![\"OLYMPUS](\"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/andrew-nielsen-500x333.jpg\")
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Website: http:\/\/www.legrappin.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n Lots of people, it seems, have vinous epiphanies. They drink a special bottle of wine, and suddenly they are converted. Wine is no longer just an alcoholic drink for them; it is something more fundamental. For some, it becomes their life.<\/p>\n Andrew Nielsen (above<\/em>), originally from Australia, was working in advertising with publications such as The Economist<\/em> and The Week<\/em>. Working around the world, he\u2019d spent time in Singapore and Hong Kong, but it was while he was based in Los Angeles that he had his wine epiphany, in 2006, with a bottle of Dujac Clos de la Roche (he can\u2019t remember which vintage, although he says he still has the bottle at home).<\/p>\n Wine became his passion, and he did vintage that year with Californian Pinot specialist Kosta Browne. Following this, Nielsen worked harvests with Felton Road in New Zealand\u2019s Central Otago region, and then Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley of Australia. Connecting with James Halliday at Coldstream Hills proved fortuitous, because Halliday was buddies with Patrick Bize at Simon Bize in Savigny les Beaune, and this is how Nielsen found himself working in Burgundy.<\/p>\n Simon Bize has 22 hectares in Savigny, which by Burgundian standards is a big domaine. And when Andrew was working there, an idea popped into his head. \u2018I saw all this amazing fruit come across the table, and thought why don\u2019t we make 10 different Savignys?\u2019 he recalls. But for a domaine like Simone Bize, the economics don\u2019t work. So Nielsen had the idea of becoming a micronegociant telling the story of Savigny by identifying special parcels and bottling them separately. \u2018I\u2019m looking to make wines from terroirs that people overlook and working with growers who are prepared to take things further and do things a bit differently,\u2019 he explains. \u2018What if we don\u2019t cut all the weeds back all the time? What if we do the first hedging a bit later?\u2019 His approach is to try to apply a bit of modern knowledge, in partnership with the growers. \u2018Because I am small we can go out and do things differently.\u2019<\/p>\n As an example is his red Savigny parcel, which consists of 60 year old vines in a lieu dit<\/em> called Aux Fournaux (he doesn\u2019t put this name on the label because there\u2019s a premier cru vineyard called Aux Fourneaux, with possibility for confusion). This plot is high on the slope and is subject to morning mists. As a result, growers tend to pick it a bit early to avoid problems with rot. Nielsen will go in and manage the canopies, and remove any rotten grapes, while the others are harvesting. \u2018Hey Obelix\u2019 [his nickname in Burgundy, due to his size and bearded appearance], they call to him. \u2018You are harvesting at last!\u2019 He\u2019ll tell them that he\u2019s not, and will leave the grapes on the vine for another week before picking. \u2018We do a crazy amount of sorting,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n Le Grappin is based in Beaune, and the wines are made in Fanny Sabre\u2019s old winery opposite the mayor\u2019s office. In 2013 Nielsen made 18 barrels of Le Grappin; in 2014 there are 26 barrels. In addition to the Le Grappin wines he makes less expensive vins de soif<\/em> under the Du Grappin label. These are sold in kegs, refillable bottles and also 1.5 litre bags (he dubs them \u2018bagnums\u2019), and the wines are sourced from Beaujolais and Macon. Nielsen is passionate about the wastage in wine packaging and for this reason, he doesn\u2019t use capsules on his Le Grappin wines. The Du Grappin project allows him to experiment a bit with his winemaking, and it also allows him to keep Le Grappin small and focused.<\/p>\n As a negociant, his biggest cost input is buying the grapes. In Burgundy, prices are getting a bit crazy: his fruit cost has doubled over the last three years. As a result, he\u2019s had to put prices up.<\/p>\n Andrew and his wife Emma spilt their time between London and Burgundy. Emma works for Barclays (she\u2019s not been able to give up the day job), but managed to get three months\u2019 leave to work harvest last year. She doesn\u2019t know how she\u2019s going to manage it this year.<\/p>\n Bottling is done by hand, using David Clark\u2019s specially designed gravity bottling device. Nielsen has used a bottling line in the past, but he says that even though it takes a long time, the hand bottling is gentler and the result is no bottle shock.<\/p>\n![\"OLYMPUS](\"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/le-grappin2-500x333.jpg\")
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