wine – Page 4 – The Vigneron's Wife

wrapped in France #2

September 24, 2012November 9, 2012The vigneron's wife

“1. a bundle or parcel. 2. that in which anything is packed, as a case, crate, etc. 5. to put into wrappings or a container.” – ‘Package, packaging’ from the Macquarie Dictionary, 2nd Edition, 1981

Do you remember when I let it slip that I have a thing for packaging? Mmn, yep, still have it and lately I feel like I’m being bombarded with even more wonderful examples of it, everywhere. At home, at the markets, at the vide-greniers (the village garage sales – something I must absolutely tell you about soon), at friends’ houses, in the guise of gifts from friends… everywhere.

Colours, texts, fonts, old, new, shabby or shiny… I can’t get enough of it – and if there’s a text or a word here or there in French, even better! It’s amazing how much you can improve your vocabulary just reading the fine print! (and probably a lot more educational than my dippings into, shock, horror – Voici).

At the moment I’m getting a buzz out of OLD packaging and the eg’s here are from either home (my mother-in-law is a great help here) – or from stands in the markets and vide-greniers. I understand why people start up businesses selling this stuff – there are crazy people out there, like me, who love it! But a lot of it can be quite expensive so I’m happy to admire it and ask permission to take a photo or two. Yes, I think I am mad!

So here’s a second instalment of boxes, tins, bottles I’ve seen here in France lately. I should add however, that not all these products are French. Some come from next door in Spain (thanks to Vincent who is aware of my condition) or further afar. But they seemed too lovely to leave out.

I hope you enjoy them!

tins of pois chiches — Tins of ‘pois chiches’ (chick peas) at the supermarket yesterday. I thought you Miss Nick might like these!

Pineau de Francois Premier — I love this bottle of Pineau from the Charentes – “Pineau Francois 1er” Not only is the label just fabulous, but the sweet, fortified wine, a speciality of the Charentes region (near Cognac, not far from Bordeaux) wine inside, is DELICIOUS! It is a family-run winery, established in the 1930s by Gaston Riviere, with the wine now made by his grandson (who greets you at his cellar in leather pants). He said it was Gaston himself who designed and drew the label and there is a great quote on it – by him?… the ranslation:
“Women often change, Mad are those who trust them. Only this Pineau remains faithful to his King.”

Olympic Thermor iron — Don’t need one, but loved this box for an iron at the vide-grenier

Ortiz El Velero tuna — Ortiz ‘El Velero’ tuna.
Merci Vinnie.

bonbons! — a few old ‘bonbons’ tins (sweets, lollies or candy to us)

deux pigeons — ‘Les Deux Pigeons’ (the two pigeons) allumettes – an old matchbox found amongst other treasures at my mum-in-law’s. Merci Christine!

Chromex hair dryer — …don’t need this either. But just love the bangs and make-up.

Ippodo tea — Adore this tin.
But it went back home with V.

carving knife — I almost wanted to buy the old knife just so I could have the sleeve it slid into!

Lipikar — My body moisturiser. Mamy put me onto this. The ‘pharmaceuticals’ look is big here, but I love it for its smell

apple box — Spied this at Emmaus. Tres simple, no text but I LOVE red apples

Sanchez Romate sherry vinegar — Another item from Vinnie in Spain and oh so delicious, “Sanchez Romate Vinaigre de Jerez” – sherry vinegar

old packets for bonbons, dried beans, cream cheese…

LEO dried peas — no, it’s not a French product but it made me laugh when I saw this at the supermarket… the first time I read the box I thought it said ‘with sleeping tablet’
You try it!

Kusmi teas — a favourite at home – the whole range is great together

Saw this Offenbach record, “Gaiete Parisienne”, in Emmaus and loved the image

Caille and Yoghurt — The ‘Caille’ desserts are delicious. Seems like this style tub has been used for much longer than I realised.

vw car collage — Once a VW owner, always a fan.
Certainly didn’t need this, but I fell in love with the radio-controlled VW at the vide-grenier. It is the sedan version of my very first car, a Type 3 station wagon that I called ‘Fritz’. The price was extremely high. But the man was kind enough to let me take the photo.

