Shopping in France in the Summer was all about the markets and their tempting piles of fruit and vegetables, but shopping in France at this time of year has a very different flavour!
In October we are here to replenish our wine stocks, and now that we have a proper cellar in our new home that is a serious business indeed :)
We could, of course, just head to the local supermarket and browse the shelves but it is much more fun to visit the vineyards and buy directly from the producers.
I am sure it adds to the flavour to drink wine that has been produced from grapes that you have seen growing in the vineyard, don't you think?
At this time of year all of the vineyards are busy harvesting the grapes for the 2016 vintage, so every vineyard we visited was a hive of activity.
Wine buying in France is a serious activity, that time must be given to. No swiping a bottle off of a shelf and carrying it to the checkout!
An invite to see the production process is given and accepted. The grapes being separated above had been picked in the days beforehand from the land bordering the photo above. In another vineyard the machine separation was supplemented with two men hand picking rejects from the grapes that the machine had retained. Definitely a job for the patient in temperament!
The separated grapes were heading to these huge vats for
maceration
Before being transferred to French Oak casks to mature before bottling. (American Oak was deemed to produce wine that was too sweet apparently!)
Of course, once we had viewed the various stages of the process it was down to the real business of the day!
Tasting the wine, another process that cannot be hurried :)
After all that, then we could buy some wine!
The waiting, however, is not over as it will be a few years yet before the wine we bought will be ready to drink :)
Maybe a visit to the supermarket is needed after all!
The wait will be worth it, Fiona, even if it is a few years. Sounds like a great day.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a seriously serious wine buying trip!
ReplyDeleteukcitycrafteratlivedotcodotuk
I'm jealous! We used to go every year when we lived in Europe and we miss it. Hope you found some good wines.
ReplyDeletenow is the time to stock up as when we leave the commom market I suppose there will be restrictions on how much alcohol etc can be brought in
ReplyDeleteThe equivalent for me would be going to a Diet Dr. Pepper canning facility - not quite the same as a winery, LOL! Hubby's family used to make wine years ago, but as far as I know, none of the kids (lol @ kids - the 3 kids range from 56 to 72 - the 56 year old is my husband :D) ever carried on the tradition!
ReplyDeleteSo you can taste it now, but can't drink it yet? Lots of fun tasting though
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