The Writing on our Wall
We’re still fiddling with how we look post re-furb, but we are getting
closer to exactly how we want it; slowly...
I will be making curtains
once the curtain rails are up and the newly upholstered sofa is due back
any day now. It took quite a bashing from sticky little fingers in the
former snug, bless it , and was in dire need of some attention. We
are also getting more and more pictures from our Green & Blue album
up on the wall, some of which have their own little stories attached.
The cellar of Pierre Breton
This is one of the most magical cellars in the world. The approach is down a lane through a small copse of trees in the middle of some vineyards. An even smaller path veers off to the right and at the end of that, partially concealed behind some foliage , is a door which leads away from the daylight and into another world. This cellar is carved out of the rock and the floor is soft sand, muffling sound. In the small ante chamber is an ancient looking wooden table and then through another low doorway is the cellar proper where barrels of Cabernet Franc quietly make flavours. Flavours of fruit and stone. We wanted to stay here forever.
Tyson
This is our beloved Thandisizwe Meyi, winner of our Green & Blue Scholarship, who spent a year with us in 2009 learning all about the world of wine. Tyson (as he is commonly known) is now back in South Africa, working in the wine tasting centre at the Spier Estate just outside Stellenbosch and we continue to try to get another young person over so that we can give them the same experience. The change in visa regulations since 2009 has meant that so far, this has proved impossible but we are still trying.
Casot de Mailloles Vineyard
It was absolutely freezing the day we visited this vineyard but we didn’t mind. This is where one of our favourite wines in the world is born and we were with the wine maker – Alain Castex of Casot de Maiolloles, so the icy wind was as nothing. These vineyards are a bastard to work. The vines are low to the ground which is often at a steep angle. Alain works this land with his lovely wife Ghislaine and together, they coax vital, magical flavours from the earth. He picked some wild herbs and crushed them between his fingers for us to smell. This, he said, was the soul of his wine. This land, the vines and the plants that grow around them.
Paris shoes
Sept 1st 2010, Green & Blue went to Paris. Partly for fun, partly to visit natural wine bars and get inspired. We were more than a little hampered in this by bizarre opening hours, a general Gaillac reluctance to engage in anything approaching customer service and eventually, a level of inebriation which meant a certain loss of focus. It was a great day. Without prior consultation with each other, Amit, Emily and Rebecca had all opted for red shoes and this picture was taken on a Paris pavement, just outside Gare du Nore. It perfectly summed up the day.
Tasting in the cellar at Roagna
Barberesco, October 2009. We had just spent some time in the vineyards with Luca Roagna and his fantastically gnarled old vines. We then descended to the cellar for a tasting. Conditions were less than ideal. Temperatures were sub zero; 6 of us were crammed into a relatively tiny space and the light was on a timer which meant that we were periodically plunged into pitch black whereupon Luca would have to scuttle off to turn it on again. None of this mattered. The wines, from barrel and bottle, were sublime. Sinewy, fine grained tannins and layer upon layer of zesty fruit, old spice and dried flower complexity. I couldn’t feel my toes and I couldn’t talk – not because my tongue had frozen but because what was in my mouth was truly sublime. We were all entranced and we still are, every time we drink one of his bottles.
Kate at the Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek, Lebanon
This is at one of the most complete Roman temples in the world, in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. We visited on a Saturday morning and; despite the fact that Baalbek is famous for these majestic ruins; our group was the only one there. An extraordinary privilege. This temple is generally attributed to the God Bacchus but no-one knows for sure. We do know that the presiding curates at the ceremonies celebrating the wonder (and unbridled hedonism) of wine were women which seems entirely appropriate to us. Looking down from this platform at the far end of the incredible space which was several stories high, I could easily imagine conducting a vast crowd in the worship of wine. That would be some party.
Il Paradiso di Manfredi
Flavio and his mother-in-law, Fortunata at Il Paradiso di Manfredi, just outside the town of Montalcino. Here, they make our all time favourite Brunello from grapes which they grow biodynamically on their 3 hectares. Anyone sceptical of the veracity of Biodynamic farming should visit this place. It positively throbs with healthy, positive energy. Life thrives. Vines, olive trees, roses, tomato and other vegetable plants and a small herd of ridiculously active cats and kittens chasing each other up and down trees and through the vineyard. The tiny winery holds large botti full of the wines and we sat around a table in their front room, tasting various vintages with local ham and cheese. In the decanters, the wines changed constantly. All of the vitality outside was in our glasses and drinking it made us feel ridiculously happy. When we left, everyone in the car was singing. Contrary to what you might think, that doesn’t happen on departure from a winery very often.
