Monday, October 07, 2013

The wine cellar is open

That's what this sign means. We saw it recently at a winery we visited on the Loire near the town of Amboise. The young couple that grow the grapes and make and sell their wine were very nice and we bought a bunch of bottles after our tasting.

Unassuming signs leaned up against a wall.

The winery is one of many located in a small town called Limeray. They do the standard Touraine wines made from the gamay, cabernet, côt, sauvingon blanc, and chenin varietals. On the other side of town is a cooperative cellar where many growers pool their grapes for centralized winemaking. We also stopped in there for a taste and ended up buying a bunch more.

5 comments:

  1. the poster on the right is interesting - carrying the world on one's back. wine fresh from the vineyard must taste so dee-lish!

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  2. I'm assuming that with a casual sign like that the proprietors must have some reasonably-priced wines?

    My daughter had pointed out Le Routard signs when we were touring France. I especially remember several (continuous years) on the window of a small Patisserie in Bonnieux up near the top where the church is located. The baker was very friendly/chatty and I WILL go back for his traditional provençal gâteau one day! It is across the street from the musée de pain which we were headed for, but the pastry and his conversation was more interesting.

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  3. I've been a wine student for many years now, but what's missing is French wine. Here, in the States, French wine is seen as too expensive and aloof; why buy a wine for 100s of dollars when a decent bottle is available for a fraction? Also, we tend to think of wine based on the grape type; and French wines usually don't label their types. So this leaves me without French wine and I am eager to try some. I think if I had local wines rather than the 'big names' I would fine them delightful and affordable. Alas, they don't seem available here.

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  4. anne marie, especially when you've seen the whole process, including the grapes growing out your back gate!

    mary, most wines are reasonably priced in our region. Any wine over the equivalent of $5 a bottle is a bit pricey, except maybe for bubbly.

    starman, I thought so!

    michael, that's too bad. When I lived in California in the 80s and 90s, before the dollar crashed, French wines were much less expensive than our local California wine.

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