Eugenia Keegan

The sun burst in the room early…..I know this only because breakfast service started at 7:00 and I could not smell the usual signs:  fresh coffee and toast.  I turned over and wasted an hour in dream land.  I was at breakfast by 8:00, enjoyed a final walk along the lakefront, and was on the road by 10:00.  The day was spectacular, spring on full display.

I had picked my route; due south through the spa town of Aix-les-Thermes and onto the foothills of the Pyrenees.  I am not a skier so am not familiar with the hot spots of the sport, but I can imagine that this area is robust during the winter months.  I wound my way through one small Alpine village after another.  I could have been in Switzerland and indeed expected to see the Von Trapp family traipsing over the hill at any minute.

I finally could not contain myself and while crossing a somewhat new bridge with a running brook on one side and a leisurely lake spread to the other I pulled over to stop, gaze, wonder, and take a photo or two.  I stepped out of the car, and no it wasn’t Mary Poppins herself, but indeed the music of the famous cow bells.  I glanced up and sure enough cows were grazing with their bells echoing off the surrounding hills.  There was not a cloud in the sky or another human being on the road to disturb the minute of quiet and contemplation.

Back in the car, I cut across the mountain top and turned north at Mont-Louis.  I then followed the D118 north through a most beautiful and isolated area.  I wanted to stop for lunch but could not find the right spot.  It was Sunday (and Mother’s Day) and many places were closed.   Those that were open were hosting large families and formal meals, neither of which was on my agenda.  As the kilometers wound before me I marveled at how quiet things were…..and then noticed the time.  To be sure, around 2:30-3:00 the roads were a bit more crowded and busy….the lunch crowd had dispersed.  But for about two hours I thought that time had stopped for tout le monde, except moi as I traveled through timeless, hushed beauty.

As I came out of the mountains the temperature was on the rise.  I arrived in Maury around 4:00 in the afternoon with strong sun and temperatures hovering around 30.  The light breeze saved the air from any signs of oppression.  The town was on fire with activity and I soon understood that I had arrived right in the middle of a new (second year) tasting of AOC Maury wines hosted by the village of Maury.  There were around 25 wineries each with two or three wines in 5 separate locations around town, all walkable.  At each station a restaurant offered food.  There was music in the center of town at the community play yard.  I love arrival parties!!  I caught up with Jean-Roger Calvet and his wife, Marie at their winery station , picked up the key to “my” apartment (my third stay!!), and made arrangements to meet at the winery the next morning at 10:00.  The Calvets are my Roussillon winegrowing associates.  I can’t wait to introduce you to them.

Our plan for the next day was to work on a series of blends for the 2010 K2 grenache, Côtes Catalanes.  I couldn’t sleep a wink that night……

Not a Cloud in the Sky, Perfect Day for Handgliding

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Spring Arrives Late in Alpine Towns

Ring them Bells.....

Springtime in the French Mountains

Family vacations were not a part of my childhood and in fact, vacations were not much a part of my early life.  I feel a sadness about this and accordingly, they are now an annual fixture in planning.  And let me be clear,  I am making up for lost vacations now….and have no plans to stop.

Last spring when I made my pilgrimage to France, it included a short week in Italy with my brother, his Italian wife Cinzia, and their daughter, now nine, Giulia.  When I emailed Paul that I would be returning to France in spring, but sadly as this was now solely business I would not have the time to pop over to Italy, he took matters squarely in hand and volunteered his family to come to France.  We quickly settled on Lanquedoc and he proceeded to find for us what turned out to be a simply fabulous gîte.  If you are heading in that direction check out Domaine de Curé just outside of Carcassone.

Our hosts were Jean-Noël (American/Japanese born in Geneva) and his wife Agathe, who is French.  They found each other in Japan and after very successful careers decided to exchange the fashion and fame of Tokyo for a bucolic setting in the French countryside.  There are three units and with everyone respecting others’ privacy it was a delightful week with a blend of many social encounters.  We of course were the most rambunctious party (rowdy Americans, vocal Italians and a hot wired nine year old) as our neighbors were German (one couple in their late 20’s, early 30’s, and the other in their 50’s) with no kids.  One couple was returning for their second year and another for their 3^rd year.

Our week included a trip on the Canal Midi, the cité of Minerve, the castle at Lastours, lots of swimming, eating, and just being.  Giulia ran a series of snail races and repeatedly beat me at hangman. When we were not engaged in sporting events or intellectual sparing,  we watched Disney movies in multiple languages, and giggled a lot.  (Truly, the chipmunks in Italian are a riot!).

I arrived at 6:10, they arrived at 6:18, picture taken at 6:30!

After 10 1/2 Hours in the Car.....a Just Reward!

Locks Closing, Canal Midi

A French Fieldtrip: Biking Along the Canal Midi

Leaving Carcassonne

Brother Paul Relaxing....Playing his Daughter's Nintendo

Looking Out

Kids at Play

Managing the Snail Races

I noticed after publishing photos that I do not have any of Cinzia.  Giulia had a new super camera and was the official family photographer and only on occasion did I remember to grab my camera.  I will try to rectify this.  It would take only a flash to see that Giulia’s quiet beauty comes from her mother.  Her strong will and determination???

