Another breezy, warm sunny day, where even in the recesses of the old farmhouse the morning light penetrates. This morning I woke up at 9:00. This has been the most difficult of transitions for me in recent memory. Perhaps its because of the cold I’m experiencing. It continues to drag on through a variety of symptoms but at least I feel more energetic and ready to do some work.
Today I’m doing some finishing work in the new bathroom, completing a part of the new wall I began to install there on the last trip and refurbishing an old sideboard that I had previously salvaged …we do things the green way at Monte Lauro Vineyards…no thing is wasted before its time! I also tried the new linseed oil on the new (old) tile floor that was installed last time. It really brings up the color of these 300 year old tiles.
I remember that I have the leg of lamb to cook. I’ve never cooked a leg of lamb before and wonder exactly how I should do it. However I do it I know it will benefit from a bit of time marinating. With this in mind I take a walk to the Place du Vieux Chateau, conveniently just the opposite side of the farmhouse. All along the farmhouse wall grows wild herbs, savory, thyme and rosemary. Handfuls of these are redolent with their oils and I add them to a bowl with fresh local olive oil. Mixing this up I poured it into the bag the lamb came in and wrap it tightly to sit for a few hours.
The new table...
I also decided that the day was so beautiful that we could set up the dinner under the tree in the courtyard. On the last trip I had made a table top out of two boards that I found hidden away in the barn. They were a good two feet wide and cut from a single tree. I guessed they were perhaps one hundred to one hundred twenty years old based on both the size and the saw cut. They had a beautiful curve to them and I had managed to make a single cut down one side leaving one straight edge and one curved edge. Attaching them together along the straight edge gave me a tabletop about two meters (6 feet) long and about one meter (40 inches) wide. I used this now set on two sawhorses, or what passes for saw horses in France. Over this I put a fine Italian tablecloth completing the setting with matched dishes, cutlery and wine glasses for six. I put the leg of lamb in the oven at about 5 o’clock to start and added diced carrots and potatoes that ad also marinated in olive oil and herbs at around 6 o’clock.
Benjamin arrived early to prepare an appetizer, which was melon soaked in port and prosciutto, as well as a salad which was tomato and mozzarella. Christian and Corinne arrived around 7:30 with dessert, a cherry pudding that looked amazing (and as I found out later, actually was, once you got used to pulling out the pits).
Sitting into the table...
Alexandrine Garnotel, the archeologist who is working on the Chateau, and her husband arrive around 8:30 bearing wine from the region where one of her biggest digs is occurring near Maguelone about 30 minutes to the south on the sea coast.
The Leg of Lamb by Michael B.
As the host I was kept busy checking on things but Benjamin and Corinne also kept tabs making sure everything went well. We had a wonderful dinner over several bottles of wine, making sure that we spilled a few glasses on the Italian tablecloth just to break it in. When we got to the subject of the Chateau and the Association I was very pleased when Alexandrine, who will be the President of the Assocaition, turned to me and said earnestly in her best English, “On zis I want to work whiss you”. I responded that I also seriously wanted to work with her for the good of the Chateau and that we would all be members of the Association. I would provide for my Micro-Leaseholder clients, membership in the association each year of their active membership and I would seek other members at large in North America. “Together we can rebuild the Chateau.” I said, satisfied that we are now clearly going down the right road.
We made a lot of fun this evening and continued to build some good relationships. More than anything I am struck by the generosity of spirit and openness of these people. The fact that my poor French is only a minor obstacle is testament to their goodwill. It did however not prevent them from mentioning that I should learn more French. “Yes, I should learn more French, mes amis!” But that will be another day!
Another great evening with some wonderful people!
