Day 13 - Paris to Boston

It's a little after 7 a.m. here and we're getting ready to leave for Charles de Gaulle Airport. Our flight is at 1:40 p.m. and we'll arrive in Boston at around 3:45 p.m. EST. It feels like we've been in France forever, but we had a great time and a lot of great wines we look forward to sharing with you all.

Right when we land it's back to business - we have the New Hope, Inc. Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Tasting at Asa Waters tonight. Please join us if you can, the tasting is from 7-10 p.m. and tickets are $35.

Also, mark your calendars for our free seminar on May 5 featuring the Benziger Family Winery. We'll be tasting sustainable, Organic and Bio-Dynamic wines of the Benziger Family Winery with special guest speaker, Erinn Benziger.

**We will have many of the wines from our trip available for purchase within a week or two from our arrival. Five different rose's are already available, but some wines will take a bit longer to arrive.

Thanks for following us through our wine tour and Paris adventure. See you all soon!

Day 11 - Paris

We are still in Paris! A few more people from our group left for the airport this morning to get on standby for flights with Air Canada, and they all managed to get on a couple flights out. However we decided to take the train to Versailles today, and hold off for our flight on Saturday.

We stopped at Les Délices du Palais on rue du Maréchal-Foch, where we picked up some ham and cheese and tomato and mozzarella baguettes and a bottle of Sancerre. We enjoyed our lunch on the steps of the garden at le château de Versailles.
King Louis XIV enlarged his father's estate, building a court and government there in the 17th century. We toured the King's and Marie-Antoinette's chambers, the drawing rooms, and office, but the most amazing part of the chateau is the gardens.

The estate stretches for miles, with a different fountain around every corner. There is even a small lake in the garden, large enough for the King to sail his ships and for tourists today to explore the gardens on row boats.

After a nice afternoon we came back to relax at Hotel Maillot, and then decided to go to the always-crowded Coffee Parisien next door for a late dinner.

The restaurant is decorated as a 1960's American diner, with a framed American flag and Woodstock Festival poster on the walls, and Obamac Burger and pancakes on the menu. We ordered their "large" portion of nachos, according to our waitress, which in reality was about one-third of the size of an American portion.

We drank draft beers and frozen margaritas, and had an omelette, cheeseburger, and chicken fajitas for dinner.

The restaurant was started in 1990 by a French-American who introduced "brunch" to the Parisians - a concept that flourished so much that Coffee Parisien now has three locations in Paris.

The ambiance of the restaurant is really what is so intriguing, despite the delicious "comfort" food we craved. The bar is lined with portraits of JFK; the walls are filled with The New York Times front page of JFK's assassination, Woodstock tickets and Campbell's soup posters; the placemats are lined with each American president's portrait; and the seats are constantly filled with young, fashionable Europeans sipping on drinks, nibbling on burgers, and running out for cigarette breaks.

The check was left with a Coffee Parisien magnet and a handful of chocolate silver coins with the restaurant's name on it, and who else but JFK's profile engraved as well.

From the decor to the menu, this little cafe is a hidden gem on the side streets of Paris.

Days 9 & 10 - Paris

Yesterday afternoon most of our group checked out of the hotel because there were previous reservations for the rooms. Luckily we found another hotel room close by, which the three of us are now sharing. Those still remaining from our group are now scattered over three hotels in Paris.

Tuesday's edition of the International Herald Tribune announced that the airport in Paris was opening that day with limited commercial flights over Europe.

With signs of improvement showing we carried on with our sightseeing and headed to La Basilique du Sacré Coeur. After touring the beautiful church we sat by the plaza of portrait artists for a few hours enjoying rosé and pizza at a café.

Last night we had dinner at Le Chalet de Neuilly, recommended by the front desk clerk/concierge at our new hotel, Hotel Maillot. Right when you walk into the restaurant you can smell the Reblochon cheese. The presentation was very unique: a chunk of the cheese was placed on a heated metal stand, then served with roasted potatoes and meat.

Now that our group is spread out over the city, we have begun to meet in the lobby of our hotel in the mornings and split off depending on which area of the city people would like to explore. We walked around the city with the representative for Hand Picked Selections for the state of New York today. During our walk we stumbled upon a very wealthy residential area, and stopped at a cafe for lunch. We were completely ignored by the waitstaff, taking over 30 minutes to get three out of four of our drinks, and never even receiving a menu to order food from. So needless to say we ended up leaving after our Chablis and Heineken's.

