Last year, at this time, I was in NY, where I live, and we had a lot of snow. I still remember that it was so beautiful.

This year, I am back in France, in my village, for the holidays and what did I get? Snow!!!! I woke up this morning, had my coffee, took my camera and went into my family’s vineyard. At this time the sun started to warm up a little bit; I had a huge sensation of peace, it was awesome–a beautiful and quiet environment, perfect to relax.

It is a bit exceptional, because we do not have snow every winter in this area (Bordeaux, Entre deux Mers). It is time for pruning in the vineyard. You can see that some are done (picture in the middle) and some not yet. You have several techniques to prune your vines. In this area my family practices the simple or double Guyot pruning for the Cabernet and Merlot grapes. In the South of France, we practice more the Gobelet pruning, especially for the Grenache grape.

During my trip around the vineyard, I was accompanied by two very good friends:

There are so cute!!!! I could not bring them with me; Vania (left), she is quiet, very nice and is always ready to play. However Vupsy (right), he is big traveller (lol). You take your eyes off of him for just few seconds and he disappears. The problem is if one leaves, the other follows.. Not good! They stayed around the house but when I came back I gave them a huge hug and some kisses and everything was alright

Happy holidays!

I made a nice discovery while ago. A friend of mine from Chicago, who is very passionate and knowledgeable, recommended me this fabulous piece of history.

I don’t need to tell you I am passionate of wine–LOL. However, I can let you know that I am equally passionate about history, especially, the period that includes World War II. I have seen and read a lot about it. However, this was the first time I was able to learn how people saved one of the greatest treasures the French people had (still have) during the war.

Thanks to millions of people, the wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and, of course, the South of France have been saved!!! Wine & War is a beautiful book, very pleasant to read and full of anecdotes. Let me tell you one:

“The famous and prestigious restaurant La Tour d’Argent in Paris is home to one of the greatest wine cellars in the world before World War II. As soon as the Germans started to move to France, Andre Terrail (owner), his son and a few friends decided to do something in order to save his cellar. But how can you do it when you have more than 100,000 bottles of the most prestigious wines in your cellar? Move everything? No time for that, Germans were too close (6 hours from Paris). They decided to select the best 20,000 wines! Andre could not imagine losing everything after all these years building his cellar. After having selected their very best wines they…. they walled it in and let them rest. A Few hours later, Paris was occupied. Then one month later on June 14th 1939, Field Marshal Hermann Goring did a stop at la Tour d’Argent, visited the cellar and of course took all the 80,000 bottles.”

For the other anecdotes you will need to get the book ;) It will make a beautiful present for Christmas!!!!

Have a good reading!

Hey thanks again Jessica and Marc (store managers) for this beautiful tasting in your store last Friday. I had a very good time and I am glad you and your costumers enjoyed my wines from the South of France: Fortant de France.

It is correct Marc, Fortant de France are very good value wines (under $10); the wines for everydays. “Non Oak” wines, full of flavours and very fresh, just Yummi!!!

What?? You missed the tasting??? Ok don’t worry; a 2nd round will be organized at the beginning of December, probably on Friday December 10th… Hope to see you there

From now if you think about South of France you can think about me and if you think about wines from the South of France, the answer is definitely Skalli Family wines.

Happy Thanksgiving

first & vine wine & spirits

1103 1st Avenue, New York, NY, 10064 (bet. 60th & 61st St) - 212 308 1650

Join me from 5 to 8 pm on Friday November 20th 2009 for a free tasting of Skalli wines from the South of France!! Let’s enjoy the Fortant de France ”non Oak” Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec

See you on Friday

Nico

Day 3 and 4) I have traditionally been a whole wheat breakfast gal but being in France, I have been enjoying fresh croissants. They’re totally light, flakey and buttery. Unlike American croissant, these melt in your mouth and I am having one every morning. Goodbye diet! Hello white flour! To be on the healthy side of my caloric intake, I have also taken up yogurt. A cup of yogurt and fruit is not uncommon but what is different here is the consistency of the yogurt. It’s thicker and creamier than American yogurt. Not thick like Greek yogurt, French yogurt is fragrant, rich and dense. Yummy!
Okay, with the talk of food, you may ask if my clothes are getting snug. The answer is no because I walk everywhere. Because VinExpo is probably the size of a small city, my daily running around is suffice to fend off the pounds.
Speaking of weight, the book “French Women Are Not Fat (? Title)” is a fallacy. French women come in many sizes. I think the main difference is that they walk more than us. Because many reside in villages, buildings are in close proximity and walking everyday is the norm. Larger cities have great public transportation so walking to the metro is more exercise.
This evening, we dined in downtown Bordeaux at a Brazilian restaurant—a selection of grilled meat served straight off the spit stick. It’s ironic that I’m in France and every night, I have had a meal un-French! The food was delicious but the most peculiar part of the evening was the sunlight. It happened to be one of the longest days of the year and there was sun until 10pm! What’s better than dining outdoors in one of the prettiest places in the world…having a cigar after dinner.
Day 5) With half of the team dancing the night away and the other half enjoying the remaining evening with a stogie, we all enjoyed the last night in Bordeaux. It is truly a charming place and I hope to come back with some more time to wander around the center of the city…especially to visit a wine shop a new friend recommended, “L’Interdant” and feast on cheese at Baud et Millet. I drove by the storefront and am determined to go in the next time I’m in town!
The last day of VinExpo was quite a blur with tastings and clean-up. It seemed to be over as quickly as it started. Some parting shots of the wine and art filled expo.

A bientot, Tina