So Here's Our Vacation Blog...

How many times can I say “another beautiful day!”?  Not enough, evidently.  We stopped along the promenade for an “American” breakfast: a cup of coffee, a glass of orange juice with ice cubes (?!) and a basket of croissants and baguettes.  No bran flakes here!  Drove down the coast, stopping to enjoy the scenery and take some photos, then through Port Vendres and a little farther to Les Clos de Paulilles  to taste some wine and have lunch.  This winery was started in the year 1800, and we’ve been fortunate enough to have had their wine at home, because our dear friend Elie carries it in his wine shop (shameless plug - http://www.eliewine.com)  The winery is sort of famous for their logo...

Which came from the main barn where they do all the work of mashing and fermenting the grapes.

They were recently absorbed by another winery and are going upscale, which in this case is a good thing, because it means their original wines stay the same or get better by going back to old-fashioned growing and harvesting methods, but in addition they now have a beautiful caveau de degustation (wine tasting room) and restaurant.

Romanne (pronounced Ggggrrro MAN - she helped us pronounce it correctly because she knew Americans can’t say the Ggggrrr sound.  On the other hand, she said the wine was fermented in ‘wook’, which I asked her to repeat four times before I realized she was saying OAK!) let us try various types and informed us of the property, wines, etc., very helpful - and photogenic!

Marge seemed to enjoy her tapas for lunch, probably because it as washed down with a nice rose (yet again...why is that?).

Then down the coast a bit farther and enjoyed the rugged coastline, where people hiked to every out of the way beach they could find and swim in the Mediterranean.  Yes, those dots in the water are swimmers.

In Banyuls, where we tried wines at Domaine Tambor.  An out of the way place, and we can’t get their wines in the USA, but we wanted to stop here because the winery was started in 1920, grows all their own grapes on site, and manages the production, so it’s a genuine all-in-one operation.  More importantly, it’s been family owned from day one, and is now run by a young woman (fifthe generation vintner) named Clementine Herre.  Unfortunately we didn’t get to meet her, but she’s doing a great job, because the wines are very nice.  Our host Guillame couldn’t speak a word of English, but was happy to pour for us.  After returning home we have to see if we can import some of this very nice wine.

Our last stop of the day was right here in Collioure, Domaine la Tour Vieille.  When we pulled up they looked closed, but an older gentleman came out and asked if he could assist us.  Turns out this was Vincent, who (against his father’s wishes) started the winery in 1982.  He was very (VERY!) hospitable! 

We wound up spending over an hour walking through the entire procedure, as they were in the middle of transferring mid-process juice from one fermenting tank to another.  Vincent dipped a wine glass in the partially fermented juice and let us taste it as he does to make sure evrything is going according to plan.  We approved.

No matter how many questions I asked about the way the equipment was constructed or how it operated, he was very kind in giving us a detailed description.  Vincent’s assistant, Francois, was busy swapping hoses and nozzles, scraping out the tanks, and following the boss’s orders as he learned the trade.  We watched them take samples and measure density, log it in a book, to make sure the yeast was fermenting properly.  More technical than I ever thought.

It’s all experience, by the way, Vincent never went to college for a wine-making degree, just learned from others and on-the job.  It paid off, because his wines are delicious!  Thanks, Kathy & Dave, for pointing us in his direction!  And thanks to Vincent, who was so happy we came by that he gave us a bottle as a gift to take with us!

So tonight we’re going to wander through town to find another fabulous restaurant, then make plans for tomorrow - Ceret and its Museum of Modern Art.  Make sure to come back for this one, because it will be special.