environment – Page 5 – The Vigneron's Wife

allo allo – pics from the 2012 harvest

November 2, 2012November 18, 2012The vigneron's wife

It’s Thursday and our turn poker night at our house. The guys were insepcting the labels for a new wine of Benji’s that’s about to be bottled and then got stuck into drinking some others.

poker tonight — Inspecting Vincent’s labels for a new Benji wine coming soon, ‘Boulevard Napoleon’. (and a thank you to monsieur p for your hand modelling work)

I was so excited, Benji put a great bottle of white in the freezer and I left them (wringing my hands in anticipation) in the kitchen as they sat down to play. Half-an-hour later I reminded Benji about his bottle chilling and he held one up and said ‘Oh this one? It’s finished’. My mouth dropped. The scoundrels!

Comtes Lafon MEURSAULT-GOUTTE D’OR 2009 Chardonnay

Time to come to the computer and vent some steam.

(I should admit I got to bring a twentieth of a glass of chardonnay with me – so generous of you fellas)

I’d been meaning to put up some long-overdue photos anyway.

So for you, here’s a round-up of the 2012 grape harvest in our little area, the village of La Liviniere, in the Minervois region. In our village alone, of approxiamtely 600 people, there are 16 vignerons (winemakers/vineyard owners producing their own brand) and about 150 viticulturalists processing their grapes with the local Cave Co-operative.

It’s been a good harvest and people seem pretty happy about what they’ve picked – despite the kaleidoscope of weather. Essentially, we had good rain, good sun, good wind and the vineyard owners and vignerons are happy to see their babies off the vines and in the tanks.

Gone for the moment the need to check on the weather patterns 24/7 and the worries of the wiles of Nature , it’s now time to work inside the cellars and nurture the juice.

While the viticulteurs take it easier, the vignerons need to keep up a a seven day working week. It is now that crucial decisions, with their accompanying stress, need to be made regarding the precious juice and its management and development.

However, I can say that the general climate in our house is now pleasantly mild with fewer storms brewing on the front .

But not if the wine isn’t shared around.

calamiac harvest time — calamiac, harvest time

tractor — lunchtime break in the village

morning rain in Calamiac — raining one afternoon…

morning talk at harvester — morning chat by the harvester

the neighbouring vigneron's pickers — the neighbouring vigneron’s pickers

lilas watching the harvester — watching the harvester from the house, early morning

early morning calamiac — early morning, calamiac

a secret garden

October 14, 2012October 26, 2012The vigneron's wife

I woke up early this morning and was greeted by this.

How could I go back to bed with that.

I put the coffee machine on, bread in the toaster and had a wander outside.

As the sun rose and the sky brightened, you could see it would be a glorious morning – perfect for a morning walk. So after dropping Lilas off at school, Anne-Laure and I (where are you Mathilde!) set out on an old abandoned road, leading out of the village. I love these morning walks. With a dodgy back and all sorts of creaky things going on, I’m meant to keep up a minimum of exercise. Geez, I should be doing so much more, but I’ve never been sporty – so these ‘promenades’ are my small contribution to keeping me on my feet. We generally head out of the village without any idea of direction and just keep going as far as the route will take us. Sometimes it’s 40 minutes, sometimes you get lost and the route back takes a bit extra.

Feet stumbling in the rocks, you see beautiful centuries-old dry stone walls, remnants of old barns, local folk walking their dogs, vineyard workers, brand new views of the village from afar and wave after wave of vineyards. It is so good out here, I get completely addicted to it. Every morning has its beauty and I suck it all in and try and store it in some part of my head for the rest of the day. This time is a luxury and I am thankful to have it.

This particular morning Anne-Laure directed me along a road she knows well, with a special treat at the end of it.

This perfect, secret garden. A wonderful surprise ‘au bout’of the long lane.

We stood admiring it from outside its fence and then realised that its ‘proprietaire’ was inside, also standing and staring – at us.

He insisted we come in and visit.

It was the most beautiful vision of green – carefully tended boxes with row after row of salads, herbs, tomatoes, leeks, silver beet, gigantic-leafed plants to keep away the moles… He was happy to have us here and share his private space. The monsieur said he’d started growing his ‘potager’ around twenty years earlier and came everyday to work it. I asked him if with all this amazing produce he cooked – and he laughed heartily (with a cigarette dangling off his lip) and replied no, that it was to keep him busy after retiring and that, as he lived alone, he gave most of his vegetables away. We thanked him for his time and were handed a bunch of herbs. He then followed us out, locking the gate behind him and said it was time for his cafe. A great way to greet the morning.

some sights #5 – images from the Minervois

September 21, 2012November 7, 2012The vigneron's wife

: a view from Chateau Maris

the eggs! — Now this is crazy (but beautiful) …LES OUEFS! – these are the egg-shaped tanks used to age wine in the Maris winery.
I keep thinking Mork from Ork is going to crack out of one…

inside the new Chateau Maris cellar — Jean-Pierre in the Chateau Maris winery yesterday (the walls are made of hemp!)

la liviniere — driving from La Liviniere

Mauzac Nature 2011 — Now this was hard, parting with this bottle today to throw it into the recycling bin. It was SO delicious!! A sparkling white that almost tasted like a very dry cider. Lucky the bottle was big, it went down so quickly!
(Merci Isabelle et Vincent)

last night's tomatoes — Last night’s tomatoes.
Got to make the most of these babies before the season is out.