At the end of our days our group gathers again in the hotel lobby, each with a bottle of wine to share while we discuss our day and our plans for dinner.

Tonight we went to another restaurant in the area, Sébillon. The ambiance was very classic, and although I felt underdressed when we first walked in to the empty restaurant, by 9 o'clock it was bustling with locals in casual dress. The food was unique and delicious. Bill started with raw oysters from the southwest of France, known to be the finest in the world. They were large and very meaty, with great flavors of mineral and mild saltwater. He had the duck breast for his entree, done with a sweet, red wine reduction sauce.

Patty and I shared appetizers for our meal: we had a crab dish layered with eggplant and red peppers; escargot; raw scallops, sliced thinly and served with lettuce; and smoked salmon balinis with crème fraîche.

For wine we had a Sancerre with our appetizers, and a Côtes du Rhône with our main courses. Patty and I split a dessert of homemade coffee, Californian pistachio, and New Guinean dark chocolate ice creams.

Tomorrow we'll contact American Airlines and see what our chances are of flying out sooner than our Saturday reservation. The first American Airline flight from Boston to Paris came in today, bringing back passengers to the U.S.

A family in our group went to the airport to try to make a reservation for a flight home on Air France and were told that there were three seats to New York available, however they didn't have their luggage with them, so only one of them flew home.

We'll keep you updated tomorrow, and who knows - my next post may be from home!

Day 8 - Paris

We're still stuck in France! According to the BBC, we're only three of nearly seven million people who have been affected by the flight restrictions; however, flights are expected to return to normal by Thursday.

Our flight is still scheduled for Saturday, but our hotel is only guaranteed for tonight. FDL's broker for Hand Picked Selections, John Grange took a 10 hour bus ride overnight on a bus shuttle - one of the busses without seats that transfers you to the airports. So he stood on a bus for 10 hours then stopped in Toulouse, and is probably landing in New York sometime soon. He'll then have to rent a car and drive home to Boston.

So that seems to be our only option for now. Someone else in the group drove from France to Barcelona, however his flight out of Barcelona was canceled as well. So we're going to remain in Pairs, and wait until flights start leaving Charles de Gaulle Airport.

But luck has been on our side weather-wise. During Paris' usually rainy season we have had beautiful, sunny weather, so our city exploring has continued.

We explored the Left Bank today, full of shops and cafes along the Seine. We toured the Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris, then enjoyed an Italian feast at Rim Cafe on Rue St Severin.

We continued to walk, passing through St. Germain des Prés and stopping at a cafe behind the Louvre for a cold drink.

We just finished a light dinner of goat cheese salad and some drinks at the cafe across from our hotel.

Tomorrow our group will meet at 9 a.m. to discuss the updates on our hotel and flight situation. We'll keep you all updated tomorrow!

Day 7 - Paris

It took us almost 12 hours to arrive in Paris by bus. We drove North through the Rhone into Burgundy, stopping at Dijon for lunch. We continued on through Chablis and then into Paris. Although the ride was long, we passed through beautiful countryside and terroir.

We had about 30 minutes to freshen up before our champagne dinner with Jean-Laurent. Jean-Laurent's family has owned the vineyard for 1,000 years, and they have been growing champagne grapes for 150 years. They started Estate bottling just after World War II.

It is now day seven of our trip, we were supposed to be flying back to Boston today but because of Iceland's volcanic eruption all flights out of Paris are canceled.

Several people in the group found flights out of France for tomorrow, but some have already been canceled. Patty and Bill went to the airport today and booked us the earliest available flight to Boston, which is for this Saturday.

So we have another week in France - sounds ideal, but the reality is we are not guaranteed our rooms in the hotel. Fortunately we have a place to stay tonight and tomorrow, and in the meantime we will keep contacting the airport to see if more flights are opening up.

But because we had a beautiful, sunny day in Paris today we didn't hesitate to begin sightseeing. We did a lot of walking, passing the Arc de Triomphe, Champs E'Lyse, Louvre, and of course the Eiffel Tower.

We enjoyed a three-course prix fixe dinner at Cafe des Musees. We began with a champagne, then paired our salmon tartar with an Aligoté from Burgundy. Our main course of grilled pork and quinoa was enjoyed with a Côte Rotie, and we finished with a chestnut and chocolate dessert paired with a Sauternes.

So for now we'll continue our blog with our explorations of Paris, and we will keep you posted on our flight status!

