EATS // saluté A wordly look at wine
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FROM THE SEA Underneath a buoy in a picturesque harbor in France are tanks of fermenting grapes. It turns out the sea is a perfect place to begin the winemaking process. STORY: MARY ANN DESANTIS ILLUSTRATION: JOSH CLARK
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asque winemaker Emmanuel Poirmeur wants to create a New World wine in the Old World… and not just any Old World, but in southwest France just a stone’s throw from the world-famous and very traditional Bordeaux region. “I wanted to make wine that pairs well with local seafood and Basque cuisine,” says the winemaker, who lives in Ciboure just across the picturesque bay from France’s leading tuna fishing port of St. Jean de Luz. “We needed a white wine, especially one with just a little effervescence. I wanted to create a new wine that did not taste like a copy.” Like many young winemakers, Poirmeur is bucking some of the traditions that have been in place for hundreds of years. After studying and working in wineries from New Zealand to South America and Mexico, the 36-year-old returned to his beloved French Basque homeland to start Egia Tegia, which means “the truth workshop” in the Basque language. The Basque country spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast and through the Pyr-
