Living in the moment....

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Ahhh! What a glorious morning! Bright and sunny, crisp and clear, the perfect day to start into my work. I had plans for the day and one of them way to buy another heater for the farm. It was 38 degrees F outside and only slightly warmer inside the stone farmhouse. Still I had not installed an outdoor shower for nothing, so braving the cold (it wasn’t really so bad) I went outside and turned on the shower. Nice hot water came pouring out and I stepped into it. What joy! What rapture! I lingered under the stream for several minutes before shampooing and soaping up, rinsing off in a glorious dichotomy of crisp cold air and steaming hot water. It did the trick, my blood was flowing and a light breakfast of yogurt and tea set me up properly for the day.

The first thing I wanted to do was to visit the farmers market in Sommieres, a fair sized town just about 10 minutes drive away. It is held every Saturday morning and is an experience I am loath to miss. Sommieres is an old Roman garrison town with many Roman architectural elements still in place. The Roman bridge crossing the Vidourle is still in good repair and used all the time. Inside the old town you can see how the old Roman buildings, which had stood separately when originally built, had been overtaken by the medieval town when a variety of wars ravaged the region from 400 AD to 1600 AD. You can see the arcades of a coliseum disappear into the side of a building knowing full well that they are still inside it. Its quite amazing.

And through the streets of this town winds the market with its broad assortment of items sold in ways we can’t even imagine. Spices in mounds, cheese in whole wheels, freshly baked breads and fresh roasted meats, shoes of all sizes and lingerie to bedazzle even the most hard boiled centurions. In fact it is reported, despite the reputation for haute couture enjoyed by France, that fully 30% of clothing purchased in France is bought in these country markets. Given the number of people looking through the offerings I found that easy to comprehend.

I myself purchased some merguez, a type of north African sausage and some garlic sausage, both of which I like to barbecue. I also purchased two large climbing rose bushes and a Camelia for the farm. Each trip to the market there I like to buy something to plant. The vendor was very helpful trying to speak English for me after I began in my poor French patois…”Ma francais est tres mauvais…” “My French is very bad…”. I think this is the key to disarming the French…simply try to speak their language in their home and they appreciate the gesture. I have found virtually universal success with this approach and today was no different. Not only was he helpful but he insisted that he could come to help me with the “soil problem”.

“Zee soul, eet eese moost be acidic pour ze Camelia. Here, ze soul eese calcium, ppptt!” This last sound made by pursing the lips and spitting, indicating that of course Camelia could not grow in calcium rich soil. Thereafter followed a detailed exhortation of the importance of preparing the hole for the planting of the Camelia to protect it from the calcium in the soil. This included digging a hole 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide. If you’ve ever seen the soil here you know that that is a monumental task, it being full of clay and rock and roots. In the end he summed up by saying, “Or you cooed plant eet een a pot. C’est meilleur! (It’s better!)”

After getting my plants and making my way home I went with Christian to visit the man I had bought the little Opel Corsa from. His name is Francois and of course he knew some very good wines that I should try including one he poured right there at 11:30 am. And it was very good! A wine that is made by putting it in a large glass jar outside in a field for a year. It reminded me of a port but was I should say, more complex in its flavorings with strong tobacco and leather accents, both flavors lingered pleasantly on the palate.

We signed some papers and he gave me another bottle of wine to seal the deal, an AOC St. Chinian made by a friend of his. He thinks it a superb house wine for less than 6 Euros a bottle. I promised to have him over to try it.

After that I went back to the farm, which was warming up in the 65 degree F day. I put on a pot of water and proceeded to make a beef stew. Turnips, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, cabbage, some local olive oil and some very nice stewing beef diced up in cubes. A handful of rosemary, thyme, oregano and a laurel leaf (bay) all from outside in the village square and some salt and pepper, and Voila! A hearty evening meal ready to eat with some rustic pain de campagne. It was delicious…I had a big bowl surrounded by the heaters with all the candles in the farmhouse blazing and my little IPOD pumping out the Gypsy Kings.

I had also decided that I wanted to get all the shutters redone on this trip so I went to Leroy Merlin (France’s Home Depot) and bought all the materials for the work. Now, it can be said that if wine, cheese and bread are cheap in France wood is like gold. It is so expensive and often the only choice is bent and twisted like the worst you might find at Lowes. Still they have systems to do most things and this is true for shutters. Unlike North America, shutters are still a practical consideration here for both weather and security. They also have a decorative role in these old stone houses. The shutters at the farmhouse were probably circa 1850 and were in bad shape. I’ve replaced most inside the farmhouse but the ones facing the village square had not been done. This is the task for this trip.

