Le France - Wino road trip
After the perils of Paris, we escaped deeper into the French countryside. Trying to find the soul buried deep inside the French psyche. Or to just drink buckets of otherwise exhorbitant Frog wine. Being quite Singaporean, we managed to tackle 4 different cities over 4 short days.
We started with a tasting lunch at Domaine Olivier Leflaive at Puligny Montrachet. The locals there are a lot more approachable and friendly. We were greated by Madame Laflaive.
The lunch itself was sheer pleasure. 15 different bottles of ambrosia. Was already blown away with the first bottle of Chablis. How could it get any better?
We stopped that night at Beaune in Cote d'Or (EDIT: Golden side of the hill... French sounds so much nicer methinks) in Burgundy.
Fields of gold more like it. Maths puzzle. All the grapes in two of the vines below goes into a single bottle of Burgundy.
Each bottle of wine from this vineyard bearing the name Romanee Conti here is at least US$500+.
Oui, you're looking at some seriously expensive grapes here.
I didn't sleep very well that night in Beaune thinking of all the good stuff sleeping in the old catacombs under the village. (EDIT: No other reason why...)
Next on our list. Alsace. My first love. My first French wine. A pungent Hugel Gerwutztraminer that absolutely exploded with roses, lychees and all sorts of exotic fruits. Ironic that there weren't any in this region. With medieval villages amidst lush vines and towering castles floating in the clouds, Alsace was as pretty as a postcard.
We stopped at Riquewihr for dinner after an exhausting day of wines. This village was a time warp back into the Middle Ages with pretty paved streets and thatched yellow cottages full of jaded peasants smiling for the wine-hungry tourists.
The food in Alsace is very me. Dinner that night was French chicken cooked with Riesling wine with German spätzle. Very creamy and yummy.
Another local delicacy is the flammekuche or tarte flambée otherwise known as Alsatian pizza done on a thin pizza crust with cheese, cream or egg with bacon, mushrooms and onions. Delish... gobbled mine up before I could take a shot.
Exhausted after tasting all that wine, we took a non-alcoholic detour into Germany towards the lovely spa town of Baden-Baden.
Cameras were forbidden in the Friedrichsbad Roman-Irish Bath where traditionally men and women enjoyed common baths in the nude. Nothing sordid about the experience. I spent 3 hours admiring the... murals. No one impressive tho with the cold water (by Japanese hot springs standards). It was a lovely way to spend a frosty German afternoon.
After having all traces of alcohol purged by the soothing spring waters, we proceeded to indulge in greasy but yummy German food. Our excuse? The beer gardens here in Germany are really in a garden!!!!
On our way back into France, the French skies decided to put on a dramatic lightshow.
We stopped at Verdun to find the nearest McDonalds. It is hard to imagine that more than 80 years ago, a quarter of a million people gave up their lives over this pristine little border town.
After the tragedies of World War I, this full scale cast of Rodin's La Défense was commissioned to commemorate the glorious dead.
Feeling parched after long hours at the wheel, we stopped at Rheims where we had an appointment to tour the legendary cellars of our favourite champagne house; Veuve Clicquot.
And then here she is. La Grande Dame 1998 herself. Aging gracefully after 9 years, this beauty has a breathtaking perfume nose and exploding in the mouth with ripe apricot and honey. You certainly don't drink this every day.
It was one good wino weekend. Total damage - 19 bottles and some fantastic memories.
We started with a tasting lunch at Domaine Olivier Leflaive at Puligny Montrachet. The locals there are a lot more approachable and friendly. We were greated by Madame Laflaive.
The lunch itself was sheer pleasure. 15 different bottles of ambrosia. Was already blown away with the first bottle of Chablis. How could it get any better?
We stopped that night at Beaune in Cote d'Or (EDIT: Golden side of the hill... French sounds so much nicer methinks) in Burgundy.
Fields of gold more like it. Maths puzzle. All the grapes in two of the vines below goes into a single bottle of Burgundy.
Each bottle of wine from this vineyard bearing the name Romanee Conti here is at least US$500+.
Oui, you're looking at some seriously expensive grapes here.
I didn't sleep very well that night in Beaune thinking of all the good stuff sleeping in the old catacombs under the village. (EDIT: No other reason why...)
Next on our list. Alsace. My first love. My first French wine. A pungent Hugel Gerwutztraminer that absolutely exploded with roses, lychees and all sorts of exotic fruits. Ironic that there weren't any in this region. With medieval villages amidst lush vines and towering castles floating in the clouds, Alsace was as pretty as a postcard.
We stopped at Riquewihr for dinner after an exhausting day of wines. This village was a time warp back into the Middle Ages with pretty paved streets and thatched yellow cottages full of jaded peasants smiling for the wine-hungry tourists.
The food in Alsace is very me. Dinner that night was French chicken cooked with Riesling wine with German spätzle. Very creamy and yummy.
Another local delicacy is the flammekuche or tarte flambée otherwise known as Alsatian pizza done on a thin pizza crust with cheese, cream or egg with bacon, mushrooms and onions. Delish... gobbled mine up before I could take a shot.
Exhausted after tasting all that wine, we took a non-alcoholic detour into Germany towards the lovely spa town of Baden-Baden.
Cameras were forbidden in the Friedrichsbad Roman-Irish Bath where traditionally men and women enjoyed common baths in the nude. Nothing sordid about the experience. I spent 3 hours admiring the... murals. No one impressive tho with the cold water (by Japanese hot springs standards). It was a lovely way to spend a frosty German afternoon.
After having all traces of alcohol purged by the soothing spring waters, we proceeded to indulge in greasy but yummy German food. Our excuse? The beer gardens here in Germany are really in a garden!!!!
On our way back into France, the French skies decided to put on a dramatic lightshow.
We stopped at Verdun to find the nearest McDonalds. It is hard to imagine that more than 80 years ago, a quarter of a million people gave up their lives over this pristine little border town.
After the tragedies of World War I, this full scale cast of Rodin's La Défense was commissioned to commemorate the glorious dead.
At Verdun even the pretence of rationality failed. The slaughter was so hideous that even a trench system could not survive. In the town, tourists inspect the memorials. One monument shows French soldiers forming a human wall of comradeship against the enemy. In another, France is personified as a medieval knight; resting on a sword, he dominates a steep flight of steps built into the old ramparts. There is another view of reality. Near the railway station, Rodin's statue shows a winged Victory as neither calm nor triumphant, but demented by rage and horror. Her legs are tangled in a dead soldier and she shrieks for survival.
– Donald Horne, The Great Museum
Feeling parched after long hours at the wheel, we stopped at Rheims where we had an appointment to tour the legendary cellars of our favourite champagne house; Veuve Clicquot.
And then here she is. La Grande Dame 1998 herself. Aging gracefully after 9 years, this beauty has a breathtaking perfume nose and exploding in the mouth with ripe apricot and honey. You certainly don't drink this every day.
It was one good wino weekend. Total damage - 19 bottles and some fantastic memories.
posted by Colin at 9:35 AM
1 Comments:
Sure does look like you had a great time :-) We will be in France in September and you're pics had made me more excited about going !
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