love – Page 2 – The Vigneron's Wife

The Vigneron at work

October 27, 2013October 27, 2013The vigneron's wife

That’s it. The grapes are all in and the Vigneron is content. No more 24/7 reading of satellite images and predicted weather patterns on numerous websites, he can relax and is relieved that this region has been pretty bloody lucky with its weather.

The grapes on the vines looked great and ripened slowly resulting in fruit with a lower baume and high maturity. So, enfin, 2013 looks like a good year! The man is happy.

I came down from the hill rather early a couple of mornings ago and had a peek at what was going on in the cellar. I love the smell in there. Takes me back to when we met. OK squeaky violins time – yes, harvest time is special for me, it was during a harvest, all those years ago, that the V and I met. I was in my hometown, Adelaide and he was ‘the Frenchie’, with little English (come on, admit it), clad in King Gee work gear, a divine Roman nose, working long vintage hours for a winemaker friend – that swept me off my feet.

Fast forward a decade or more, and I am still smitten when I smell the tanks of fermenting grapes in the cellar (oh to bottle this in a jar, a quick whiff and happy married couple all over again…).

‘Les Vendanges’ is a dynamic time and as I’ve said many times before, the village comes alive when the grapes are coming in. A whole year’s work is reaping its rewards and the old tractors are out on every village road, chugging in full force with trailers laden with glistening grapes. Even our baby was born on the first day of an Aussie harvest…

But let me get back to where I started. I was in the village early one morning this week and called in on the V to see what was going on in his cellar. The red grapes are all resting in their tanks and every couple of days they’re ‘pumping-over‘. After a month of this, they will put it all through the press. One more step towards a delightful, drinkable juice.

Here’s some images for you from that morning, in and out of the cellar…

the Grenache resting in wooden ‘tank’

And over the road…

yves 2 — …another neighbour, another Yves – of Chateau Faiteau, the cousin of Domaine Arnaud…(in a village, it’s all family)

aut col — …and the ride back up the hill to home

for my mum

September 13, 2013September 13, 2017The vigneron's wife

…a few of your favourite things for your birthday!

You are there, we are here, but we wish you a happy day and send you all our love.

oh boy, some more tins! — …oh boy, some more tins (you are the Queen of tins!)

some snow for you, who's never seen the snow — …and some snow for you, who’s never seen the snow

and a hug from me xoxoxoxoxo — and a hug from me
xoxoxoxoxo

What a crazy year this has been, Mum, but today is the LUCKY 13th!

As Mamy said, life is not a straight line… And yeah, it’s crooked as hell right now, but there is a beauty and a whole lot of love in all these kinks.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Adelante…*

August 26, 2013March 24, 2014The vigneron's wife

A couple of months ago things went pretty topsy turvy. Hellishly so. La vie certainly wasn’t belle and our family took a big hit.

But we’re making our way around it, and at the centre of the storm rides my Mum, bracing the elements up front, and showing everyone her courage and determination. It is her strength guiding us, with Dad at her side, keeping us afloat. You are a champion Mum and I love you.

And how’s this, despite all this crap, my family, on both sides of the world, and our friends, are remembering each other and being reminded by each other, that there is love. Everyone is helping out and expressing their love (geez Mum and Dad are even holding hands). Yes I know it’s corny, and I should probably cut the trippy talk and be tough, but at times like this I realise that this IS what bloody well makes the world go round – to look after each other and enjoy ‘la vie’. Really!

How many bloody wake up calls do we need to remember this??!?

La vie est belle. Every crazy day of it.

* “Adelante” (Spanish) : 1. ahead, in front, forward

p.s. thanks for the push, V

Cheers, Sante, Bottoms Up …to Marieke Hardy

June 11, 2013June 11, 2013The vigneron's wife

OK straight up. I love drinking.

And I love this woman.

She likes drinking too –

“My illustrious career with the bottle began with the person my mother used to refer to somewhat hopefully as ‘your naughty friend’, Lisa Jenkins, implying that without Lisa’s influence I would probably have spent my downtime cross-stitching and nursing sick orphans”… – Marieke Hardy, ‘You’ll Be Sorry When I’m Dead’

And she is so hellishly cheeky. I loved this book. It’s beautiful, funny, poignant, sexy, delirious, profound – and so, so WRONG.

READ HER!

Marieke Hardy at her book signing for "You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead", at Mosman Library on Monday 19 September (photo courtesy of the Mosman Library) — Marieke Hardy at a book signing for “You’ll Be Sorry When I’m Dead”, Mosman Library, N.S.W., Monday 19 September (photo courtesy of the Mosman Library)

Oz

January 26, 2013January 30, 2013The vigneron's wife

So how idid it feel to be home? Wonderful.

One minute you’re here, in a flash you’re there and suddenly and wonderfully, it feels like you’ve never left. The brown grass is the same, the clean grid of houses is the same, Mum and Dad are at the airport to pick us up and cruise us home, their dog is at the door, all the smells are the same, the beautiful trees are the same, the coffee is a lot better than you know where… A lot of things have never changed and I love it.

But there is a weird part to coming back and this part is where you fit in with people. Being away for most of the year means you have to step back and accept the distance from these loved people on an everyday level. Sure, I make calls home and speak to my parents often, but it isn’t the same and I’ve had to sort of ‘train’ myself to endure the distance by allowing myself to let go. It’s too hard for me to keep it up 100% in two places at once. My heart is in both, but I take a step back and act less wherever I am not. Then suddenly, I come back and have to get a handle on my excitement – near-hysteria – over seeing all these adored people in person again. This can be really strange. I act either overwhelmed and vague or like a babbling idiot, wanting to toast every moment with everyone with gallons of bubbles. Not good for the head.

Look, sorry for the blah it’s hard to explain. I’ll try and explain it better later.

For now I want to celebrate having new eyes on home. Images and places I always took for granted seem to be so exotic now! Australia can be so tres chic – and oh so wonderfully tres kitsch. I always knew this I guess about home, but now I love it even more.