The day ended with my materials for the work secured and a full stomach of stew with a nice rye and ginger (a toast to my dad who very much liked his rye and ginger) to wash it down. And then some more reading of “The Wind From All Directions” regarding Captain George Vancouver’s voyage to the Pacific Northwest. Its getting quite good now…I’ve met the Spanish and the natives he encountered. They don’t seem like a bad lot.

Home to Montlaur....

Thursday, February 12, 2009 to Friday, February 13, 2009

Why do we brave the night crossing? The darkness stretching into tomorrow, the maw of the ocean, tossing and cold below, ready to swallow us whole if this contraption fails. Why do we leave the comfort of warm beds and enfolding arms? Or the certainties of a rhythm, born of all the days and nights of habit, of growing towards the light of laugher and joy in the bosom of all that we have known all of our lives. Knowing which side our bread is buttered on speaks of loyalty, of self interest, of a manifest sense of what is good for us and yet is it that self same knowledge that drives us into the void, out of our comfort zone, into the realm of new experience.

I can only think, landing bleary eyed in Paris once again, that it is some part of our better selves that drives us, a curiosity about the world and our place in it. Not so much an exercise of who we are but of where we fit. We test ourselves again and again in life and listen for the tuning fork hum of resonance when we find that place in the world that is made from the same stuff as us. It warms to us as we to it I think. The sun follows us there making for brighter days. The breezes soften to caress us upon arrival. Toil there, unlike anywhere else, is a joy. All forms are pleasing to the eye. This is what Maugham spoke of when he wrote of a stranger finding home in a far off land, this feeling of belonging, of being a part of something.

It did not occur to me until writing this note that I survived another Friday the 13th. For those unaware, Friday the 13th has been considered an ill-luck day since 1307 when thousands of Templar Knights were rounded up in one day all across Europe and the near east. Charged with heresies against the church, many were tortured and killed in what has come to be known as an incredible power play on the part of Phillippe the Second of France. Perhaps the first corporate raider, he was really after the wealth of the Templars, a wealth that somehow eluded him. And now I sit very near the old fortress of Montlaur, many a scion of which followed the Templar path.

The Delta flight was difficult, uncomfortable due to some back strain I suffered this past week lifting some drywall. I did not get much sleep, something I usually count on when flying overseas. I arrived on time at 10:00 and I was able to get my bags quickly (about 15 minutes) and make my way from Terminal 2E at Charles de Gaulle to the TGV station located between Terminals 2E and 2C and D arriving around 10:30 am. On this trip I had elected to take the train rather than renting a car and driving. If you plan to take more than 2 train trips during your stay then the Anytime/Anywhere France pass is the best option when travelling alone. You can find it on the Rail Europe web site.

When taking the train option to get to Montpellier it is best to set up your air ticket to arrive before 8:30 am. Then you can get the 9:30 TGV direct to Montpellier and be there at about 1:00 pm and at the farm by 1:30 if you’re being picked up. That way you still have a good part of the day to unwind from the trip and slip into your new abode.

If you arrive after 9:30 as I did this time (I had been planning on renting a car and driving so it didn’t matter when I arrived) the next Montpellier TGV is 11:43 am and on some days it does not travel direct. On this day it did not. I took it for 2 horus and 15 minutes to Valence train terminal, got out and waited for an hour for the next train to Montpellier (not something you really want to do when you’re sleep deprived, but fortunately I grabbed the International Herald Tribune, an oasis of English comprehension amid an ocean of lingua Franca)and arrived at 4:44 pm. Carried my bags the too long a distance to the Rental Car park and got my Avis car in a few minutes, leaving there by 5:10 pm.

One of my favourite things is to go provisioning. I like to do it when I arrive so that the farmhouse is “fully stocked” with all the French stuff I like. Then I can hunker down for a few days without worrying too much about anything. Others prefer to soak in the atmosphere of the south of France upon arrival, waking in the morning and going to find some local café where the residents eye you up with overweening curiosity while you stumble through ordering an espresso and a pain au chocolat. I CAN do that, I just prefer not to.

