I've written previously, and shown photos, of my lovely vigneronne, where we usually buy our wine.
But not only are there wine makers whom we visit, there are also some who actually bring their wares to us.
We do occasionally visit the vineyard owned by the gentleman above; his property was well known for a free-range pot-bellied pig named Maurice (now deceased). However, it's more convenient to top-up at our local village's weekly market, where he turns up every Saturday..
He sells red and pink. Ordinary everyday wine. Delivered from the back of his white van.
My 5 litre 'cubi' of red (in picture) costs me a staggering €7 (£6; the price of one bottle in the UK), and it's 'good'.
Gawd, I'd miss this if I ever had to return to Blighty.
42 comments:
Oh what a wonderful life you lead. Joie de vie in a simple glass of wine.
Sounds like a nice system you've got there! Our local wines are super sweet, because only Muscadine and Scuppernong grapes grow in this climate.
We pay about the same here to fill up our 5 litre plastic container with the neighbour's white
J D Weatherspoon's Chairman voted to leave the EU. He will buy wine from outside Europe he warned Merkel and Juncker recently when they were scaremongering that Europe would only trade with the UK if we join a single market. His statement in Weatherspoon's latest annual report makes good reading and all Remainers should read it. Your local wine producers will be the losers if the Merkel/Juncker threats are to be believed and the UK will thrive.
The non-English are much more sensible about such things.
I can't drink sweet wines (or anything sweet), so I must be living in the right place.
As I keep saying, it's not only the UK that has to make deals with Europe, the EU also have to make deals with the UK, and I think May (and Weatherspoon's) should be very tough indeed!
p.s. Our local producers are very small, and only supply the immediate area. It's the big growers of the south who would suffer, and their wine is shit anyway.
Couldn't we just forget Brexit and UK versus EU just for once? This post was a pleasant one extolling the virtues of local wines. Why does Rachel always have to bring Brexit into everything? She has no more idea than the UK government what's going to happen.
Actually Coppa that is not true. I dont bring it into everything. I agree no one knows. CRO's wine man just made me think of Weatherspoon's annual report.
Coppa, most bog posts are just kicking off points for further discussion. I have seen certain blogs where not a single comment concerned the original subject matter. All comments are welcome here.
'blog' posts.
I don't remember seeing this guy at the market. Is he there all year?
We used to buy our table wine from an old farmer who has now passed away. Then we tried another farmer but there was too much tannin in his wine. We buy it at the wine cellars now at €12 for 10 litre - they will not fill up less than 5 litres.
Greetings Maria x
Sorry, I meant, they will not fill up less than 10 litres.
X
I think so. He's from the Chateau de Calassou. Quite nice wine.
I usually buy 10 litres at a time, but yesterday I just needed 5. Yours sounds about the same price as ours.
I like this comment Cro, (your's comment).Why people are telling Rachel what she must say??
Wine passes me by I am afraid Cro - rarely drink anything. Sorry. Now cheese (and particularly french cheese - now that's a different matter.
I think most taverns use to brew their own ales in Blighty. I wish I could buy some home brewed ales.
We have plenty of those for you Weave; not all good however.
Aren't those small brewers having a resurgence? I keep seeing programmes about pubs that brew their own beer. I've also seen things about small London Gin distillers.
I'm envious. Nothing like that here in the States. I experienced something similar when visiting a friend in Spain once. We went to the winemaker's house and he filled our plastic jugs with a hose running out of his tanks. Inexpensive and good.
That's how they do it here; like filling up with petrol. The wine isn't Pétrus, but it's very drinkable.
Is this what is known as 'drink driving'? (sorry)
No, it's White Vin Man.
My husband joined a wine making club a little over a year ago. We have to wait another year to drink it. I have tasted some from a previous batch, and was not impressed. However, taste buds dissipate with age, so I am hoping I will enjoy his work.
It is always good to buy local and support your neighbors.
Does your vin man every run out of supplies? Or like many things in life, does supply and demand somehow just sort itself out...the 5 litres you didn't buy fill another patron's jug.
Best wishes.
Whoohay!
White vin man, as it were. Never move to Canada, dear Cro, where the cheapest rot-gut is six pounds and a potable bottle is around ten...lovely country otherwise...
I knew you'd like it.
Does he make the wine from home grown grapes? I once made beer at home, but I just filled a bag with water.
I've no idea, I always go early so the supply is plentiful.
That's much the same as in England, which is probably why I never go there..
Yes they are, and having bemoaned the state of wine in Canada I must record the success of an enormous number of "micro-breweries"; the island on which we live has produced two, and I know of two other guys who produce excellent beers locally. I suspect (from a distance) that the process of brewing beer is rather more complex than wine.
apologies for repeating your white vin man comment, I see great minds, etc...
Looks a good way to buy it. Round here you can take your own containers and buy cider in much the same way. I used to do it but haven't in ages. I must do it again soon.
I used to go to a place near Evesham to fill-up with cider, it was en route from our Sussex home to our Shropshire cottage. It was a wonderful farm that also made fruit wines.
This wouldn't happen in France, butI wonder if some of these club wines are made from kits? At one time you could buy the basics then spend time filtering, checking temperatures etc.. and waiting for it to mature. It was very popular in the UK years ago, but no idea if it still is. Some of it was drinkable but some of it was absolute rot gut !
Let us hope you do not have to move back.
cheers, parsnip
There are other things I'd miss, of course. But some we take for granted.
The visit to the local cave was one of the joys of life in France I have to admit.
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