Day 5 - Domaine Le Plan Vermeersch and Domaine du Pegau

As many of you may have heard, the volcano eruption in Iceland has canceled flights across Europe. We were supposed to be flying into Paris tomorrow morning, however now we will be taking about an 11 hour bus ride beginning at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. From what I understand if the ash from the volcano enters the engines they will shut down, which is why there is no air traffic over northern Europe right now. Which also means we will be stuck in Paris once we arrive, until the fog has cleared.
So this post will be brief, but our day still went on, and we visited two very nice wineries today: Domaine Le Plan Vermeersch was our first stop. Former organic grocery store owner, race car driver, and now winemaker, Dirk Vermeersch runs the winery with his daughter. They've just built a new, bigger winery, which is still undergoing renovation but when finished will also be the family's home.

The highlight of touring Domaine Le Plan was tasting the wine straight from the barrels. As you can see from the picture, the wine was taken from the barrel with a large baster. We sampled Grenache, Aramon, Carignan, and Syrah.

After the tasting we were treated to a delicious lunch, then sent off to Domaine du Pegau.

The great-grandparents and grandparents of Paul Feraud expanded the original vineyard planted in the 17th century, and then Paul eventually began to grow his own grapes. In 1987, Paul's and his wife's daughter Laurence, finished her wine studies and came back to work with her father. The father-daughter duo are still running the winery today.

The wines at Domaine du Pegau are some of the priciest we have tasted thus far, but also some of the most pleasant we've had this week.

We brought some of their fine wines, such as the Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape 'Cuvee Reservee' and Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape 'cuvee Laurence' with us to Laurence's favorite pizza place for dinner.

Although our spirits were lowered after hearing news about our canceled flights, we had enough wine, food and good company to continue enjoying the moment.

I'm not sure where or when I will have access to internet next, but hopefully I will be able to post from Paris!

Day 4 - Domaine Cabirau, Les Vignerons de la Tautavelloise, Peña, Domaine de l'Edre, and Spanish Wines

Today we headed to the Roussillon region, where had four separate tastings of 60 different wines. We began the day at Domaine Cabirau in the village of Maury. This vineyard is owned by Kravitz himself, purchased in 2007.

Kravitz wanted Grenache, Carignan and Syrah grapes - which he got, and we tasted. We tried three of his Grenache's, one Syrah and Grenache, and a Grenache and Carignan. We then tasted seven other Domaine Cabirau wines, with the 2008 Domaine Cabirau 'Serge & Nicolas' Grenache standing out. The wine is ruby in color with a blueberry and floral nose and a great berry palate. There are good tannins and a pleasant, long finish.

From there we tasted the wines of Les Vignerons de la Tautavelloise. We tasted six of their wines, all of good value, clean and fruity. The 2009 Domaine 3 Vallees CdR Villages Tautavel was our favorite - with a deep ruby color, spice and fruit on the nose, raspberries and blueberries on the palate, and overall well-balanced.

(Tautavel was the site of an archaeological dig in 1971, where the world's oldest hominid remains at the time, were found - dating back 450,000 years.)

We then drove to town of Cases de Peñe, or 'Peña' to the Americans. Their wines ranged from a 2009 Cuvee de Peña Rouge with a blueberry and mint nose, to a Rivesaltes Ambre with a nutty, sherry-like nose and creamy palate.

After our tasting they served us a delicious lunch of pâte, grilled bacon, pork, sausages, cheese, and a dessert bread to finish. Pictured are the winemakers taking some time off to enjoy the meal with us.
From there most of the group headed for about a half-mile mountain hike to see an historic chapel at the peek. The site was an old fortified chateau built by the nephew of the king of Mallorca. It was nice to get out of our bus seats and tasting chairs for a bit of exercise. The view was incredible and the story behind the chapel was rich with history. It was the perfect intermission to our tastings - despite my slight run-in with a cactus!

**Check back for a video tour of the mountain hike and chapel



We then drove a short distance to sample Domaine de l'Edre wines in Vingrau. The very friendly Pascal Dieunidou with his co-worker Jacques Castany (pictured) poured us 10 of their delicious wines.
We particularly enjoyed the 2008 Domaine de l'Edre. There was a cocoa, fruit, spice and mint nose; raspberry and dark berry palate; and overall well-balanced.

(Vingrau is the northernmost village of Roussillon - and a very isolated village at that. In 1990 there were barely 400 inhabitants, but it is growing, reaching nearly 500 today.)