This is the part where I must tell you that its obvious that we North Americans have lost our way somehow when it comes to basic foodstuffs. By basic I mean wine, cheese, bread, fruit and vegetables. Not only does the average European demand much better quality in these things but they get it. And not only do they get it but it tends to be at prices that are from 30 to 65% less than we pay even after converting the $ to Euros. I don’t now if maybe they are rampantly using children for jobs in the supply chain but whatever it is they’ve figured out a much better way to feed themselves than we have.

Now fully “provisioned” I made my way to the farm. It was dark and cold but still around 40 degrees F. Opening up the farm in the dark (sunset came and went while I was “provisioning”, lingering over the manifold cheese selections I think) was a treat. It has been a couple of months since I was here. Everything was draped in sheets and the water was turned off. That was the first to turn on and then to turn on the water heater. After that to start up the small heaters inside the farmhouse and store my “provisions”. It took a while to get everything opened up and in its place. I could see my breath on the air as I worked and was thankful for the 50 below Canadian made sleeping bag I had stored in the closet. Finally, I was set and making myself first a cup of hot tea and then a rye and ginger I set about reading a draft of a book an old friend of mine has just written; something of the adventures of Captain George Vancouver in the Pacific Northwest around 1792. I felt strangely sympathetic to their isolation and sufferings as I shivered inside my sleeping bag. I wonder what Captain Vancouver (sounds like a Canadian superhero!) would say if he could see us now.

Une nouvelle recette du Languedoc....(from Corinne)

Cabillaud grille aux petits legumes.....

Grilled cod fish with vegetables....

Haricots verts et carottes apportent a ce plat nombre de composants protecteurs (beta-carotene, folates et vitamine C) ainsi que fibres et mineraux.

Green beans and carrots are a source of many healthful things (beta carotine, folic acid and vitamin C) and also a good source of fiber and minerals.

Pour 4 personnes.

For 4 people.

Prep. 10 min. * Cuisson 18 min.

Pre time 10 min. * Cooking time 18 min,

4 carrottes moyennes en batonnets de 6 cm x 5 mm

4 medium carrots cut into spears 2.5 in x 1/4  in

300 g de haricots verts fins equeutes

3/4 lb green beans destemmed

100 g de pin d'epice rassis

1/4 lb dry spice cake loaf

1 cuill. a soupe de sauce de soja

1 tablespoon soya sauce

2 cuill. a soupe de moutarde

2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

40 g de beurre

1/8 lb of butter

2 dos de Cabillaud de 300 g en 2 troncons

2 pieces of Cod, each weighing 1/2 lb

1 cuill. a soupe d'huile d'olive

1 tablespoon of olive oil

sel, poivre

salt & pepper to taste

1) Faites cuire 10 min les carottes dan le compartiment perfore d'un cuit-vapeur et 12 min les haricots verts dans de l'eau bouillantes salee.

1) Cook the carrots for 10 minutes in a steamer and the green beans for 12 minutes in salted, boiling water.

2) Allumez le gril du four.  Emiettez le pain d'epice et passez-le au robot pour le reduire en chapelure.  Ajoutez sauce de soja, moutarde ete beurre.  Essuyez les dos de Cabillaud, salez-les et poivrez-les.  Posez-les cote a cote dans un plat supportant le chaleur du gril.  Glissez le poisson  10 cm de la source de chaleur et laissez-le cuire 3 min.  Retournez-le, recouvrez-le avec le melange au pain d'epice et refaites le cuire 3 min.

2) Turn the oven on to 400F  .  Cut the spice cake into small chunks and pass through a food processor to further reduce the size to the consistency of bread crumbs.  Blend the soya sauce, mustard and butter together with the spice cake crumbs.   Dry the pieces of Cod with a paper towel and add salt and pepper and place them side by side in the grilling pan.   Ensure that the fish is no more than 4 inches from the grill and cook for 3 minutes.  After three minutes turn it over covering it again with the spice mixture and cook for 3 more minutes.

3) Deposez les haricots egouttes et les carottes sur les asiettes.  Arrosez-les avec l'huile.  Posez le poisson dessus.

3) Place the dried beans and carrots on the plate.  Dash with olive oil.  Place the fish serving on top of the vegetables.

Serve with a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc!  Bon Appetit!

Booking time at the Vineyard...