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!…

a Naked tour

September 7, 2012June 22, 2022The vigneron's wife

Time for your attention and a little update on something Benji and I enjoyed this Summer! (but sorry, you won’t find us in the fleshy mix above).

We hit the road and joined the Naked Wines Tasting Tour of the UK!

There were many special moments, but here’s a glimpse of the wonderful people we met and re-met and chinked glasses with, from all corners of the winemaking world, as we travelled the countryside in a tour bus driven by the lovely Bob, in late June, to show our wares.

the bus in Cardiff — our bus parked out the front of Cardiff City Hall

Norwich, Cambridge, London, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham – nearly each stop on the 2012 tour (Benji and I could only make half of it) was sold-out and each tasting event held in a beautiful venue of each town. It’s an impressive sight seeing the doors open to hundreds of wine enthusiasts ready, with ther glasses poised, to try over 140 wines.

France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Germany, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, the U.S. and bien sur, Australia! – these are the countries that the winemakers selling their wines with Naked Wines hail from and what a great bunch of people they are!

It was brilliant to finally meet people behind the names I’d seen and admired from the Naked website – and get to try their wines. We got to chat on the bus, over the breakfast table, behind a tasting table, over a take-away pizza, watching the Australian cricket warming-up in the nets at Lord’s, on a walk trying to find the nearest public loo, disco dancing on a dancefloor until the early hours… You know, quality times like that. It’s not often I get out of my hamlet and hang with people from around the world in such a short time. We had so much fun.

And then of course, there were the tasters! A thriving mass of curious, enthusiastic, incredibly friendly people who came out to our tastings and worked their way through the hundreds of bottles. Benji and I loved the atmosphere of each tasting and picked up good feedback, first-hand, on his wines. It was hard not to soak up the fun – obligatory tasting required for quality checks ; ) And then there were all those wines from everyone else that we hadn’t even tried yet….

All in all a wonderful tour. I kinda like being the Vigneron’s helper.

the dudes outside at Lord's — out the back at Lord’s

And after every good wine tasting, there comes a delicious all five food groups breakfast…

next morning's helpers — …next morning’s helpers: pain killers in a vending machine and a full English breakfast – the lady serving our breakfast in Southampton spied my Vegemite and plonked a whopping jar of Marmite on the table – she insisted I eat ‘their’ stuff while in their country

And they all (well, apart from the couple we saw having a tiff under the tree in Cardiff) went home happy.

at last… my folks came to town!

July 31, 2012August 2, 2012The vigneron's wife

the aussies came to town — a visit …all the way from home

They came, they saw, we drank – woohooey!

It was meant to have been a BIG surprise, but in the end we knew. But that didn’t change ANYTHING in the way of how excited I was to have my parents – for the first time in 12 years!!- come and visit us.

My lovely brother had tried as hard as he could to keep it a surprise until the very last but, with all sorts of things popping up on his end and ours, had to tell us that he was heading our way with two of his kids and da da da daaaa… Ma and Pop in tow!

Since we moved here 14 years ago I’ve been enormously lucky to have had so many friends and family stay – and each time is so special as you get to enjoy each person on their own and usually over an extended time (hey, this is no quick side trip on the itinerary – if you’re going to travel from one side of the world to the other you’d better make it a decent trip!). I adore going back to see everyone in Oz, but it can get hectic trying desparately to catch up with everyone at once. This way, when people come to stay on our turf, I can relish every minute of their company and not have to juggle with a social diary.

So this was Jan and Pete’s – and Mark, Ruby and James’s turn to finally drop their bags and hang out (in the home that my parents hadn’t seen until now!)

I took them to all the places they’d rememebered vividly from twelve years ago, dined in a few lovely bistrots, cooked my favourite meals for them, introduced them to our mates and even snuck in a few drinking sessions, bien sur, with Benji’s wines (yes I’ll make it clear you don’t drink the stuff Mum).

I can’t tell you how good it was to have everyone here at last. I’m still smiling. Thanks big bro Mark for making it happen!

ps – a word of warning! there’s a few pics down below, sorry – but hell, this trip was twelve years in the making!