I plan to publish this meme every Thursday. You can share here about any book or anything cultural you just discovered related to France, Paris, etc. Please spread the news on Twitter, Facebook, etc! Feel free to grab my button, and link your own post through Mister Linky, at the bottom of this post. Some time ago, I wrote a post on bread and cheese in Paris.
Today, following the inspiration of Jeanie at The Marmelade Gypsy , here is a post on wines and vineyards in France. This is absolutely not an exhaustive post on the topic, can even such a thing exist?? I grew up both in Champagne and Burgundy, so it was great revisiting both regions, and adding a third one famous for its good wines as well. In the Champagne region, you drink Champagne at basically any festive opportunity, a birthday for instance, or reconnecting with old friends, just as we did this last spring.
Even as a child, younger than 10, I remember frequently drinking a bit of Champagne. General view of the city, with vineyards in the background, taken from the top of the tower — see below. Some caves are so long you visit them on a little train.
We chose a smaller cave, only 5. The Castellane building is classified as historical monument. De Castellane is known as one of the oldest families in France; its origins date back to the tenth century with the Counts of Provence and Arles. The guided tour was fascinating, with the explanation of the whole process necessary to make Champagne — a long and difficult process, explaining why the end product is not cheap!
A wine press Inside the cave. There was also a fascinating museum, and you have a nice view of the city, see the second picture above, from the top of the tower. The capital city of the Burgundy region is my beloved city of Dijon. In addition, careful attention is applied in blending mature marcs according to their origin and age.