June 24th, 2009
Many people have commented that they like the blog and the style in which I write it and to them I say thank you. A few go so far as to ask for more detail and some others advise that I should keep it light and easy perhaps with more pictures and less prose. The variety of commentary is great but it begs the question; why am I writing this. More than any other reason, that I can think of I write this blog because I want to paint a picture that you can see yourself stepping in to. It is because you could easily be sipping a glass of wine here with me, you could be making your favorite dinner for all the guests, or something you’ve never made before, you could be touring around on your own trying various wines, or if you’re really lucky you could be helping me grout a new 300 year old tile floor. It’s just that easy…you decide to do it and then you do it. And the cost is so reasonable. You could barely live at home for what it would cost you here…and I doubt you could go into your back yard and dig around the ruins of a real old castle. That you can do here. There is no end to the great things you could find yourself doing. So that’s why I write it…I hope all of you decide to come sometime in the near future.
Today Jean Pierre Martin is coming to take a look at the vineyard and walk through it with me. So I puttered around the farm all morning waiting for him…watering the flowers, doing the dishes, vacuuming (there is no end to vacuuming in an old stone house). Benjamin dropped by for a coffee and was here when Jean Pierre arrived. I had a letter for him that I’d written (translation by Kappes! Merci) outlining some import opportunities and priorities that I had. After looking it over we discussed it a bit and then went to look at the vineyards.
Jean Pierre in the vineyards....
By this time Christian had joined us so we went as a foursome out to walk the vines. The first lot was Carignan. The grass had been recently cut between the vines and Jean Pierre was satisfied with the overall look and health of the plants. He noted some minor mildew but no pest or butterfly larva. Apparently certain butterflies really like grape vines. The Merlot plot looked even healthier. We then drove on to the Sauvignon plot. It was interesting to note every other plot of vines around us had zero, read zilch, undergrowth around the vines. Even the middle of the vines between the rows was barren.
Jean Pierre explained that his philosophy (and ours by the way) was to use all natural methods to minimize pests. Grass and other undergrowth amidst the vines provides habitat for the natural predators of the pests that feed on the vines and grapes. So leaving it to grow moderately ensures that there is an abundance of natural controls in place to “mind” the vineyard. Further, the root systems of various field plants act to retain more water than bare soil and while they may try to consume it the ever-thirsty grape vine roots go to where the water is. The natural competition for water strengthens the grape vines and makes them hardier in what is generally considered less than fertile soil.
The scorched earth way....
To illustrate his point we examined several of the vines in a neighboring plot where not so much as a blade of grass disturbed the symmetry of the rows. Evidence of butterfly larva was everywhere as well as the larva of a few other pests, which feed on the grapes rather than the vines or leaves. The cycle of herbicide application leads to a requirement for pesticide application ultimately contaminating the wine with these agents. Better to simply mow the grass every now and then, apply some natural organic fertilizer and let nature take its course.
The Natural way....these two vineyards are less than 20 meters apart!
Walking through the last plot, closest to the farm, we made a great discovery. IT wasn’t anything to do with the vines. It was to do with the fencerow, or rather what was in it. Now blackberries, or “mure” as they call them in France grow everywhere and they are insidious, territorial and aggressive. Cleaning them out can be a bloody challenge, (emphasis on the bloody eh Leslie!) I was staring at this massive jumble of mure probably twenty feet thick and ten to twelve feet high. Millions of blackberries to be sure and they will certainly be tasty in September but I noticed these green fruits sticking out of the jumble. The more I looked the more I saw. It appears that the whole fencerow was an orchard and, left to its own devices, has been overgrown with mure. But a few brave souls could probably clean it out in a weekend and we’d have a plum orchard right close to the farm.
The wall of "mure"...in the midst of which the plum orchard thrives...
It doesn’t take much to get me excited but that is the kind of thing that does it. So off we went to lunch in St. Bauzille in the highest spirits.
The rest of the day I spent prepping for the task of tiling one of the bedroom floors, rebuilding an old wardrobe, and generally psyching myself up for the hellish grouting job that was coming down the pipe. I don’t mind grouting generally but these old tiles are so dry they suck all the moisture out of the grout within seconds so that it becomes like pushing stiff powder around. It sucks!
Early to bed tonight so that I will be fresh tomorrow and able to think of more excuses to put off the tiling (and hence the grouting).
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