Quietly beautiful
This week has been a quiet one in the Possum Kingdom. For me, personally, part of that was due to being down with the dreaded gastro yet again! It's funny; I never used to get stomach bugs and I have no idea where I got this one. I suppose that's one of the differences of living in a community where I actually interact with people instead of mostly being inside a car.
Still, today was better, so we decided to head out to do a few errands in Carcassonne and Limoux. We picked a great day for it, as fall seems to have taken a holiday and let a bit of Indian Summer creep back into the picture. Although it was overcast, temperatures were lovely, in the upper 60s and with all the trees now in their autumn best, we had a spectacular drive.
I don't even mind when it's overcast here, as there is a wonderful quality to the light that seems to make everything glow. In particular, there are some trees that have brilliant red leaves that almost look as if they are lit from within. A true joy to see.
Even when you are doing mundane things like we did today, knowing that you are going to drive home through hills, forests and vineyards that are bathed in almost violent color, gives the whole thing a sense of excitement, almost as if you were doing something special.
In the rest of France, this is the week when people talk a lot about the Beaujolais Nouveau arriving. I have seen perhaps one poster mentioning it here. Of course, since we are in the Languedoc-Roussillon, one of the major wine growing regions in the country, it's not really surprising that no one is excited about a wine that has had a huge success due more to a major marketing campaign than any intrinsic value in the wine itself. Indeed, most people I know who know anything about wine will not drink even a glass of it!
Still, the local wine makers are not fools. We have our own "Vins Primeurs" which are the regional equivalents of Beaujolais Nouveau. These were heavily promoted across the area a couple of weeks ago, with the major supermarkets having special weeks devoted to their sale and all the local shops making sure that there were bottles easily available for their customers to buy.
I have been drinking even less than I normally do (read NONE) lately because of some medication that I"m taking, so I can't tell you if they're any good or not; however I am glad to see the regional producers coming up with marketing plans of their own. They have suffered a lot of from cheap foreign imports now being readily available, and the fact that here, like most places, people just drink less than they once did.
If we want the Possum Kingdom to remain the beautiful agricultural area that it is, then all of those who grow anything locally, including the local vineyards, need to find ways of surviving.
Ciao for now.
Randy
Still, today was better, so we decided to head out to do a few errands in Carcassonne and Limoux. We picked a great day for it, as fall seems to have taken a holiday and let a bit of Indian Summer creep back into the picture. Although it was overcast, temperatures were lovely, in the upper 60s and with all the trees now in their autumn best, we had a spectacular drive.
I don't even mind when it's overcast here, as there is a wonderful quality to the light that seems to make everything glow. In particular, there are some trees that have brilliant red leaves that almost look as if they are lit from within. A true joy to see.
Even when you are doing mundane things like we did today, knowing that you are going to drive home through hills, forests and vineyards that are bathed in almost violent color, gives the whole thing a sense of excitement, almost as if you were doing something special.
In the rest of France, this is the week when people talk a lot about the Beaujolais Nouveau arriving. I have seen perhaps one poster mentioning it here. Of course, since we are in the Languedoc-Roussillon, one of the major wine growing regions in the country, it's not really surprising that no one is excited about a wine that has had a huge success due more to a major marketing campaign than any intrinsic value in the wine itself. Indeed, most people I know who know anything about wine will not drink even a glass of it!
Still, the local wine makers are not fools. We have our own "Vins Primeurs" which are the regional equivalents of Beaujolais Nouveau. These were heavily promoted across the area a couple of weeks ago, with the major supermarkets having special weeks devoted to their sale and all the local shops making sure that there were bottles easily available for their customers to buy.
I have been drinking even less than I normally do (read NONE) lately because of some medication that I"m taking, so I can't tell you if they're any good or not; however I am glad to see the regional producers coming up with marketing plans of their own. They have suffered a lot of from cheap foreign imports now being readily available, and the fact that here, like most places, people just drink less than they once did.
If we want the Possum Kingdom to remain the beautiful agricultural area that it is, then all of those who grow anything locally, including the local vineyards, need to find ways of surviving.
Ciao for now.
Randy
1 Comments:
We too had a beautiful fall day for
Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé! here in Antibes...and to think, it was supposed to rain!
i can imagine how the new wine celebrations began all those years ago...the grapes were harvested and to age, the leaves were turning, the skies were blue with the sun lower in the sky, the air crisp, and the foods of fall lining the shelves. It just seemed like the thing to do...tap a barrel and pour forth the bounty!
All the marketing and sales came later, but we don't really need all that to celebrate. Life in France...whereever we are!
Santé!
Meilleurs vœux!
By blueVicar, At 6:18 PM
Post a Comment
<$I18N$LinksToThisPost>:
Create a Link
<< Home