Put a cork in it

Or not. These are bottles of sparkling wine that are fermenting at the Monmousseau wine caves near Montrichard (about twenty minutes from us). They're not corked yet, but closed with bottle caps. Once the fermentation is done, the bottles are riddled to move the sediments down to the neck. The sediments are then removed and the cork and capsule are put on.

Wine made from chenin blanc grapes becoming bubbly.

We took the tour of the caves and bottling plant yesterday with Peter and Jill. There was a French couple on the tour with us, so we were six all together. The guide did the tour both in English and in French. She was very good, friendly, and informative. We had a nice taste after the tour and bought a bunch of bottles.

Merlan filets with seared vegetables and a sprig of mint from our garden.

After that, we stopped in town at a bakery, a charcuterie, and a grocery store. Then it was home for a light lunch of boudin noir (blood sausages) cooked on the grill and a salad of leeks in vinaigrette. For dinner, Peter made a fish dish with merlan filets served on pan-seared vegetables (pepper, zucchini, eggplant, and red onion). We washed it all down with bottles of still and sparkling wines from Monmousseau.