A spring trip to southern France is not complete without a visit to the holy grail of rosé, Tavel.  I love rosé and use every day as an excuse to refresh my palate. It truly screams the south of France, the heat, the Mistral.  For me a crisp rosé makes every meal seem like a vacation.  Certainly one of the finest that is exported is Trinquevedel and I made that my first and only winery stop.  The following week was mostly a vacation with family and a case of rosé was the perfect culinary contribution.

The town was cute, small, and set on a slight hill mandating lots of twists and turns. There were a number of very cute ceramic spouts around town and I was hoping that around noon they would gush with pink grape juice.  When that did not materialize I sat down for a tasty lunch of omlette forestière and the best frites I can ever remember.  They were cut in a different way which somehow left more area for “crispy”.  And naturally this was washed down with the local quaff.

The vineyards along the Route du Vin are expansive with rocky soils of calcaire.

La Maison at Trinquevedel

The Vineyards of Trinquevedel

One of Many Water Spouts

OK, Just One More

Vineyards Cover the Landscape

I have been in France for a number of days.  I am returning to places that are familiar as I stayed in these same places last fall.  Europe must sprinkle some naïve dust on my head because I made the arrogant assumption that everything would be exactly as I left it……waiting for my return.  Although it has been only six months the changes are startling.  Mostly in people’s lives as they are marching forward, growing their homes, businesses, families.  And perhaps some of the naivety is really just a refection of my own life where my surroundings, people, have stayed the same.  Some subtle changes can be seen in the country side as well where roads are repaved, safety barriers are up where there were none before, new houses being built. It is a treat to begin to know the area well enough such that these changes can be noticed.

But, the point I am trying to make here with the conversation about all of the changes….I was out of internet access for over a week!  It was weird.  These were places that had WIFI before and for one reason or another there was no access this trip.  On one hand I hated it and on the other it was very freeing.   Yikes, no facebook, no email, no twitter, and in my case not even a mobile.  Other than not being able to let David know that I had arrived safe and sound it was not much of a personal hardship, but for business it is immobilizing.

The days in Maury were spent working on vineyard selection, blends, and business arrangements for the future.  Frankly, this is damn hard.  The language is less of a barrier as my French is always improving but the business climate is restrictive and bureaucratic (I believe that the French invented this concept!).  The laws rarely make sense (to me, an American that is) in that they continually inhibit one’s ability to do business, but on the other hand if one understands that some fee or tax is to be levied, then it all becomes clear.  Find a way to add a charge to every act of commerce and you have the rule.

Having said that, the K2 project is well underway.  Oh yes, K2.  I have used this label from time to time for special projects and this project is a great candidate.  The KEEGAN CELLARS label will be reserved for wines that I make myself.  K2 will act somewhat like a negociant label.  The first K2 bottling will be from Roussillon.  There are many details to finalize and until they are final I will wait to reveal them.  Nothing like retractions and rewrites to frustrate everyone.  Most importantly it appears that I have found a solid partner.

The weather my first week was perfect.  Mornings were chilly and the right time to head out for a walk.  I soon recognized my fellow walkers, all men with little to do.  Those who did have something to do were in their gardens toiling tirelessly to bring tasty fruits and vegetables to the dining table.  And as always, the women had more than enough to do.  The afternoons were warm and breezy.  One such lovely day I headed out to the famous French landmark, the Château de Quéribus.  I had made an effort to visit this monument of high altitude living last fall, but that day was socked in with fog.  I started up the winding road until I could not see five feet in front of me.  I knew that to the right of me was a drop of no return and rather than take that “flight” I turned around.  After driving up there this trip I know how wise a decision that was.  Remember those guard rails I mentioned earlier?  Well, that crew has not made it to Roussillon!

A lengthy walk uphill to the castle was heart pumping, and well….ruins are ruins. I returned to my auto and started down the “back” side of the hill.  I was now in Corbières, Department of Aude, heading for the quaint village (I know, aren’t they all?) of Cucugnan.

Château de Quéribus

The next castle is Château de Peyrepertuse.  Again, an interesting ruin and reminder of the need to have one’s home as high up as possible so there was plenty of time to see the aggressor heading toward you.  Although visiting a couple of castles was the “reason” for the trip what took my by complete surprise were the unbelievable number of wildflowers.  I think I stopped taking photos after 45-50 different lovely delicate flowers.  I hope that there is a book with all of this abundance of beauty.  For now here are a couple of teasers:

And Finally, Château de Peyrepertuse

I should be apologizing repeatedly for not posting for ages, but something keeps me from getting this done (the posting, not the apologizing!). Not sure why. I am always pleased after I have chronicled what I am doing. But then there is this nagging sense that my days have no significance and this is egotistical bullcrap. Either way, I do enjoy it once I put my focus heretois*.

After working on the pruning videos I realized that the two styles of pruning shown were very useful and applied to many situations, but were not specific to the so-called premise of this exercise, Old Vine Grenache. The older bush pruned or spur pruned vines are fundamentally handled the same, but the look is very different. I asked my good friend (with whom I am having dinner this very evening….might be just the kick in the tuchus that I needed to post), if he would kindly help me demonstrate pruning for the style of growing common to most old vines (not just grenache).

Here is Jean-Marc Espinasse of Domaine Rouge-Bleu (http://rouge-bleu.com) with a demonstration of head/spur pruning in his outrageous Old Vine Grenache vineyard, Lunatique (the sound is a bit rough but the images are lovely; listen carefully for a first class pruning lesson):

*hertois: some knockoff of the legalese heretofore, heretowith, etc. But here, is is is.