The cellar of Pierre Breton
This is one of the most magical cellars in the world. The approach is down a lane through a small copse of trees in the middle of some vineyards. An even smaller path veers off to the right and at the end of that, partially concealed behind some foliage , is a door which leads away from the daylight and into another world. This cellar is carved out of the rock and the floor is soft sand, muffling sound. In the small ante chamber is an ancient looking wooden table and then through another low doorway is the cellar proper where barrels of Cabernet Franc quietly make flavours. Flavours of fruit and stone. We wanted to stay here forever.
Tyson
This is our beloved Thandisizwe Meyi, winner of our Green & Blue Scholarship, who spent a year with us in 2009 learning all about the world of wine. Tyson (as he is commonly known) is now back in South Africa, working in the wine tasting centre at the Spier Estate just outside Stellenbosch and we continue to try to get another young person over so that we can give them the same experience. The change in visa regulations since 2009 has meant that so far, this has proved impossible but we are still trying.
Casot de Mailloles Vineyard
It was absolutely freezing the day we visited this vineyard but we didn’t mind. This is where one of our favourite wines in the world is born and we were with the wine maker – Alain Castex of Casot de Maiolloles, so the icy wind was as nothing. These vineyards are a bastard to work. The vines are low to the ground which is often at a steep angle. Alain works this land with his lovely wife Ghislaine and together, they coax vital, magical flavours from the earth. He picked some wild herbs and crushed them between his fingers for us to smell. This, he said, was the soul of his wine. This land, the vines and the plants that grow around them.
Paris shoes
Sept 1st 2010, Green & Blue went to Paris. Partly for fun, partly to visit natural wine bars and get inspired. We were more than a little hampered in this by bizarre opening hours, a general Gaillac reluctance to engage in anything approaching customer service and eventually, a level of inebriation which meant a certain loss of focus. It was a great day. Without prior consultation with each other, Amit, Emily and Rebecca had all opted for red shoes and this picture was taken on a Paris pavement, just outside Gare du Nore. It perfectly summed up the day.
Tasting in the cellar at Roagna
Barberesco, October 2009. We had just spent some time in the vineyards with Luca Roagna and his fantastically gnarled old vines. We then descended to the cellar for a tasting. Conditions were less than ideal. Temperatures were sub zero; 6 of us were crammed into a relatively tiny space and the light was on a timer which meant that we were periodically plunged into pitch black whereupon Luca would have to scuttle off to turn it on again. None of this mattered. The wines, from barrel and bottle, were sublime. Sinewy, fine grained tannins and layer upon layer of zesty fruit, old spice and dried flower complexity. I couldn’t feel my toes and I couldn’t talk – not because my tongue had frozen but because what was in my mouth was truly sublime. We were all entranced and we still are, every time we drink one of his bottles.
Kate at the Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek, Lebanon
This is at one of the most complete Roman temples in the world, in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. We visited on a Saturday morning and; despite the fact that Baalbek is famous for these majestic ruins; our group was the only one there. An extraordinary privilege. This temple is generally attributed to the God Bacchus but no-one knows for sure. We do know that the presiding curates at the ceremonies celebrating the wonder (and unbridled hedonism) of wine were women which seems entirely appropriate to us. Looking down from this platform at the far end of the incredible space which was several stories high, I could easily imagine conducting a vast crowd in the worship of wine. That would be some party.
Il Paradiso di Manfredi
Flavio and his mother-in-law, Fortunata at Il Paradiso di Manfredi, just outside the town of Montalcino. Here, they make our all time favourite Brunello from grapes which they grow biodynamically on their 3 hectares. Anyone sceptical of the veracity of Biodynamic farming should visit this place. It positively throbs with healthy, positive energy. Life thrives. Vines, olive trees, roses, tomato and other vegetable plants and a small herd of ridiculously active cats and kittens chasing each other up and down trees and through the vineyard. The tiny winery holds large botti full of the wines and we sat around a table in their front room, tasting various vintages with local ham and cheese. In the decanters, the wines changed constantly. All of the vitality outside was in our glasses and drinking it made us feel ridiculously happy. When we left, everyone in the car was singing. Contrary to what you might think, that doesn’t happen on departure from a winery very often.
