Today was a special day, which I will not soon forget. I spent the day with Daniel Brunier, of Vieux Télégraphe, Domaine La Roquète, and Les Pallières, who kindly and graciously gave me his time during a busy harvest season and gave me a lesson in wine making.

If you have not tried one of Daniel, and his brother Frédérick's wines from my shop, then I am not doing my job...I promise to point them out to you when I return (though do not feel you have to wait...ask for one today!). Their projects are varied in place and sometimes in the varietals, or at least the percentages, but they are unified in their philosophy that wine is simple, natural, and should reflect the place from which it comes.

Their approach begins in the vineyard, and in this region of the Rhone, there are many challenges. This wine region is fraught with contradictions. I suppose this is why it appeals to me, as I am drawn to paradox, though this one found me. The conditions are at once perfect for wine growing, yet harsh, intense, and demanding. The sun is hot and powerful, and without the freedom to water, they rely on the Mistral winds to cool the wines and dry the grapes, and on the rocks and soil to manage the heat and water.

The flip side (yes, we all know that there always is one), is that the rocks make vineyard management very difficult, and the wind can be harsh and maddening at times, blowing the vines with a fierce strength. This wind intrigues me. I have experienced it twice since I arrived, which I understand is good for the vintage. The weather has been clear, hot, and dry, which is ideal as long as they have the Mistral because it cools the grapes and avoids rot, but at the same time people complain that it is cold and that the wind is bothersome. Seriously, this is a strong wind and it is nonstop. If you are a sailor, you would love it! I will admit, it stirs emotion. It is hard to avoid, you have to hold yourself with a certain fortitude against it, both literally and figuratively. Literally, in that it is a strong wind that has extreme force, biting and whipping against your skin, blowing the dust, and cooling the air...but for me, this is more about emotion, and it is difficult to articulate, but I imagine that the mistral has made many lovers and initiated many wars.

Despite these harsh and contradictory conditions, Daniel and Frédérick make beautiful wines that are powerful and elegant, though each one has its own unique identity, some more rustic like the Les Pigeoulet, some with a bit more finesse and structure like the new Megaphone, and those with power, elegance, and complexity, like their Chateauneufs, Vieux Télégraphe and La Roquète. When I asked Daniel about all these projects, he smiled and said that he is always seeking a new experience and a new challenge. Bravo!

A nice surprise today, Rosé! You know how I adore the pink wine.

2011 Les Pallières, au petit bonheur, rosé The wine has just a pinch of pink. It is elegant, light and fresh. Daniel explained to me that there is an expression in French, which I cannot possible quote, but it means following one's joy. Liberally, translated, I understood this to mean that you make decisions based on what makes happy, what pleases, despite all logic in opposition. (I hope I understood that right, Daniel!) And, this is what the name indicates, a little happy place or moment. If my French were better, I could explain the pun, but alas, I have to work on that. In the meantime, I will enjoy a glass of this rosé and smile. And, I will work on getting some to enjoy with own lingering summer sunshine.

And, the newest addition to their family, 2011 Megaphone, which is a blend of only grenache and syrah from two hectares of vines on the westernmost edge of the Cotes du Ventoux appellation. It is a new opportunity to articulate their philosophy; hence the name, a tool by which one verbalizes and calls out one's beliefs.

They do not like to sit still. What struck me about this drive for variety, diversity, complexity, and growth, is that they remain a boutique, artisanal organic operation. As Daniel put it, the philosophy stays the same. So, while production may increase, they remain small, making hand crafted wines from only the very best grapes that they produce. So impressive.

In terms of the 2012 vintage, it looks very good. At both Gourt de Mautens and Vieux Telegraph, I saw the same thing, beautiful, ripe, large opulent bundles of grapes, with taut skins, dark color, light yellow-green stems, which bespeak a freshness, but also those dark grapes starting to wrinkle, just a touch of "raisined" grapes, to give richness, power and texture. Daniel explained that this is the maturity that he waits for, to give complexity to the wine. It will be a while, months of fermentation, two years in the barrel, and then resting in the bottle before release...but, when we get our hands on it, it promises to deliver a wonderful glass of wine.

cheers, m

I spent Saturday picking grapes and sorting them before they went into the large oak barrel for fermentation...I say picking, I should say cutting. And, I was eager to return to it today, but the decided not to cut today...they explained it all to me in French, but I have no idea what they were saying, except that I should not come today. Okay, one victory with language today, so I won't get discouraged, and I understood the most important part which is that because of the lunar change, they can only pick very early tomorrow, then stop until later this week. As I understood, they do not pick when the moon is in its decent because the grapes shut down. This is a bit of a mystery to me, but I am intrigued by it and they make awesome wines, so clearly they know what they are doing. That said, I had the day off. I realize that this whole trip is many days off, but I feel better if I think that this work is terrible...I am, how do you say, "a very lucky woman." Okay, so I have to do my job, right? Which is to say that I must eat and drink and write about it for all of you.

I heard that La Mere de Germaine in Chateauneuf de Pape was very good, so there I went. It is a nice atmosphere, a bit fancier than typical small restaurants, but very warm and super friendly. The dinning room is large, bright, and sunny...it feels like an extension of outside, which is so inviting. The menu is a pris fixe lunch, with three courses. There is a lot of words for each choice, so I go for the words that I know...Poisson, okay, there is my entres, and for the main plate, saumon. I do okay with menus, but I refuse to pull out a dictionary, and at times my pride gets the best of me. I recall a salad once in St. Emillion, in Bordeaux, that resembled corned beef hash, yikes.

But, today, everything went very smoothly. The appetizer was delicate, beautifully prepared, and perfectly cooked.

There was a bed of fresh parsley which supported a terrine of fish, avocado, and potatoes, topped with a small piece of red fish. I tried to discuss with the waiter the type of fish, but I finally settled on "red" and we don't have the same thing, but I would liken the flavor to fluke, or a very light simple fish. It was great, though I had selected a glass of white Chateauneuf, from Bosquet du Pape, and it was a bit heavy for the delicate appetizer. What can I say, I am not perfect! (please don't tell.)

It was, however, perfect with the main dish, which was a bit more fatty and rich.

The salmon was very rich and dense, more like a sockeye in Seattle, which is why it worked so well with the wine and with the delicious pile of polenta. I am not a huge fan of polenta, but that is not to say I do not like it. The problem is that all to often it is not salted properly, in my opinion, and there is too little fat, so it tastes bland and can be a little gelatal. I am not sure that is a word, but I am going for it. (All those years in school, I should be able to make up a word or two.) This polenta was exceptional. Again, the presence of Italian ingredients, but with French style. The polenta had a touch of cheese, with a bit of a tomato, ginger, and onion compote, and small blanched pieces of lemon rind. The ginger was very subtle, but added an interesting little bite. And, with the wine, it was perfect.

I am learning about the whites of the region, and enjoying them. We see very few at home, but they are fabulous food whites with a lot of complexity. I will work on finding more when I return.

Tomorrow, I will spend the day with Daniel Brunier at Vieux Telegraph, which I am very excited about. I will watch their process of wine making! More on that in tomorrow's post.

What are you eating?