Back at the hotel we had a tasting of Spanish wines. Here are some of the wines we tasted, ranked beginning with our favorite:

*****2007 Puresa Crianza
****NV Miquel Pons Brut Natur
***2009 Gandesa Blanco
**2008 ARCS
*2006 Somdinou Crianza

And of course, I cannot end the post without mentioning our delicious dinner. It's our last night here at Chateau de Lignan so we decided to get a closer look inside the kitchen. Pictured are the staff preparing our dinner for the night: foie gras with strawberries; beef filet with potatoes, mushrooms, and meat juice with honey and onion; and vanilla macaroons.

Overall we were left very impressed by the wines of Roussillon, and by our stay at Chateau de Lignan. Tomorrow we head to Domaine Le Plan Vermeersch and Domaine du Pegau, then to Hotel Ibis Montpellier in anticipation of our early flight to Paris Saturday morning. We should have good internet service so stay tuned to get all the juice.

Day 3 - Commanderie de la Bargemone and Chateau de Lancyre

This morning we drove a few hours to Commanderie de la Bargemone in the town of Saint-Cannat in Provence. The building is over 1,000 years old. Previous owner, Jean-Pierre Rozan was a young teenager living in Natzi-occupied France with his two Socialist parents, both very vocal about being anti-Natzi. One afternoon while having lunch, a group of Natzi soldiers stormed into the Rozan's house with machine guns, as Jean-Pierre sat watching his parents be murdered before his eyes. During the firing, a back window was blown out, which Jean-Pierre escaped to the back woods through. From there he joined the French Resistance, soon making his way to Lieutenant status in one of the platoons which took back Berlin. Jean-Pierre ended up in Provence through business, buying the Commanderie for a place to live. Unfortunately he passed away in 2006, and the winery is now under the ownership of Christian and Marina Garin. However, it should not go unsaid that during his lifetime, Jean-Pierre went from escaping into the woods with just the shirt on his back to being named one of the wealthiest men of the world.

We enjoyed a nice lunch of spinach and olive pizza, egg and anchovy sandwiches, salmon and cheese sandwiches to name a few. We of course sipped on more rosé with our lunch, perfect for the spring season. Provence is rosé country, accounting for 2/3 of production.

**Bargemone (Provence): (New York Times, 6/09) '08 included in Top Rosés of 2009 feature **Featured in The World's Best Values under $25 (Robert Parker, 11/09) "This has long been one of France's most delicious rosés..."
**89 pts (Wine Advocate, 6/09) '08 "Bargemone consistently makes fine rosés...delicious effort...exhibits delicate framboise and strawberry notes as well as fresh, primary flavors."

From the Commanderie we drove about another hour to Chateau de Lancyre in Valflaunes. What makes the Lancyre wines so unique is the extraordinarily elevated vineyard. It rises to about 1,500 feet and is surrounded by an enclave of mountains. According to Kravitz, when considering the overall quality, price, and consistency of the wines, Lancyre "may be the best in the region."
With three reds, one rosé, and one white, they produce about 2,500 cases a year. They're situated in Pic Saint Loup, one of the top three districts in Languedoc, and the best known internationally. What makes Pic Saint Loup the best district in Languedoc lies in the terroir, meaning everything that affects the vineyard:

• soil
• subsoil
• climate
• slope
• exposure

Although all of the wines tasted were exceptional, two stood out: The 2008 Vieilles Vignes had a cherry and berry nose, with a lush fruit palate and was very well-balanced. The 2007 Vieilles Vignes was another of our favorites, with a more intense nose, pleasant fruit palate, and mild tannins and acid.

**The Lancyre (Pic Saint-Loup) was featured in The World's Best Value under $25. Robert Parker, 11/09 referred to it as "one of the finest pinks on the planet..."
**"Very Good, Distinctive" (Food & Wine 2010 Wine Guide) '08 "displays an enticing mix of lavender, rosemary, thyme and raspberry flavors and a lively, refreshing finish."

From there we headed back to the hotel for a tasting of Chateaux Haut Beyzac and des Tourtes wines with Pennsylvania native, Darren Miller. Their winery is located in the small village of Saint-Caprais, about 35 miles northeast of Bordeaux. Darren is married to Emanuelle, who's parents' Philippe and Lise Raguenot bought the winery in 1963.

Their major varietals are Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, but Darren says they are now looking to make more complex wines by bringing in new grapes like Malbec and Petit Verdot, and trying different varieties.

