Massage? Cooking? We practically massage the vines, we practically cook the wine… Four-hands, it’s the modus operandi of the Caaaaaaat collection.
The how and the why
Started based on the model of perfume makers who select and gather together fragrances from plants from specific areas, little by little, the Caaaaaaat adventure has transformed from the art of blending to those of winemaking. A famous French newspaper presented Christophe Kaczmarek debuts: “he draws his inspiration from master blending, which has been dramatically enhanced by the Japanese. Victims of their success, Japanese distilleries had to reinvent themselves when they ran out of old whiskies, they sold out too quickly due to an unexpected enthusiasm. So, to create these wines, this artisan started blending different plots chosen with his partners winegrowers: one domain being equivalent to one or more cuvées. In the manner of a parfumier, he tastes from numerous vats and barrels, then decides which ones will go together, concentrating on the organoleptic qualities of each juice”.
This blending evolved. It now takes root in the vineyard, through the choice of plot, the exposure, the soil, it continues in the cellar with the choice of the winemaking process, the choice of containers for maturing the wine (barrel, steel vat, fibreglass vat, concrete vat, earthenware urns, amphora…), the bottling date… Simply put: making the wine in a team effort. Chris’ next step? Planting vine in Britany, but that’s another story…
Making a four-handed wine is about combining the winemakers expertise, rooted in the terroir, with that of a former globe-trotter trying everything, sniffing everything (like a cat!). To this age of immediacy and unbridled narcissism, the Caaaaaaat collection opposes patience and teamwork; patience required by a respectful wine production, teamwork of the four-hand.
And of course, our wines are made in the most possible natural way.
Who do we collaborate with?
It’s simple! We work with our friends. This doesn’t happen overnight. Christophe is a wine buff, he’s been cultivating friendships on French vineyards since 2005. The idea of the first Caaaaaaat wine came in 2018, during a visit to a friend’s vineyard in Cahors. It all started there, Atomic Caaaaaaat was launched. The world of wine being a village, winegrowers talk. This friend from Cahors spoke to Romaine Paire, Banana Caaaaaaat was born, then Sunny Caaaaaaat (with our friends from Domaine de la Navicelle), Cosmic and the whole living collection of wines.
In this four-handed teamwork, it is about revealing great under-estimated terroirs like Gascogne in the south-west of France (Karate, K-Pop, O.G.), showing a new side of a well-known terroir like Côtes de Provence (Sunny) and Chablis (Supreme), trying new winemaking techniques (Pyjama), bringing high altitude Volcanic Loire terroirs into the light as well as their flagship grape variety: Gamay Saint-Romain (hello Banana)…
It’s a team effort in which we can let our creativity run free. We never forget to enjoy ourselves (life is short!) and free ourselves from current codes, contributing to the evolution of wine traditions.
The wines are made, blended, bottled and packaged at the domain. They are only transported to find refuge in wine cellars, restaurants, bars which love wine and life.