amarchinthevines

Learning about wine, vines and vignerons whilst living in the Languedoc


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Bon voyage

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So 956 miles and two and a half days of travel and we arrived in Margon. The journey south was smooth, Eurotunnel efficient and fast, traffic fairly light and even the dreaded périphique was ‘fluide’. As you can see the car was heavy loaded, basically all the space from the front seats to the back window was occupied with something. Two good hotels eased the journey and what a treat on Monday driving down the A75 after an overnight stay in the Auvergne next to Eiffel’s spectacular viaduct at Garabit. Beautiful clear weather meant breathtaking views of the Massif Central and the beautiful Millau Bridge. The fact that this coincided with my first official day of retirement and that I was not sitting in the school hall was the icing on the cake.

And so we are settling in, unpacking continues and 30C sunshine means that life is pretty good. No wines as yet, harvesting has begun though there are lots of red grapes still hanging on vines. This will be the next stage of my journey, finding out more about the harvest and first steps in turning grape juice into wine.


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Wines

 

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As you may have noticed from the first post the areas we stayed in around France were wine regions. Not a coincidence.
I became interested in wine when I visited Germany as a young teacher who was asked to accompany a trip to the Rhine valley. A very generous hotel keeper in Bacharach insisted on sharing bottles and the different types of wine produced. This was news to me as I knew nothing about wine and assumed it was either white and light or red and sturdy.
From there to the Australian invasion of Wyndhams and Penfolds and then on to France. I still love the wines of Alsace, Burgundy and Beaujolais as well as the white wines of the Loire. Some terrific holidays and tastings spring readily to mind. Sadly the price of Burgundy and Bordeaux has long since outstripped the bank balance of a teacher.
However, good fortune struck. Alongside a growing liking for heat and the Languedoc was the rise of new, exciting winemakers in the region. Inspired by the writing of Rosemary George, Paul Strang and the admirable Andrew Jefford I began to explore their wines and I am hooked by their quality and sheer drinkability. Winemakers such as Jeff Coutelou, Turner Pageot, Mas Gabriel, Domaines Treloar and Cébene, amongst many others, have set  standards for me which help me to judge the wines of Languedoc-Roussillon.
Happily I now have the opportunity to explore more deeply and to spend more time with some of these winemakers, find out about their work and produce and seek out more top notch wines. This blog will, hopefully, narrate this adventure and share my discoveries. It may not be original but it will be the honest words of a wine amateur seeking to deepen his understanding of that passion.


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A Year in Margon

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I have wanted to live in France for as long as I can remember. From ‘learning’ the language in the second year of primary school (aged 8) all things French have intrigued, inspired and irritated me ever since. In the last 20 years or so my wife Pat and I have spent most summer holidays in various regions of France and during that time we have grown to love it. First tentative steps into northern and central France meant that we imagined life in Burgundy or particularly Beaujolais. Then we began to creep further south and seek the warmth of summer sunshine, the Rhone Valley, Provence, Bordeaux. Finally, we arrived in the Languedoc (or more precisely, Languedoc Roussillon). A brief stay near Castelnau de Guers, a further fortnight in Pinet and then to the village of Margon (see photo). In unprecedented fashion we went back to Margon and stayed a whole month, and further holidays there followed. As our friend Tony says we have developed Margonitis and now it will hold us for most of the next year. An ambition fulfilled