Darren says the average age of a vineyard is between 20 and 25 years, younger than in previous years because of the outlaw on chemicals to protect the vines. Speaking in the future, Darren says the only possible way to solve this problem would be to use genetically modified plants - a highly debated topic and one which Darren thinks France especially, will have a hard time ever accepting. Darren, back center, pictured with distributors and retailers from MA

**Keep your eye out for Darren in the June issue of Wine Spectator and also for his prospective visit to MA in September for an opportunity to purchase his wines.

Dinner after the tasting was again, outstanding. We started with a black rice cooked like risotto with crispy scallops. Our main course was a filet of monk fish served with mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli and corn. For dessert we had a rich tiramisu, all presented as true works of art.

Day 2 - Chateau du Donjon and La Cité de Carcassonne

We arrived this morning at Chateau du Donjon, a 150-acre estate that has been in the Panis-Mialhe family since the 1400s. The chateau was a former outpost for the monks, with an atmosphere that demonstrates the name donjon (derived from the same root as the English word, dungeon).

The winery is rich with history, including the old tanks build by Jean Panis' father, still there today. The medieval city of Carcassonne is made up of clay and limestone slopes and stony terraces. In the neighboring town, there is a popular butcher who sends his meat throughout all of France. We had the honor of eating his delicious, fresh sausage while tasting the Donjon wines.

Now southern France has been known to master in blood sausage, however it seems they are a master in most any sausage. The meat was curled into a spiral and then placed over a fire made from burning vines. Curiosity struck as to whether or not the vines played any role in the flavoring of the sausage, but either way, it was delicious - tucked between a fresh baguette or solo.

Donjon switched to sustainable agriculture about five years ago, and continues to run a very historic winery with modern technology. Jean produced his first vintage in 1996, making his trademark in wines rich in fruit.

We tasted nine of Donjon's wines, all some combination of the Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsaut, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot grapes. Some highlights from the wines tasted were a 2009 Chateau du Donjon Minervois Rose; the 2008 Domaine la Galiniere Carignan; 2008 Domaine la Galiniere Cabernet Sauvignon; 2008 Chateau de Bagnoles Minervois; and the 2007 Le Merlot du Donjon.

The Rose seemed to be the favorite amongst the group today, with the plethora of sunshine and sausage to accompany. There was a pleasant floral and fruit nose and a strawberry palate.

After a wonderful lunch at Donjon we headed to the cité, or walled city. This medieval castle was finished in about 1300 A.D. and according to Kravitz, has been untouched since about 1400 A.D. Quite the tourist attraction for even French locals, this beautiful city has an outstandingly well-preserved castle, and quaint cobblestone streets and boutique shops.
*(If you ever make it here be sure to stop in to L'Art Gourmand Artisan Chocolatier!)

Although we did get a quick half-hour to check out the city, our focus was on tasting wines from Jeff Carrel. We tasted 15 of his wines, with many standing out such as the 2009 Clos du Cantons des Ormeaux Pomerol. This wine is 97% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. It's a deep ruby in color, with fruit qualities, especially cherries and raspberries, which show up on the palate. There are good tannins, balanced acid, and a long, lingering finish.

The 2009 Puydeval was also very good, deep in color with a ripe dark fruit nose. There was a blackberry and dark berry rich palate.

The cité was located just about an hour from the hotel, which we headed back to for a tasting of some Domaines Malavieille and Pech de Lune wines, followed by another gourmet dinner. Again, the favorites seemed to be the Rose's: 2009 Cuvee Charmille Rose, 2009 Provence Rose, and 2009 Provence Rose 'Cuvee Amadeus.' We enjoyed these among others (many of which were produced from organically grown grapes) over a three-course meal at the hotel's restaurant.

The first-course was goat cheese toast, apple and fig compote, meurette sauce and mesclun salad. Second-course was a perfectly-cooked magret of duck with honey, crispy polenta and asparagus. Dessert was a strawberry soup with caramelized mango and menthe emulsion.

Full and tired - again! Tomorrow we have an early start to Saint-Cannat, so stay tuned to get all the juice.

Day 1 - Chateau Massamier La Mignarde and Savoy Wines

Today was our first day in France, and we hit the country tasting. After about 11 hours of flying, layovers, and bus rides we made it to our hotel, Chateau de Lignon.

(Photos to come - we arrived in light rain, unfortunately!) We had one hour to freshen up then we were off to Chateau Massamier la Mignarde.

According to our host and guide Dan Kravitz, the chateau was an old Roman villa, and has been housing residents since 200 B.C.

To the right is a picture of the winery's dog, Pasha, in front of the villa.

