Chateau Bottled or Cave Cooperative?
Take your choice
FOOD, WINE AND HOME
Joan
6/22/20233 min read
When you buy a bottle of wine that states that it is 'Chateau Bottled,' or perhaps 'mise en bouteille au domaine,' I wonder what you picture. The reality may be a very different from how you imagine. This was brought home to me earlier this year when an exceedingly long lorry and trailer pulled up by the edge of the road in our adjacent village.
A large centre panel was raised, to reveal the complete works inside.
Up went the tail panel too , et voilà: soon the end product would appear, ready to be cradled in cardboard inserts, before being placed in larger cartons. There was also a large roll of plastic shrink wrap.
Days before, thousands of empty bottles had arrived and were stacked by the side of the road. Now boxes of corks, capsules and specially printed labels were waiting in readiness alongside the trailer.