(The central courtyard of the Chateau de Montlaur...in winter)

As you can see the accommodations at the Chateau are light and breezy...just kidding!  While you can certainly stay up among the ruins for a time an overnight sojourn is not recommended just yet.  Perhaps in a few years when we start to rebuild certain parts and sections but for now its an archeologists dream...unsurveyed ruins.

There is however, ample comfortable lodging in the area starting with the farmhouse (a mere 200 meters from the frosty accommodations above.  Work of renovation on the farmhouse is proceeding at a slow pace but it will have comfortable living space (if simple and rustic is your idea of comfortable) for between 2-6 people by this summer.  All the basic amenities are in place for members to enjoy with plans for key additions to the wine cellar and grounds dependent upon continued subscription for Micro-Leases.

Additionally, the first commissioned gypsy carts should make their appearance this summer as long as the completion of the supply and waste lines meets schedule.  That should be sometime in April.  

The mainstay of accommodation for the vineyard are the local gites.  Even with this economy they are booking up fast although we may be able to find you something that works for your visit.   A "gites" is a small apartment with all amenities, self contained and self catered.  They generally charge differentially by season with the summer being the highest cost.  There are many around Montlaur but the area is a popular place for Europeans to vacation and the gites book up very quickly.  You need to plan several months in advance and to get exactly what you want, perhaps 6-10 months pre-booking may be ideal.  For whatever reasons the economic downturn has not yet affected demand for these places, in part I think because they are so reasonably priced to start out with.  Needless to sy if you are contemplating a trip please give us as much notice as possible.

The times of year that are best for a trip of course depend upon your own tastes and preferences.  I can tell you I have been there in every part of the year and there are joys to be had no matter the season.  The wine, the cheese, the bread...they are all very affordable and in limitless supply.  I prefer October most of all because of the coolness in the air and richness of the colours.  April and May also favor the cooler weather traveler and provide for ample sun and robust activity.   June and July are very nice with the fullness of summer and festivals in every small town.   The fresh farm markets also are in full run trailing through quaint two thousand year old streets and a warren of small piazzas like rabbit burrows strung along an Alice in Wonderland like hole in the wall.

September is "les vendanges", the harvest and with it comes hard work, good food, play and much laughter.  Already a group is forming for this period so getting in early is key.  

August is good for the beaches but it is otherwise very hot.  For the last two years I was there when it was 114-120 degrees, a dry heat that sucks the very moisture from your body.  The entire summer is filled with European vacationers particularly July and August.  Even though Languedoc is not Provence or for that matter Bordeaux it still gets over run by other Europeans in the high season.  They pack the roads, fill the gites and hotels, swarm the restaurants and generally resemble more a plague of locusts than civilized members of society.  Which is not to say that this is a bad thing...it is what it is and there are certainly good things to enjoy about it....who doesn't like a party?  But best you know about it before you come to stand in line.

November, December and January are the quietest and I secretly dream of the tranquility of the "alone-ness" of the place during these months.  It is then a time when I can turn my favourite music up full blast and work on the place, enjoying the glow of a warm fire and the comradeship that the old farm house bestows on me and mine.  There are cold blustery days where its best to keep the fire charged up and the soup hot in the pot.  And then there are days as warm and sunny as summer, where the cooling stones take back some measure of warmth from the oncoming winter.  Dress warm, walk often, take your camera.

That leaves February and March.  I leave this week for France and the farmhouse.  I expect it will be spring already there and the buds will be appearing on the trees.  There is much to do to prepare for the life of the farmhouse and I feel these are the months for that.  Cleaning the floors, sweeping out the cobwebs, repairing windows and doors and finishing renovations started on the last trip.  Thats what these months are for and I lust after them with the same desire I would reach for a good bottle of wine.  We are informed as much about who we are by what it is we choose to do, not because we have to but because we want to.  I am, in my way, the same as my friend, Jean de Montlaur whose family has called this place home for more than a thousand years, I am about fixing things and making them anew.  This is where I find my joy in life and this is how I want to share it.

Next trip.....

(The Roman Bridge in Sommieres)

is now scheduled for February 12-25 and will involve making arrangements for shipment of at least a couple of pallets of the 2007 vintage.  Its all ready and sitting in the Cooperative warehouse so its very exciting to be going over to actually take it and get it moving towards the customers.  

