Category: wine

don’t you just love it!

A night visit in the vines

The vigneron's wife

With the vines well on their way as small bursts of green covering the countryside (Benji’s favourite time of the year in the vineyard), you can sense a momuntem of the busy days not too far around the corner.  Harvest!  Or ‘Les Vendanges’ as they say here.

vineyard 'burst' in the Minervois

We’ve had some beautiful sunny days, but also a lot of humidity with the ‘marin’ winds from the sea.  It has been very windy in the last few weeks – something that you get used to here (or not quite!).  The morning skies are grey and covered over, we’re hopping in the car for school with jumpers and wind jackets and by 3 in the afternoon the sun is out and sleeves are rolled up and the sunhats are back on!  The French have a saying here regarding the time of year:

“En avril, ne te decouvre pas d’un fil… en mai fais ce qu’il te plait” – it literally means that in April don’t wear fine threads but in May you can do as you please (there is a comment for everything here!).

Though we need the layers in the morning, harvest and summer seems on their way…

As the vines leaves begin to multiply, this combination of humidity and heat means they need some protection.  We’ve been spraying copper and powdered sulphur in the vineyards to help keep powdery mildew at bay.  We’re also raising the wires in the rows  to allow the plants to latch on and continue their growth up and along the trellising.

I was locking the kitchen door at around midnight last night when I heard the roar of a tractor heading to the vineyards just next to our house…   I opened the door and as I stepped onto our terrace I felt like I’d walked onto the set of Close Encounters!

Flashes of orange and white lit up the black sky as I started to recognise the form of the tractor.  It’s an impressive site, watching the headlights of the tractor searching down the rows leaving a wake of white mysterious cloud in the pitch dark of the night!  I was so excited I grabbed the camera.

night visit in the vines 1

night visit in the vines

It’s often the best time to treat the vineyards – in the middle of the night – as there’s little or no wind which allows the powder to rest directly on the plant.

So not an unidentified object afterall, but certainly more sightings to come.

night in the vines 4

 

 

JamieOliver.com

The vigneron's wife

Ispiring times at the moment.  On the Easter weekend we were invited to lunch at Liz, Joe and Ryan’s at Domaine O’Vineyards to meet up with Danny McCubbin, the editor of jamieoliver.com.  Danny and his photography assistant Anthony (both Aussies!) were travelling around the South of France and stopped by to taste some of the wines and produce from our region.

They’d been filming a luncheon the day before at the ‘La Barbacane’, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Hotel de la Cite,
a grand hotel situated within the walls of La Cite, the medieval city located inside Carcassonne, and were now out to see what gets served at a local ‘vigneron’s’ table amidst the vineyards.

I’ve got to admit that I was quite nervous about the whole thing (and I’m not even the winemaker! – can’t imagine how Benji must have been feeling), but once we’d met up with Danny and Anthony, I felt much better!  They are great guys – so sincere and laid-back yet incredibly inspiring when you listened to what they get up to for the site and in their personal time.   It’s inspiring to meet people like this who are so motivated to help and educate others.  I know I was shaking at the knees beforehand, but inside I had been thinking that anyone working for Jamie Oliver would have to be cool as well as full of energy, and I was right.

It was a delightful afternoon, full of delicious nibbles and dishes prepared by Liz (would LOVE the recipe for your spicy sauce Liz!)…

lunch at Liz's

And all of it washed down with wines by a few of us local producers:  Domaine O, Domaine de Chamans and Benji’s…

got some tasting to do...

Over the course of our marathon lunch some particular highlights in the wines for me were: Hegarty Chamans Blanc Minervois 2008,  Trah Lah Lah 2008 and Benji’s Minervois 2010 and his St Chinian Organic 2009.

Thanks to everyone involved in the afternoon – we had a wonderful time.

a bientot!

….pssst, anybody there?

The vigneron's wife

Well, it has been a while since my last post!?!!

School holidays, in-laws staying (more kitchen tips for me), birthdays, business dinners and tastings, Carnaval, unearthing village treasures.  The time just goes!?!  I’ve so many photos in my camera, it’s starting to belch from indigestion.

And the amount of wine bottles being ferried to the bottle bin… it’s embarrassing.  Though come to think of it, it always is.

Much to catch up on and share so please stay tuned!

spring has sprung!

still time left for Winter food!

