jarrousse and Luis Da Silva, travelled to Château Lagrézette in the heart of the Cahors appellation. It was essential that Thibaut Jarrousse and Luis Da Silva were involved in this new project, which is a first for D-Vine and the start of a whole new adventure. Over two days, they tested and trialled blends  in order to agree on a wine which everyone was happy with.

Taking part in blending is for me a return to my core skills! It was a great moment together and we are delighted to have been able to create this wine to match the idea that we have of a high quality Cahors. Béatrice Dominé, D-Vine œnologist.

Creating the D-Vine wine

For the creation of this unique wine, Béatrice, Thibaut and Luis made their selection from batches proposed by the château for the wine’s backbone and other batches to give body to the wine.

Each then created their own blend, by determining the desired proportions of the various batches selected. They then tasted and compared their wines, before finally agreeing in one blend. Their three blends were presented to the Director and Head Winemaker of Château Lagrézette who tasted them blind. He, too, picked the same wine chosen by our team, that of our wine adviser Béatrice ?

More information about this wine coming soon…

To learn more

The wine selection is essential to make your offer a success. To attract your customers thanks to a great selection and a wise wine list, here are the 5 keys to build your wine list.