Sunday lunch in a vineyard

Down a country lane

We were invited by english friends to join them for a lunch at a local vineyard, Domaine de Jolis Bois. Patricia, the vigneron, and her family hold these lunches on weekends through the summer and they begin with a walk through the vines and an introduction to the work of a vigneron. Patricia’s family has been making wine here for a long time and the hamlet is filled with extended family members. That’s about twenty houses.

Vines, vines everywhere

there's always an old church

everyone prepared to earn that lunch...and a drink

 

four year old vines

a new parcel of vines just planted

just planted - a one year old vine covered in red wax

Patricia explains about the planting

explaining that different spacing is required for different grape varieties

grape variety can be identified by the leaf, apparently

no irrigation is permitted so they just have to hope for rain at the right times

After the walk through the vineyard in the hot sun, we were relieved to return along the lane under shady trees and into the barns and cellar.

walking back beneath the trees

This is a small family operation carried on in whatever old farm buildings are available so none of those fancy  purpose-built ateliers and underground cellars full of oak barrels that you usually see on an organised wine tour. The equipment is  well used and the buildings a little creaky looking, but the enthusiasm is there and it shows in the wines.

family heirloom ?

tractor seat wouldn't pass OH&S in Australia

no fancy steel vats here

grape crusher

a corner of the cellar

Patricia is very charming, and while she doesn’t speak english, and our french is still halting, she made us feel very welcome and was curious about Australia and australian food and wines. Her partner , David, is a chef and prepared some wonderful duck on a barbecue over burning vine wood from the old section of vineyard that had been recently uprooted and replanted with new vines.

Graham considering his wine after a hot walk in the vines

  

After the tour we all gathered , 21 of us, under the trees for a tasting and an opportunity to get to know each other. There were five of us in the english group, a half a dozen french locals and what turned out to be a boisterous group from Perigueux.

serious about their lunch

Ahh, that's better !

The word ‘generous’ is an understatement when talking about the wines at lunch. We all sat at one long table and the reds, whites and rosés flowed freely with the salad, the duck with roasted potatoes, and the ice creams, all presented in the style of a typical french family enjoying their Sunday lunch together.

now for the serious stuff - finishing the last of the wine

Particularly popular was the eau de vie. This is a distilled drink ( pure alcohol I should think judging by my one little sip) that is made ‘for home consumption’ and not permitted to be offered for sale. Everyone was given a little shot in our coffee cups and we were shown the correct way to enjoy it – poured over a sugar cube and then swallow the cube whole and always, lick all the excess from your fingers ! The Perigueux group were very enthusiastic about showing us this and after a few the lunch soon degraded into a singalong of french and english drinking songs .   Entente cordiale indeed.

We shall return…

Leslie and John - thank you for the invitation and a wonderful sunday afternoon

Bonne semaine mes amis

San Sebastian – part three – Warning: food porn ahead !

The city of San Sebastian is regarded as one of the most prominent food capitals of Europe and it has the second highest number of Michelin starred restaurants per capita in the world. In fact there are no less than 10 starred restaurants in the area. We had booked a table at Mirador de Ulia for lunch having seen it recommended by an acquaintance on Facebook. Good choice!

View from Mount Ulia

the city and the Pyrenees

The restaurant sits on a headland overlooking the city and it’s beaches. From the Pyrenees to the long northern Spanish coastline, the views are magnificent. With the sun shining it’s hard to beat this setting, and the food and the highly professional and friendly service just made for a perfect afternoon. 

restaurant interior

view from our table

Only read further if you are really into 'foodie' stuff...

course 1 -

 Sweet green pepper, salting anchovy, emulsion of yolk and sphere of olive. Graham's was accompanied by a single oyster with foam, but, as I am allergic to oysters, I was given a bowl of vegetable tempura and I was very pleased with the exchange.

course 2-

Chickpea infusion, belly pork and false gnocchi of foie gras

course 3-

 Prawn and winkle with sea salt

course 4-

 Tear- peas with pear in osmosis and jowl pork yolk. Sorry, I broke the yolk before remembering to take the photo. The peas were tiny and fab flavour.

