Provence - better late than never

Bonjour tous les monde!

I sit here in the middle of a Provencal town listening to cuckoos and pigeons, a dog barking, and the murmur of people preparing to return to school and work. The sun is beating down and the winds gently move the air bringing with it all the smells one hopes to find in this land - lavender, verveine, green growing things, flowers of all types, baking bread, food in preparation. My friends have left for a walk and I've finally a moment to catch up.

It's been a whirlwind five/six days. Flights were late, but time was made up in flights somehow such that all connections - plane and train - were met. Our seats on the train from Paris to Avignon were on the observation (second level) and it was amazing again to see and understand just what an agricultural country this is. Wheat, grains for making canola oils, orchards of olive, cherry and almonds, and of course grapevines all dotted the landscape as we traveled south. I was tired, but couldn't bring myself to fall asleep until the last hour or so of the ride because it was just too lovely to miss. But after so many hours without sleep, I finally succumbed.

We arrived in Avignon's TGV station, got our car and headed to Apt - known by the Romans as Apt Julia and in which part of the original Roman Road is still used. When we arrived at what we believed to be our home base we were greated by our hostess (Paul & Betty sister Jinny) who looked out the window, wished us a Bienvenue and told us not to unpack the car. After all we'd been through over the last 24 - 30 hours, another surprise was not something we were looking forward to finding. It seems she had been having work done on her apartment and, as is common with French workers, the work was not yet done and would not be until Tuesday...sigh. Now what we all wonder. However, she did have a plan, we all retired to her Frenchman's lovely home outside Apt. He was a designer of furniture in Paris and had retired to the countryside. His place was very nice, but we were completely cut off from everything - no phone, internet, nada. As you can imagine, this put a bit of a crimp in our ability to let family and friends know we'd arrived as well as arrived safely, let alone let me keep an eye on the business.

The stay at Alexander's was very pleasant and he was a fine host. However, he spoke no English and we, well speak very little French and what we do speak certainly wasn't good, but we tried. We ate and drank our fill every single day...cepes lasagna, canneloni, lamb targine, white asparagus, couscous, paella, quail, rhubarb yogurt, cheese, bread, olives, it's been gluttonous time...and fabulous.

We've been to two markets - the one in Apt and one in Vaison-les-Romaines. As expected I was transported with all the sights, sounds and smells. spices, cheeses, breads, strawberries, tomatoes, olives...oh my stars! Of course, I've bought the place out amazing how quickly money disappears even with the dollar strengthening against the Euro.

More to come as this is just was just the beginning. Lots has been done, but thought I'd better get this loaded as I'm being bombarded with "where's the blog update" queries. On the side bar I'll be listing the wines consumed by date for your drooling pleasure...my best to all. More to come I promise!

Vacation...Provence Here I Come

Yes, it's true - I'm finally getting/taking a vacation. Off to Provence for a couple of weeks. YAY!


I've always documented my travels over the years. Most of the time I have sent email updates to one and all. This year I'm going to reinvigorate this blog by using it to document the trip. In addition, it will provide a centralized location for people to read about my travels...or not. Some emails in the past turned out quite long and it made reading them time consuming for my erstwhile Travel Journal email group. We'll see how this works.


I will send an email to my Travel Journal folks to give them the link to this blog and let them know when new posts have been loaded. And I will post notifications on Facebook as well - that should cover pretty much everyone. I hope you will bookmark this location and come back and visit. Both to get updates on the trip and wine and food related things when I get back.


While the trip begins this Thursday, things have been hectic, due primarily to the Icelandic volcano. Many European flights have been impacted. The winds keep changing ... and they have all decided to head south - seriously impacting flights in and out of France and Spain. Of course, all subsequent reservations on connecting flights and the TGV are all at risk.

Dealing with getting current projects stabilized and the business settled for my absence has also been concerning. However, that always seems to be the case. Decided to bring the laptop with me to keep my comfort zone happy. Check in, make sure all is well, then off to eat great food and drink lovely wines.


I keep trying to not let everything worry me, but...well, sigh. Back to getting the business ready for my absence and time to start ironing clothes and the packing... updates will begin probably Saturday after the Farmer's Market in Apt (largest in Provence). Looking forward

The Catching up Blog and Extinction

Yes, yes, I know, it’s been two months since the last post. How many times do I have to hear about it??? The only excuse I can give is that it’s been very busy at work. I’ve also had a birthday and a trip to California and Southern Oregon (yes, there was wine which will be discussed in another blog entry soon).

The hard part now is what to cover. With two months of wine under my belt as well as tons of good food, friends and fun, etc, etc, etc, choosing which thing to write about is difficult. So, I’ve decided to run a series of releases to the blog, so get ready to keep up (that's a hint to sign up for the RSS feed - see the link on the left side of the blog).

There has been a significant amount of wine consumed over these two months and I have tried to keep the “wines consumed recently” relatively updated. However, the one wine that continues to make me smile and that I head to regularly is a QPR that is not only an easy, quaffable wine, but is also very interesting as it is all but extinct. The wine?

Bodega Campo Negro Finca El Reposo Saint Jeannet 2007

This wine is just as good as a QPR can be and has a great story to boot. First, as with any QPR, the price just is amazing for the quality of the wine, generally $8 almost everywhere (if you can find it as it's disappearing fast). What is very surprising is that it isn’t in the $15 - 20 range as it is definitely that good.

The wine is a lovely pale, but vibrant straw gold with a touch of green.The nose is pleasant – with hints of honey, pear, wet stones, with some grassiness – just for grins. On the palate – dry, crisp and refreshing – think tart pineapple with lemon zest scattered about and a bit of melon to soften the blow. As a fan of both Loire and Southern Rhone white varietals, it really hits as a cross between the grape varietals common to those two areas. A friend thought perhaps Sauvignon Blanc crossed with Marsanne and/or Roussanne and I must agree. The Saint Jeannet has a wonderful mouthfeel. Even though it only sees the inside of stainless tanks, it does go through full malolactic fermentation.

Now I also mentioned there was a story associated with this wine. The grape is extinct – or perhaps the better comment is that it was thought to be extinct. Now, how they can tell it is an extinct grape variety has me a bit confused – if it’s extinct, how can they know it’s no longer extinct as there’s nothing around really to affirm that it’s the same grape or not. Hummm, if a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it…

Nevertheless, it is commonly accepted that this is the Saint Jeannet grape which seems to have had origin in Greece, and then passed through Italy and France, finally coming to land in the Mendoza Valley in Argentina. There are only 4 hectares (think 2.5 acres per hectare – yes, you have to do math). The vines are over 95 years old and produce very few grape clusters per vine. Accordingly, there is not much of this great, little wine available.

The producer Bodega Campo Negro named the vineyard “Finca El Reposo” or “Resting Vineyard” to reflect the antiquity of the vines. The vineyard is location in Cruz de Piedra in the Mendoza Valley just east of Lujan de Cuyo at an altitude of 3,214 feet above sea level. The soil is stoney and very poor which really can be seen in the character of the wine.

I just love this little wine. If you haven’t had it, go find a bottle, then sit down with some grilled shrimp or fried calamari and enjoy. If you have had it, go and enjoy it again while it lasts. As always...te souhaitant le meilleur de la vigne (wishing you the best of the vine).