Saint Chinian flags — Bleu, Blanc et Rouge in Saint Chinian

carca wine shop — wine shop in Carcassonne

hanging the laundry — hanging out the laundry

European Carpenter Bees — European Carpenter bees in the garden

thongs, flip-flops, claquettes — ‘thongs’ in my home (yes, not the ones on your butt), ‘flip-flops’ in the UK and the US, ‘Jandals’ in NZ, ‘slops’ in South Africa, ‘schlapfen’ in Austria… ‘tongs’ or ‘claquettes’ in France. I like this one – Lilas said the name comes from the sound they make as you walk? Anyone know if this is right?

window in Saint Chinian — window with ‘fresh’ flowers

Rebecca's curry — Rebecca’s Kerala Prawn Curry, mmmmmn. The onion bahjis were a knock-out too, but my photo didn’t work out

a house inside a building — a house in a house

Grandma's Pussy — ‘Grandma’s Pussy’ – from *Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories, Series B, Volume 10*
…Really!

Les Vendanges – La Rentree

September 14, 2012November 10, 2012The vigneron's wife

: Checking the grapes, the night before school goes back

lilas with a bunch — a bunch ready for the picking

It only seems like yesterday that Lilas broke up from school and started the Summer holidays at the beginning of July.

And then before I knew it, we’d been on the Naked tour, my family had come and gone, the Olympics and Paralympics ended with a bang, the Fetes de Villages had packed up for the year, our Summer friends had all been and gone…

…and suddenly the grapes got ripe for the picking! (‘Les Vendanges’):

VENDANGES EN LANGUEDOC, Societe des Cartes Postales APA-POUX, ALBI - 'AS DE COUER' — ‘Vendanges en Languedoc’ (AS DE COEUR)

– and the new school year (‘La Rentree’) 2012-2013 started.

Come September, a different kind of ambience sets in around here. The tourists (or most of them!) have left en masse, the weather softens and jumpers come out for nights on the terrace, the markets no longer have ‘bouchons’ (traffic jams):

…the local pools have shut their gates:

– and tanned bodies (just not ours) post ‘les vacances’:

…get ready for some WORK!

following a tractor during the harvest — You often get stuck behind these people during the harvest! Time to slow down and have some respect…

Les Vendanges a La Liviniere — ‘Les Vendanges’ in La Liviniere

Les Vendanges is one of the most important events on our local calendar (most people in our village own or have some family connection/ investment in grape vines) – and each year, come September, there is the most wonderful buzz in the air. The village hums with expectation and excitement over the ‘recolte’ (harvest) – it’s time to pick the ‘fruits’ of a long year’s labour.

And harvest always coincides with the kiddies going back to school after two months’ of holidays. I still can’t quite get my head around this school ‘year’ here. In Australia our school ‘year’ begins around the beginning of the calendar year, in February – after Xmas and at the end of Summer. Here, each school year ends in what I would call the middle of the year, July, and then recommences in September. And because of this schoolbooks, labels etc name the school ‘year’ as ‘2000-2001’ etc. This year for example, is ‘2012-2013’. I know I’m rambling. Maybe it’s because I’m from ‘down there’ that I’m confused.

picking an apple for school — Picking an apple for tomorrow’s ‘gouter’ (afternoon snack) on the first day back at school

Anyway, back to the grapes. The reds are just getting under way, but Benji has been picking for a couple weeks’ now as the whites here ripened earlier. As for how this year’s harvest will be? It’s looking good so far – relief! The weather has been almost perfect for the grapes these last few weeks – a lot of sun and no rain – and so it all needs to come in NOW!

It will be the biggest week yet – 4am starts, working through until 6pm, 7/7. Another couple of weeks of this, then it’s finished for the pickers and machine harvesters in the vines, but full-steam ahead in the wine cellar – managing the tanks and their juice. Benji will maintain this crazy routine for a few more weeks yet – until the end of October. And then it will be time to think about HIS holiday!…

red and yellow and pink and green…

June 11, 2012The vigneron's wife

a peek outside tonight

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