Farmer’s Market in Chagny
This past week Chagny celebrated 40 years of friendship with Wissen, Germany. I was able to make friends, help out and be a part of it all. In the pics, you can see our stall was the busiest due to us passing out biere gratuit to all of the venders and visitors.
It was quite an experience working shoulder to shoulder as the only one not from these two towns. I was invited by the Mayor and several other families to stay with them when in Germany, near Colon. I had a bunch of fun with my new friends. Free beer, Fresh food, meat, fruit, cheese. Beautiful skies….what a time to have!
Enjoy!
Morey Saint Denis – Les Chaffots 1er Cru source
Today I visited Morey Saint Denis to take a look at Les Chaffots 1er Cru, a Maison Ilan source. The vineyard is situated just above Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru. It is also next to Clos de la Roche Grand Cru as well as Monts Luisants 1er Cru.
The Vineyard lies on a strong slope with many exposed rocks of varying size. The soil is a deep iron-red color. The soil here has no issues with draining from what I can see. The vineyard had a bit of hail damage this year which required them to drop a lot of fruit. The results are a meticulous vineyard, beautiful tiny berries, and a low number of clusters per vine. There was a bit of leaf roll. However, the fruit did not seem to suffer a bit!
I am quite excited about this vineyard, my sole 1er Cru with excellent pedrigree.
Cheers!
Farmer’s Market in Beaune
While in Beaune today I noticed a big crowd. The farmers market that happens every Wednesday and Saturday. I shot just a few pics. Hope you enjoy them:
No Apologies
Alright, so while I was reading Julia Child’s memoirs…wait, let’s try this again from the top:
Many of you have seen how I am obsessed with learning about French culture, language, etc. So, before my plane to Paris, my excitement got a bit too…well, out of hand. I knew I would be stuck on a plane for a good while. And I saw the Julia Child movie was just released and so I thought,’Julia Child, why not?’ I was actually quite embarassed about it at the time.
Anyhow, so the book is actually very interesting since moving to France as an American is filled with odd moments and hearing about others’ difficulties can be a big help.
One of these chapters she mentions something about not apologizing for or being self deprecating about your cooking. She said that it is pathetic as you place those around you in a situation to either pat you on the back (which may or may not be warrented), or they agree and agree with your assessment as being poorly skilled. Today, that thought came upon me as I caught myself settling into the habit of asking if my accent was poor or asking how good my French was. I hadn’t heard anything less than compliments when I backed people into a wall. But, you never m ow what the right answer is when you do what I began to get comfortable doing. So, I stopped asking how I spoke and now I just speak to the best of my ability and when others are speaking I watch, listen and learn. If someone wishes to correct me, I listen closely and things have been progressing well adhering to this method.
Trains coming, gotta go.
Cheers
Just a train away
Just a train away for delivering myself uninterrupted to Burgundy and I blew it. I met a husband and wife from Nice while at the Gare de Lyon. She is a teacher for French nationals learning English. She spoke perfect English while I spoke with her husband in my steadily improving French.
Before departing, she invited me to stay with my wife at their home in the French Riviera. Indeed, things were going well. She wanted to take a look at my billet to see if we were on the same train as we were waiting for a similar departure time. She checked my ticket and was glad to say we were on the same train.
They were first class passengers, I was set to be in 2iem classe. Two trains were in the area. One to the left and one to the right. We were to the right. We said our goodbyes and I assured her that we would visit.
I jumped on the train, and finally began to sink into relaxation as I watched the French countryside blur while tearing through at roughly 300km/hour in the TGV.
Not an hour in, I mentally patted myself on the back for being such an excellent navigator. Oh, what’s this? Ah, the ticket puncher is coming by. I’ll be ready with some French in case he engages me. He approaches, takes my billet and responds that this train doesn’t match. Translation, I hopped the wrong train. And TGV trains are great at one thing: speed. The trick is that not only do they reach mind bending speed, but they are nonstop. Excellent! That is, unless you hop the wrong train and have a friend waiting for you at the wrong station. Well, I always wanted to see the south of France.
Borrowing someone’s cellphone, I called Fabrice and let him know I was off to the south of France on mistake. He searched train timetables and figured a quick stop was in Aix-En Provence, just North of Marseilles. I hit off the train two hours later at 8pm and waited for my train at a desolate B&B hotel. Some of you may say,’wow, that worked out’. Well, B&B is a brand of hotel, not a bed and breakfast. There is a bed, toilet and shower. Included was also a 12 inch screen tv. The free wifi was not working, so I went to sleep.
Arriving in the Gare Aix-En Provence at 5am, I decided to see if I could get a ticket refund. The woman at the ticket counter was very sympathetic to what truly was my mistake and obliged with a replacement ticket, gratuit. Sitting on a bench next to the tracks waiting for my TGV I reflected on the crazy first day back in France. Looking up to see the sun rising, with the sound of people speaking around me in a language I previously had no clue about, now understanding more, again, I relaxed. With my train to Beaune rushing at breakneck speeds to take me back to Burgundy while I write this, I Have to smile. Surely, things can be worse.
Cheers
Leaving, on a…
Today is the day…in fact, this is the hour. Finally, after over a year of preparation, I am off to France to get to work. Much of the setup is done. However, this coming week I have appointment after appointment doing everything from confirming my cement tanks’ cleanliness to buying hoses.
It’s about to start getting really interesting.
Volunteer spots available
Harvest is closing in faster than ever. And, some of the readers of this blog and members of the mailing list have expressed an interest in volunteering during Harvest in Burgundy. Thanks to Ed Kurtzman, I now have two confirmed for help and a friend in Burgundy that is being talked into some traditional pigeage a pied. ; )
If you find yourself in Burgundy and would like to lend a hand, drop me a line. I really would like to have others be a part of the experience.
Cheers
Any minute now…
Glancing at the calendar, I still cannot believe just how quickly time has flown. It seems like just a few months ago that I was about to visit Burgundy for the first time. That was in February. Many things have changed, most details of the project fully fleshed out now. This says nothing of the endless practicing of the French language that have already paid off.
This Saturday, August 22 I will be leaving to Beaune, flying in through Paris. My wife and daughter will be staying in the States while I prepare the facility and work the Harvest.
Now, more than ever, I am getting truly anxious to get to Burgundy. There is so much work to be done and I can’t do justice by my thoughts with a few ramblings on this blog. Put it this way, I have never been glad to lose this much sleep. All of the preparation has finally come down to this transition from being purely a mental exercise to now being just days away from having something tangible to work on. There are some very exciting items in development. More on that later. I have to get back to figuring out cleaning supplies, hoses, clamps, etc.
Thanks for stopping by guys!
