The picture that forms the background to my blog is a wine Chateau in the Bordeaux region in France. We were lucky enough to visit the region in October 2010, while Shropshire endured record rainfall, we sunned ourselves in 18 degree warmth and drank wine straight from the Chateau. Signs such as the one on the left are dotted all over the area - directing you to come into the Chateau where you can taste and buy wine direct from the producer.
Until visiting a wine producing region of France, I was very ignorant regarding how wine is produced. My husband has long enjoyed Saint Emilion wines - only when visiting the area did I gain any idea of the scale of wine production in Saint Emilion. There are hundreds of Chateau - ranging from massive, world-renowned estates, to small family-run vineyards. One such small Chateau we visited was the Chateau Vieux Mougnac. The Chateau was about one mile from our campsite and the vines stretched as far as the eye could see. Its an idyllic location - between the tiny village of Petit-Palais-et-Cornemps and the slightly less tiny (but incredibly picturesque) village of Montagne. These small communities are the places where some of the finest wines in the world are made.
We were warmly greeted, despite our lack of appointment, and given several wines to taste. The owner Sylvie Milhard was on hand to answer any questions and talk to us about the wine. We took a bottle of 2004 back to our tent which we drank in silence, feeling the sunshine on our tongues. Later in the week we returned and bought some wine to take home, 2
004, 2005 and some Crémant de Bordeaux (a sparkling white wine). These wines have all been enjoyed over the festive period, wonderful, deep flavours that transported us straight back to that sunny afternoon in the South of France.
No comments:
Post a Comment