The final half of our story. (Part I is here)

Not American Wines
France is rumored to have 230,000 wineries, so the shear amount of wine available for export is enormous. After what is consumed "in-country", the importers will bring to the USA what sells here (in their opinion). Thus in France, you will experience wines that are never or not often represented in the states:
Petillant Wines--These are slightly sparkling wines. Once viewed as a fault in the wine, many now enjoy this light, refreshing aperitif wine. We purchased some rose' petillant wine.
Vin Gris--literally gray wine, but really a light rose wine where there is very minimal skin contact with the juice.
Cafe Blends--you can always find unusual blends of "work-horse" varieties within cafe's & bistros; example is the Passetoutgrain (one is reviewed in my July 2004 Newsletter) which is a blend of Gamay (from Beaujolais fame) and Pinot Noir; also look for combinations of one of more of Pineau d'Anis, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, and Pinot Noir grapes. All light-bodied wines, served slightly cool.

Memorable Wines
If you can get your hands on any of these, either here or there, you can do worse:
NV Sparkling Vouvray demi-sec, Earl Besnard-Gasnier
1999 Chateau Grand Puy-Ducasse (Grand Cru); Parker gave it an 86 but I was happy paying 41€ for a bottle in a restaurant!
2001 Cheverny, blend of Pinot Noir, Gamay and Cabernet Franc
1999 Chateau Talbot (Grand Cru); paid 64€ for a bottle in a restaurant, Parker gave it an 89. (see inset)
NV Sparkling Rose, Touraine, Robert Garneau

Winery Visits
It's hard to appreciate how wine is woven into the fabric of France, and as such, when you visit a "winery" you are often visiting someone's home, sitting with them in the kitchen, or on the back porch, their dogs at your side, and a relaxed demeanor more like friends than retail business.

We visited many wineries, mainly because if I'm driving and see one I usually start heading there, in spite of our original plans! And like anywhere else, not all wines were created equal. Here is a list of wineries that you might consider if visiting France:

Loire Valley
Marc Bredif--This 150 year old winery is built into a hill of rock, and the cave holds 1 million bottles of wine! Their vouvray is delicious, and the botrytised chenin blanc, called Nectar, is divine. It has a lifespan of 60-100 years, thus I bought two bottles for my children to enjoy as adults. Domaine de l'Ancien Telegraphe--Winemaker Nadine Supligeau took us to her basement under her house, where we sat a little table and enjoyed sparkling vouvrays, and a vouvray doux (sweet) wine.

Corbieres (Languedoc Region)
Chateau La Pujade--See below!
Chateau Prieure' Bord-Rouge--Proprietor Natacha Devillers-Quenehen escorted us to her back porch, outside with her german shepherd. She brought out some bottles, glasses, and a mini hand-blown pouring pitcher--all on a silver tray. Now this is hospitality! Her reds were fantastic, and her one white wine, a local grape blended with Chardonnay, was my wife's favorite. Natacha collects "angel" figurines and gave one to us to watch over us.
Chateau Beauregard Mirouze--Nicolas Mirouze is head of a beautiful family winery with excellent wines.
Societe' Francaise de Distilleries--Ever have Italian Grappa? Well the French equivalent is marc, and this distillery was a wonderful tour for viewing this process. Eaux-de-Vies are fruit spirits, usually from grapes, but also cherries, pears, plums, and other fruits. A brandy is when this clear fruit spirit spends time in oak. And when the grape pommace is used (the spent grape skins after fermentation of making wine) the product is known as marc. About 40% alcohol by volume.
Domaine du Soleil Couchant--Eric Girerd was very charming as we toured his confiture, vinegar, and muscat & VDN production facility. We had it all here! The Vin Doux Natural (VDN) was welcoming as we tasted his various spices and vinegars.

Our Week at Chateau La Pujade
Viviane Mennesson and her life companion Philippe Morel hosted us for a week at their winery. Philippe was a rally-car driver, as well as mayor of a charming town called Bezier. Viviane was assistant to the secretary of the Dept. of Agriculture in France--not a bad connection to have now that she is a winemaker and grapegrower. The centuries-old winery purchased 5 years ago by them was renamed Chateau La Pujade, meaning "little mountain", to denote the vineyard's slope. Today, the pair make incredible wines, using modern vinification techniques on low-yield fruit, Seguin-Moreu French oak barrels (considered the finest), Bordeaux-length corks, and sturdy Bordeaux bottles. All slightly adding to price, but commensurate with the quality of the products.

The Chateau is 17th century, and complimented nicely with period art and antiques. Philippe is a descendant of Napoleon, and at least one picture of his relative could be seen on a wall. Strong friendship and unfailing companionship led the two to wine many years ago. Today they create approximately 20k cases annually, which is consumed in-country, as well as serving customers in Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and the US. (It will finally make it into Atlanta in the next month or so and I'll let you know!)

The vineyards are all over 50 years old, with one Carignane plot over 100 years old, which makes for the best Carignane, much like our best Zins are old vine. They own and tend 36 hectares (equiv. to 100 acres). Viviane also has a wonderful vegetable garden and she treated us to many delights, including fresh asparagus during our visit.

Our Last Dinner at Pujade
We picked up some free-range lamb at Viviane's favorite "charcuterie", shown cooking in the fireplace in her kitchen (inset). Philippe brought in some of the dead vinestock from his 105 year-old carignane that would become wood charcoal to roast our lamb. The smell of the searing lamb over the vinestock embers was to die for.

That evening, after a fine dinner and desserts, along with the cheese course, Philippe disappeared and brought out a green, unlabeled bottle with only an inch of clear liquid left. He poured three thimble full's for each of us, and as so, the aroma of pears encircled us. After enjoying this fine Poire William eau-de-vie, Philippe explained that it was over 30 years old, and a gift made and given to him from a friend, who has now passed on. I had tears in my eyes from his generosity. He shared the last remnants of this bottle with us.

The conversation turned to politics as we continued nibbling on cheese and his top quality red wine, Havane, named for the same city of his favorite cigars, and then Philippe asked me to follow him into the cave (where the wine is made). I didn't know what he was looking for when we got there, but soon his eyes found a tiny barrique (oak barrel). He pulled out the bung, slid in a siphon hose, and pulled into an empty bottle a thick, dark amber liquid. With a grin, he led me back to our al fresco dining to join the ladies.

Vin doux natural's (VDN's) are products of warm climates (like in the south of France) with high pre-fermentation sugar levels in the grapes; thus when fermentation is halted with the addition of a grape spirit (much like in the case of Port) your fortified wine is sweet, unctous, and about 50% more alcohol than a normal table wine. These VDN's also benefit greatly from oak aging , many lasting years. This particular VDN was a private one Philippe made for his own pleasure.

Sipping it was like nectar of the gods, and the unfolding flavors were a series of taste-doors that opened one after another.

As we departed the next day, Philippe gave me a bottle of his private VDN, named Carthigean, labeled for me, with a wax seal over the cork. Inside the bottle is a little oak figurine of a hunter, telling me to keep "hunting in the world of wine!"

Viviane & Philippe showed us the true France, and it's memory will be cherished (along with their friendship) for a lifetime. But none of this would be possible without their introduction and friendship from our Atlanta friend Julienne Hillyer, whose passion for life, food and wine exceeds only ours.

Au Revoir Viviane et Philippe, et Merci Tres Beaucoup, Julienne.