We tasted 13 wines with the owner Frantz Vènes, who is shown in the pictures bringing out fresh salami and prosciutto for us to snack on while tasting.

Here's a list of what we tasted and what we think is worth you tasting:

1. 2009 Cuvee des Amandiers Blanc:
This light and fruity white resembles a Sauvignon Blanc

2. 2009 Cuvee des Amandiers Rose:
Apple and floral nose, very pleasant and flavorful

3. 2009 Cuvee des Oliviers Rose:
This is a slightly upscale version of the Amandiers Rose, and is an estate wine. It breaks down to being 80% Cinsaut, 10% Grenache and 10% Syrah

4. 2008 Cuvee des Amandiers Rouge:
Wood and berry nose, with a light palate

5. 2007 Mourrel Azurat Fitou:
This wine gets its name from the Catalon words for blue mountain. Fitou is known as the "schizophrenic Appalachian" as Kravitz said. Half of Fitou falls on the Mediterranean coast, then about 20 miles inland it becomes another piece of land, and about 20 miles more inland it becomes Fitou again.

6. 2007 Chateau Massamier Minervois Tradition Rouge:
'07 is known to be a good vintage for this region of France, and the Tradition is a fine example with wood and fruit nose, and black fruits on the palate

7. 2007 Chateau massamier Minervois Cuvee Aubin:
This is an upscale oak age Minervois. There's very small barrel aging, and Massamier uses all concrete tanks. The breakdown is 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and 25% Carignan

8. 2008 Domaine Massamier 'Expression' Carignan:
Frantz's grandfather first planted these grapes in 1947/1948 just after World War II. It's 100% press wine, the result of whole cluster fermentation. They bottle this wine very young, sometime between January and March. We actually tasted the '08 because they did not make enough for an '09 vintage.

9. 2007 Chateau massamier La Liviniere 'Domus Maximus':
Perhaps the crowd favorite, this wine has been awarded the prestigious titles of 'Best red in Southern France,' 'Best French Wine,' and 'Best Syrah/Grenache in the World.' It's 80% Syrah, 20% Grenache and retails at about $59 a bottle.

10. 2007 Chateau Massamier La Liviniere 'Tenement de Garouilhas':
This was a wine of Frantz's dreams, literally. He came up with the idea and produced the first vintage in 2001. 'Tenament de Garouilhas' translates into "the place of Garouilhas," which is the vineyard. It's 60% Syrah, 20% Grenache, and 20% Carignan.
Frantz says he tries to put Grenache with Syrah whenever possible. This wine requires them to put the pressed juice inside the berries, and undergo carbonic maceration before it finishes in oak barrels.

11. 2008 Chateau Massamier Minervois Tradition Blanc:
Gold in color with an apple nose, and tart, tropical fruits on the palate

12. 2009 Chateau Massamier Minervois Tradition Rose:
Concentrated fruit, and an overall pleasant and fresh wine

13. 2008 Cuvee des Oliviers Rouge:
Chateau Massamier la Mignarde claims to be the first to combine the Cabernet and Sauvignon grapes in the Languedoc region.

After staying longer than expecting we headed back on the bus for the hotel. We met with two young owners of Les Rocailles, Savoie. A brief overview of what we tasted, ranked from our favorite on:

**********Brut des Rocailles
*********2008 Chignin - Bergeron
********2008 Roussette
*******2009 Apremont (most popular wine)
******2009 Gamay Rose
*****Caprice des Rocailles
****2008 Mondeuse Arbin
***2009 Pinot Noir
**2009 Mondeuse
*Quintessence des Rocailles

All of these wines except for the Apremont are hand harvested. Some, but not all of the Apremont is.

It was finally time for dinner, which we enjoyed lavishly at the restaurant. Surrounded my modern artwork, the presentation on the plate followed suit. Our first course was,

Dome de volaille au coeur de foie gras, Tremeuss de carottes au curcuma et sauce morille
Foie gras enclosed by chicken, and drizzled with a mushroom sauce

The second course was,

Lave de maigre juste poele, Exrasee de pomme de terre charlotte, Herbe et pignons, Creme de radis au raifort, Et jus de viande auss capres
A white fish with potatoes and sour cream, with a carrot puree

We had an option of fresh cheeses or dessert for the third course, both delicious. The dessert,

Entremet cremeuss passion, Mousse framboise et sorbet escotique
Passion fruit cake with raspberry mousse and citrus sorbet

Needless to say we're very full, and very tired - but nonetheless fascinated by southern France's vast countryland, and abundant wines. See you tomorrow!