course 5-

Defoliated artichoke fried in 'pil pil' of pine kernels and extract of black garlic

course 6-

 Crayfish, crispy cow tendon, green wheat yoghurt and red wine

course 7-

 Duck cooked at low temperature, glazed apple, almond praline and pips of sunflower

refreshing sorbet before the desserts

dessert 1-

 Carpaccio of cheese, dry blueberrys, apple foam and cheese ice cream

dessert 2-

 After eight, and milk ice cream

petits fours - sorry but we drank the iced coffee in the test tubes before remembering to take the photo - delicious

Everything looked so beautiful it was a shame to eat it - but we did, and enjoyed every mouthful. We chose a bottle of La Calma 2009 ( chenin blanc) to accompany the meal, a local wine that went down very well. Yes, only one bottle as Graham had to drive us back to France afterward.

It was a memorable way to spend a couple of days and we hope to repeat it again soon.

Bonne semaine mes amis

San Sebastian – part two - Hola !!!!

a little drizzly in the morning, but the local parks still look lovely

Next day a little rain had arrived so we chose to see the town by the sightseeing bus. This proves to be an excellent way to get to understand the different areas of the town and some of the history though not good conditions for taking photos through the rain soaked window. Loved that the Tennis Club was right beside and overlooking the beach - such distracting views for players. Everyone is out walking in the drizzle.

tide coming up the River Urumea

low tide in the river

french style houses along the riverfront

There have been many occupiers over the city’s 800 year existence and you can see the more recent influences in the architecture, especially the french who are so close by.

Cathedral Buen Pastor

The city is very typically Spanish, meaning that it is relaxed while still busy. Most shops here close between 1.30 and 5.00pm for lunch. It is also interesting to see surfers walking through these sophisticated city streets from their homes to the beach in their wetsuits with board tucked under arm. The tide goes out a long way including from the river, but those surfers seem to always be there in the water, waiting.

waiting for a wave in the rain

There are many festivals here during the year including for film , jazz, theatre, opera, and even beach football.

In 2016, San Sebastian will be the European City of Culture. Accordingly there is a long list of events all year round to entice everyone to visit, as if that is necessary. We loved the relaxed, easy going, friendliness of the locals and are looking forward to a return visit.

Now, off to lunch.....see part three

A little drive into Spain – San Sebastian - part one

City, beaches and mountains

After having two weeks with guests, we had a few days to spare and decided to take a little drive with our most recent visiting friends.

Blue, blue sea and sandy beaches

San Sebastian was calling. For those who have been there , need I say more.

The 'old town' and ruined fort

It’s just a little less than a four hour drive, so for Australians, nothing. After an uneventful cruise down the autoroute we arrived on the outskirts to find that our GPS was confusing this San Sebastian with a suburb of Madrid, a 450km drive further south. Jan to the rescue with her trusty phone app and we eventually found the hotel. One thing we have learned over the years, never totally trust ‘madam GPS’.

Spot Jan and Daryl in the crowd

The sun was shining and the beach and old town beckoned. Such a wonderful mix of architectural styles and open boulevards , and then the narrow alleys filled with pintxos bars in the  ‘old town’  and pedestrianised streets with fabulous shopping in the  ‘romantic’ area. As the town centre is flat it’s perfect for walking between beaches, river and seaside headlands.

the headland walk

We had decided to spend Friday night on a bar crawl and check out the pintxos on offer. This weekend featured the San Sebastian Marathon, so lots of extra visitors in town. The lane ways were full of people eating and drinking outdoors and noisily enjoying themselves, young children and dogs included. The occasional street musical performance added to the party atmosphere. We tried a number of versions of sangria  ( in the name of research, of course), and quite a lot of interesting looking 'finger food' eventually finishing at a bar near our hotel for that last glass of local wine. The most curious dish we found was a plate of mini hamburgers  coloured 'glow in the dark' electric blue ! You would have to be starving and quite inebriated to try those.

lanes full of pintxos bars

fabulous architecture

 And then a good night's sleep in preparation for another day exploring.

On to part two.....