For current Micro-Leaseholders we will be shipping extra cases of the wine for trade shows and sampling which they may be able to procure for promotional purposes.  All wine is shipped marked "for personal use only" and "not for resale".  This wine will not be available on the market.  The 2007 vintage was considered very good and it could be cellared for perhaps 8-10 years.  I'll know more when I get there and check it out for myself.

For anyone planning possible trips to France the availability of space in the Gites around Montlaur is dwindling.  I will post some availability in the near future so you can plan.  The farmhouse should be ready to accommodate several people by early summer so long as we continue to get some of the interior work done.  That too is a function of time on the ground there.  But it is all good!

Tough times require more from us.....

(The Chateau in winter)

As many of you know I chose to launch this new Micro-Leasing business just 14 months ago, back when we were fat, dumb and happy about the economy and apparently even though the signs were everywhere that we were in for a rough ride.  Well we've come to know how rough it is and my guess is that its going to get a little rougher.  And while that calls for restraint and a certain even tempered-ness I don't think it means that we should stop the effort to live our dreams or that we should lay down and resign ourselves to something less than our resources and capabilities can deliver.  Its not that I am advocating for blowing a bunch of money on a sketchy one time feel good gamble, I have never believed that Monte Lauro Vineyards was anything like that.  In fact, I have always thought that it represented a truly incredible value in real dollars for anyone who loves wine, who revels in history and who basks in the glow of rich new experiences.  Heck, it even represents a great value for budget conscious travelers.  There is no way to do the south of France so well for so little.  I'm so confident of it that I'm willing to bet on it.  And thats just one of the ways I'm responding to this economic morass we've found ourselves in.  

One of my Mother's favourite mottos was "many hands make light work" and for those that have visited Montlaur or Thibaudiere you can attest to the fact that, indeed when we work together there is a spirit that infuses the process.  Everything is more enjoyable, everything has more salt, more of a sense of vitality.  So when I speak of doing things together I am speaking of doing the things we can do to help each other through this.  What can I do to help you?  Well a lot of that is embodied in the whole business concept of Monte Lauro.  I developed it as something beyond anything you could simply buy because I wanted you to be a part of it for the long term.  I wanted you to be invested in it, to care about it and to keep caring about it.  I want you to feel like an owner, even if its not practical to be one I still think its relevant to "feel like one".

But what else can I do.  Well here's a sampling;

1) For every current Micro-Leaseholder I'll add another year to your Micro-Lease right now (Value=$966),

2) For new Micro-Leaseholders I'll offer a free one year gift Micro-Lease for you to give to someone you think would appreciate it (Value=$750),

3) For those with limited cash flow, but who would like to enjoy the benefits of membership, I'll reduce the buy-in from one year up front to six month's up front and spread the rest over the next two years (Value= $483),

4) For every person who refers a new Micro-Leaseholder I'll provide a free week's accommodation at the vineyard or in one of the Gites close by, subject to a couple of reasonable conditions (Value= Up to $1000)

5) For all active Micro-Leaseholders I'll provide the opportunity for you to take over the entire farmhouse for week long stints to have and use as your own place, with space for up to six people to sleep comfortably, for a usage fee of just $500 per week, subject to a couple of reasonable conditions.  You can't find anything so reasonable in the south of France!

I'm confident that, working together, we can actually grow during this recession and that in doing so we'll come out the other side stronger and more resilient, better equipped for all the other challenges we have to face in life.  At the very least we'll have shared some good wine, some good food and some good company in a place that transcends economies and transports the spirit.  You need to experience it...get a taste at www.experience-wine.com and don't hesitate to give me a call to ask about it.

Boston WIne Show was a hit!

We came to the show with a new booth, a little wine and some hopes and dreams that somehow people might begin to catch on to the great opportunity that becoming a Micro-Leaseholder at Monte Lauro Vineyards would be.  It was very satisfying to be busy for the entire two days and to have so many people express an interest and tell us what a great idea it is.  As great an idea as it is I have to say that it is much better in practice.

So for all those that are newly initiated to the idea I can only say that I'm willing to prove it to you.  More on this later.  Thanks must also go to Richard Elie and Harley MacKenzie of the Quarterly Review of Wine for an incredible dinner on Saturday and to Randall Graham of Bonny Doon Vineyards for Friday night's samplings.  His approach to making his wine has reawakened my interest in California vintages.

Over the next few days I'll be able to provide some updates and pictures from the show.  Until then remember to "save our water....drink wine"!