If you look into Space you can see the stars.
This is Ken and his friend from grad-school days, Bob, entering the tasting room of a local wine cooperative. The tasting room is called l'Espace. Space. The entrance is this rather dramatic opening in the cliff face.
Bob, Norma, Ken, and I had a great time tasting a variety of their wines, including some sparklers. We even took some of them home with us.
Hailing frequencies are open. Beam me up, Scotty!
Good luck with the quest to drink where no one has drunk before. Don't fancy your chances though.
ReplyDeleteWinter is definitely on its way now - the wind is increasing and it's cold.
susan, that's why I wrote "what" instead of "where." But you made me think of an even better line, so I changed it!
ReplyDeleteLOL! There can never be too much wine tasting :-)
ReplyDeleteNow that looks like my kind of place.
ReplyDeleteMark
It was some twenty or so years ago that we came across one of our most exciting red wine experiences, tasting the Oberlin grape at two separate vineyards North of Saint-Aignan.
ReplyDeleteFrowned on by the authorities, it is referred to in Jacqueline Friedrich's superb book on Food and Wine in the Loire (now being updated).
Most people in the wine business will deny that it even exists, although I believe it to be in fact the Cesar grape used (legally) sometimes as a constituent of red Chablis, from Irancy for example.
I would be fascinated if you were able to track some down: rich and opulent and capable of a few years' ageing, it is likely I guess to be still grown a a "hobby", so if the grower could be persuaded to part with a few bottles it should not be silly money.
The more rustic of the two bottlers we visited sold his last 24 bottles to members of a local rugby club before our very eyes, after tasting most elegantly in the traditional tastevins.
That's cool.
ReplyDeleteThat cave looks strangely familiar....hic...
ReplyDeleteOut of all the things I envy about your life in France, the main one is the access to good wine. ironically, despite my study of wine, I have seldom drank any French wine. here, it is just too expensive; what is exported is outrageously expensive. I wonder if I will actually ever experience good French.
ReplyDeleten&a, agreed!
ReplyDeletemark, there's no disco ball, alas.
inthepink, very interesting! I've not heard of those varietals, but there are others that some of the winemakers mention from time to time. They do refer to them as "illegal" grapes.
starman, co-ops are interesting places to taste and buy wine. They have more resources to dedicate to sales and marketing, I suppose.
jean, hehehe!
michael, back when I lived in California and the US dollar was worth something, the imported French wines were always better bargains than most of the California stuff. Maybe the dollar will regain some of its strength and the prices will even out.
And we didn't even have to wear spacesuits.
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