By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

Wine and travel. Great idea. But where’s the link?
There are lots of them once you think about it. Corine Aujogues, Director of wine tourism at the Cave de Rasteau winery just up the road from Sablet, points out that travellers and winemakers share a profound love of the planet. She also believes that wine and travel symbolise our need for balance between freedom and attachment. The earth-bound vigneron may dream of wandering through the steppes or forests, but what could be more liberating than feeling the breeze against your face as you prune the vines?

Me, Corine, Cave director Martine Boulard, Cave président, Jean-Claude Paolucci and staff member Valérie Roman

Following the success of the inaugural event last year, Corine is organising a 2nd Meeting of travel writers at the Cave de Rasteau on Sunday April 18th. At 4 PM, I will be “animating” a round table of six travel writers who will discuss their adventures and the links they forged, often over a glass of wine, with the people they met on the way.  Read More »

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

And this was supposed to be the south of France.
You know the idea: long balmy days, cicadas calling, sipping rosé on the terrace…
It is 9AM, and still only minus 6 degrees. For days now, the daytime temperatures have barely reached zero.
A bucket of water I left outside last night was solid this morning.
Here are the Dentelles de Montmirail, taken a few minutes ago. Brrr!

The vignerons say that a cold snap in winter is like fertiliser for the vines. Well, this year should be a bumper harvest, then. Speaking of which, I’d better get out there and start sipping some more of those 2009 whites. Many are still in their barrels, unassembled at the moment. Grand wines indeed!

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

DIRK VERMEERSCH used to drive racing cars professionally, screeching around corners and burning rubber.

In many ways he still does.

I caught up with Dirk and his wife Ann at Millésime Bio salon in Montpellier. They now run a winery called LE PLAN at Suze-la-Rousse north of Avignon. The chequered flag on his stand and bottle labels must have caught my eye. On his label it claims that his wines are “Powered by Nature – Handmade in France”. Read More »

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

Months after my Solex finished its journey from Chablis to Sablet* I am still writing up the final version of the book which will elucidate for all time the notion of terroir. Or not. While I was writing up a section on Beaujolais yesterday, I was struck by yet another example of the difficulty of marketing French wine internationally…

This next passage follows a wonderful visit to the Domaine J.-A. Ferret at Fuissé. Read More »

By LINCOLN SILIAKUS

The snow storms that jammed freeways in northern France have moved down to the South.
It has snowed all night in Sablet, and continues.

The wind has just picked up a minute ago. If it turns into a mistral, the sky will turn blue and the snow will pile up in drifts. This is what the locals fear most, as the roads turn into skating rinks and their cars end up in ditches.
In any event, the wood stove is working nicely and I’m not moving today.
If the old adage is true that a good freeze in winter is the best fertilizer for the vines, we are in for another good year this year.

Below left : SABLET village barely visible.  Right : Sablet vines with river Trignon behind (GIGONDAS AOC on the other side of the trees)