The vigneron's wife
braised baby cabbage

Here I am, sat at the computer, trusty old ugg boots on my cold feet (can’t knock the Aussie out of this girl – thanks Mum for retrieving them out of the bin in Oz) and a roaring fire in the potbelly to my left.  Nearly all the vines in the area have now been pruned,  the days still mostly crisp amd summer seems an eternity ago!   It’s hard to imagine the abundant green leaves and plump fruits of the summer vines now that they’re bald and trimmed… BUT the days are longer and the blossom’s bright petals around the landscape signal Spring approaching.  Before too long the leaves will be sprouting all over again!  So now is the time to make the most of what’s left of the cold and enjoy some winter meals!

uggies
classy

I have a trusty mother-in-law who provides me with ideas for new dishes (is she worried her only son won’t be eating well enough?!), and the first time I cooked this was last Autumn (ahh, the beautiful Minervois Autumn! – for a glimpse, see below).

spectacular Autumn in the Minervois
spectacular Autumn in the Minervois

This recipe is perfect for the Autumn/ Winter chill!  It’s a braised cabbage dish, that you leave simmering slowly on the stove for a few hours.  I bought the baby cabbages at our local Tuesday market from Valerie, an organic producer whose beautiful garden we visited a few months ago.  It’s a luxury having access to such amazing produce. Her stall is one of my regular stops on Tuesday market day as her produce is so fresh and delicious – and after seeing her garden I’m in awe of how much hard work goes into filling her baskets of food each week.   And no matter how frosty the market mornings get at this time of year, Valerie always has a huge smile and happy to share recipes.  Merci Valerie!  p.s.  her home-made jams are worth trying too – especially the Muscat Jelly which is an incredibly good partner to aged ‘fromage de brebis’ (ewe’s milk cheese)

Here’s how I make the VERY SIMPLE braised cabbage:

+ Cut cabbage up into quarters (or halves if small) and steam for about 15 mins.  Remove. ( this step is quite important if you suffer unwanted gaseous situations!)

+ In a heavy frypan or cast iron cooking pot, fry a couple of thinly sliced onions until golden in sunflower oil.

+ Add about 250g of chunky ‘lardons’ pieces (bacon) and fry together until browned.

+ Place cabbage pieces on top and cover with lid and cook on very low heat for about 2 hours.

Serve this on its own for a simple lunch dish, or with pan-fried crumbed veal.  If you want something lighter than cabbage, use ‘endives’ instead.  I think we call these ‘witlof’ in Australia?  No need to parboil!

Whether you’re eating this on its own or with an accompanying meat, this tastes delightful when paired with a crisp, dry white.  We often serve this with Benjamin’s Picpoul de Pinet 2009… which we actually enjoyed with friends last night!

whoops, it's all eaten!
oops it's gone
...knew I should have taken the photo earlier

 

lunch in the sun

The vigneron's wife
nibbles are served

Hooray, the sun’s out!

It’s only February but as the blossom arrives, the mimosa is in full bloom and the sun creeps back into view, it’s time to enjoy some cheeky aperitifs outside with friends!

Sunday was one of those days… we gathered at our friends’ winery, Chateau de Gourgazaud, each of us bringing a plate or two, a bottle or two and enjoyed the afternoon outside sharing each other’s company and produce!  After gobbling down their required ‘feed’, the kids ran out of view, ducking back only for dessert, while we adults slowly peeled off layers of jackets and scarves and toasted the Spring days ahead and many more good vintages the come!

As the lovely ladies were nattering and preparing platters in the kitchen (I even donned my apron) and the men already outside hovering, glasses in hand around the bbq (mmn, some things never change), we enjoyed a fresh and vibrant Gourgazaud Chardonnay-Viognier 2009  with our nibbles.  Great way to start the meal…  The zesty white was a great match for the crispy courgette wedges dipped in garlic mayo (see recipe below) and the mouth-watering foie gras cooked mi-cuit’ style (it’s a semi-cooked pate, made from specially-fattened livers of geese.  Don’t ask…).

Out came B’s Chateau Maris Old Vine Syrah 2008.  Nothing like a smooth, full and fruity La Liviniere red with bbq’d meats!  It’s not an old bottle, but already has the qualities of a delicious drop that’s all too-easily drunk!  Me: ‘How would you describe this red then?’ B: ‘Bloody amazing!’.   This one was quickly guzzled down as a magnum of Gourgazaud’s Reserve 1996 arrived.  Round and lovely to get the chance to taste a wine with quite a few more years behind it.  It’s not often that we can leave them alone for that long, so much appreciated guys!

We’re looking forward to the next gathering!…