this shall be, im sure, one of the most flat-out fantastic days ever. seriously. lets just put it out there in the most simple terms: valence is one stop away par train from a Tain l'Hermitage, a town that is renowned for its wine and chocolate. you know what youre getting for christmas. so mandy was all like lets go taste wine and a few of us assistants were planning on going, but of course everyone bailed bc they wanted to sleep in or something (the bus to Tain left at 10h45). well tant pis for them and tant mieux pour nous deux...we arrived around noon, right in front of the Valrhones Chocolatarie. we inhaled cacao as we stepped off the bus, i kid you not. and omg, free samples. it was amazing. i guess you can tour the facilities, but we just poked around the shop, tasted some of the most beautiful, fresh chocolat ive ever come in contact with, and picked out the things we planned to buy on the way home.
i had looked up some addresses of caves in the area, but we headed to the bureau de tourisme for a map, all the while gushing about how freaking cute the town is - it's just very quaint and flowery, all next to the river, with hills criss-crossed with vineyards rising up on the rive droite (je crois...). so we set out, guide to the caves of Tain in hand, but TIF (this is france): most everywhere was closed for 2 hours for lunch. grr. we looked around the plaza where we were standing, contemplating how to kill time until free wine tasting started back up again...in front of us, serendipitously, a little wine shop. whatevs, maybe we can sample here too, so we wandered in. best decision ever.
the owner, a middle-aged guy from greece, immediately asked if we knew anything about the wine from the area, and as soon as we said no, not really, he pulled out glasses and asked if we wanted to taste red or white. we looked at each other, and in the moment that we hesitated, he made the decision for us: "lets just try both," he said. So he swirled three glasses with some white wine, dumped out the wine, and poured three small glasses. it was very light, dry and had a hint of floral and honey (yah, we totally had to play the "what do you taste/smell game,which im hooooorrible with). then we tried a young red (you dont say "ca pique" if you want to talk about it being sharp, you say "c'est aggressif") and theeeen the nice, aged red came out. we finished the bottle, that right. we'd been standing, chatting, but he invited us to sit and started talking about food pairing...and then we waxed poetic for a bit: the best way to enjoy wine is not to worry about the quality of the grapes or the accuracy of the food pairing, but rather the company you have. because, of course, in good company even mediocre wine tastes wonderful, just as the best bottle can be ruined if shared with the wrong company. and the best food pairing is good bread, and cheese. So he went and brought us a fougasse de chevre (basically like a white pizza made from goat cheese), which we had with the white (bc white is better with chevre, and red with cows milk cheeses). Finished off that bottle, too.
We spent the better part of three hours with George, he shooed away potential customers once or twice, but had to sell to some persistent Norwegians - but during this transaction, Mandy and I totally got to play translator/wine experts! It was awesome, they bought a lot, and then George served cafe and Chartreuse, a powerful (but tasty!) digestif. We hung out a while longer, listening to classic rock'n'roll and traditional Greek music, chatting about wine, France, his kids and the trip Mandy and I are planning to Greece. The afternoon ended with the best offer ever: not only did he ask that we come back soon (and hey, if we ever want to borrow his car to visit other vineyards, just let him know), but would we come and work as translators for his international shipping work and tutor him in English. omg, we looked at each other, looked at him, "seriously?" ,"yes, please, come back wed or sat!" and we high-fived, and it was a deal. this is how we do, and it is fantastic
sooo we left all giggling and a little tipsy (at least i was) and dehydrated and ecstatic, and went to sample some more wine at another shop nearby (muscat, mandy's favorite, but rather too sweet for me), buy some chocolate, and catch the train back to valence. we had intended to chill in a pub and watch the france-new zealand quarter-final game (rugby world cup), but we were both too crapped out to do anything, so i just stayed in and worked on travel itineraries...alors, TIF dans le sud: spending time relaxing, hanging out with new friends, enjoying a glass of wine or some chocolate...im getting used to it!
i had looked up some addresses of caves in the area, but we headed to the bureau de tourisme for a map, all the while gushing about how freaking cute the town is - it's just very quaint and flowery, all next to the river, with hills criss-crossed with vineyards rising up on the rive droite (je crois...). so we set out, guide to the caves of Tain in hand, but TIF (this is france): most everywhere was closed for 2 hours for lunch. grr. we looked around the plaza where we were standing, contemplating how to kill time until free wine tasting started back up again...in front of us, serendipitously, a little wine shop. whatevs, maybe we can sample here too, so we wandered in. best decision ever.
the owner, a middle-aged guy from greece, immediately asked if we knew anything about the wine from the area, and as soon as we said no, not really, he pulled out glasses and asked if we wanted to taste red or white. we looked at each other, and in the moment that we hesitated, he made the decision for us: "lets just try both," he said. So he swirled three glasses with some white wine, dumped out the wine, and poured three small glasses. it was very light, dry and had a hint of floral and honey (yah, we totally had to play the "what do you taste/smell game,which im hooooorrible with). then we tried a young red (you dont say "ca pique" if you want to talk about it being sharp, you say "c'est aggressif") and theeeen the nice, aged red came out. we finished the bottle, that right. we'd been standing, chatting, but he invited us to sit and started talking about food pairing...and then we waxed poetic for a bit: the best way to enjoy wine is not to worry about the quality of the grapes or the accuracy of the food pairing, but rather the company you have. because, of course, in good company even mediocre wine tastes wonderful, just as the best bottle can be ruined if shared with the wrong company. and the best food pairing is good bread, and cheese. So he went and brought us a fougasse de chevre (basically like a white pizza made from goat cheese), which we had with the white (bc white is better with chevre, and red with cows milk cheeses). Finished off that bottle, too.
We spent the better part of three hours with George, he shooed away potential customers once or twice, but had to sell to some persistent Norwegians - but during this transaction, Mandy and I totally got to play translator/wine experts! It was awesome, they bought a lot, and then George served cafe and Chartreuse, a powerful (but tasty!) digestif. We hung out a while longer, listening to classic rock'n'roll and traditional Greek music, chatting about wine, France, his kids and the trip Mandy and I are planning to Greece. The afternoon ended with the best offer ever: not only did he ask that we come back soon (and hey, if we ever want to borrow his car to visit other vineyards, just let him know), but would we come and work as translators for his international shipping work and tutor him in English. omg, we looked at each other, looked at him, "seriously?" ,"yes, please, come back wed or sat!" and we high-fived, and it was a deal. this is how we do, and it is fantastic
sooo we left all giggling and a little tipsy (at least i was) and dehydrated and ecstatic, and went to sample some more wine at another shop nearby (muscat, mandy's favorite, but rather too sweet for me), buy some chocolate, and catch the train back to valence. we had intended to chill in a pub and watch the france-new zealand quarter-final game (rugby world cup), but we were both too crapped out to do anything, so i just stayed in and worked on travel itineraries...alors, TIF dans le sud: spending time relaxing, hanging out with new friends, enjoying a glass of wine or some chocolate...im getting used to it!
1 commentaire:
hey dani-
it sounds like yout having a blast and even though i dont like wine it still sounds like it would have been amazing to just chat with that guy...and i sure the chocolate was delicious and i would have loved to try all that but hey i guess this is just another reason why i should travel france someday!! ok well i hope you continue to have a great time. i love you!!!
hugs and kisses:-)
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