I am actually on vacation in France, near Bordeaux, at my parents house. But my travel from New York to France was—CRAZY!!!

On Friday morning when I woke up I saw snow through the window. I am sure NY is wonderful with the snow, but not really for my flight. I finished to pack everything and left to the JFK airport. I had my flight around 5:00 pm so I left around 2:00 pm.

I took the train and then the airtrain near the JFK airport and my crazy travel started… The Airtrain had a problem and stopped. The problem is that nobody drives this train, it is only a stupid computer. After 30 minutes, a guy from the airport arrived and started to find a solution. He drove the train manually for a bit and the computer restarted. 45 minutes were wasted on the Airtrain.  I checked my flight on the internet because now I was so late.

I arrived at the airport at 4:10 pm for a flight at 4:50 pm.  So, it was time to sprint!   I gave my luggage to Air France, ran through the airport, passed the security area and ran again until I arrived at my gate.  Luckily, I made it in time to board.  Thank goodness!

Once on the plane, I found my seat and started to sleep.  I woked up after one hour and we were still at the JFK airport!  They had to defreeze the plane. I continued to sleep because I had only that to do. I was more lucky than my friend Tia, no bad smell.. hahahahaha.

I landed at the Charles de Gaule airport in Paris 90 minutes late and I had a transition to another flight to Bordeaux. Let’s go for another RUN!!!!! This one was crazy and sooooo long, because my gate was at the other side of the airport. But I did it, I think I was very motivated to be at home with my family.

I made it to Bordeaux, but my luggage did not.  During this crazy trip, my luggage has been lost somewhere. I am still waiting it but I hope to receive it soon.

My trip was stressful, but more funny now when I speak about it than it was at the time. I am really happy to be home with my family and my friends. But I have not forgotten the US and I will come back soon.

Happy holidays to you and your family!

Nico

One morning, as we were leaving the city of Narbonne for our next excursion in the Languedoc, our driver, Yves, who I absolutely adore, asked us if we’d be interested in stopping at the local market.  His inquiry was met by a resounding “YES! ABSOLUTELY!” and before we knew it Yves was whisking us through the market to show us all the local food purveyors.  I rarely turn down an opportunity for food, especially local cuisine.

The market in Narbonne

The South of France cuisine is a fusion of the mountains and the sea.  There were beautiful meats, whole rabbits on display and gorgeous sausage.   We heard about a local sausage specialty but unfortunately did not have the opportunity to try it. 

We tried not to drool over the variety of cheeses.  This case (pictured on the right) was completely filled with a selection of chevre.  Goat cheese is very common in the South of France and makes a great pairing with the wines. We purchased the local cheese, which we were told had no official name.  So, we called it the “no name” cheese.  It was delicious.  I bought a bottle of local olive oil for home.  7 euros.  Surely this would be much more costly in America. 

Below are two of the local pastries.  The first, on the left, was the Narbonaisse pastry featuring a topping of toasty pine nuts (remember the garrigue?).  On the right is another local pastry featuring the symbol of the cross, which is the symbol for the Languedoc.

Finally, the highlight was the seafood.  We are just off the Mediterranean.  Yves took us to his favorite local fishmonger who shucked fresh oysters for us to eat.  I tried my first sea urchin too.  (The words we used to describe the sea urchin flavor are too x-rated to print, so I’ll leave that to your imagination.)  I love oysters and these were an absolutely delightful way to start the morning!  I could only imagine how good they would taste with a little Robert Skalli Chardonnay…..

To quote a famous song lyric… “Oooo that smell.  Can’t you smell that smell? ”  This is Tia, guest blogging again today. There were a few comments regarding my last post that were related to aroma, so I thought it would be a good lead in for this post. 

Tia outside the city of Carcassonne

My travels have me in the Languedoc region, a very large region with many unique and distinctive appellations  But, one of the things that has been consistent throughout my visit to the South of France so far are the aromas found outside.  This is a countryside of spice!  Driving through vineyards you get whiffs of thyme, rosemary, juniper, wild fennel and pine.  It’s because it’s growing wild just about everywhere!  Some of the plants growing in between the vines are even used in salad!  All this native scrub is called the garrigue.  Check out this picture from my hotel room outside Narbonne showing all the garrigue.  Talk about a room with a view!

The garrigue is truly a part of the terroir of the vineyards throughout the South of France.  Studies have been carried out here by the CIVL (Inter-professional Council of Wines of Languedoc) to highlight the recurring presence of aromas of the garrigue in the wines.  Oils from these plants drift on to the vines, carried by the ever present winds.  In fact, some vintners have told us that you will see a waxy film from the garrigue on the grapes before harvest time.

The growing region the surrounds my hotel is the Corbières appellation.  The Corbières AOC has had a complex geological history which explains the vast soil types found here, like shale, limestone, sandstone and more.  The area is not far from the influence of the sea and the common red grape varieties include Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Cinsault.  The common whites include Grenache blanc, Marsanne, Rousanne and more.   Robert Skalli makes a wine from the Corbières AOC, although it is currently not found in the U.S.  

Nonetheless, I encourage you to look for the presence of garrigue in any of the Robert Skalli wines as their grapes are sourced from appellations throughout the Langeudoc.   We’ve certainly notices several herbal notes in the wines we’ve tasted.  In fact, the garrigue is serving as our GPS, leading us through the South of France.  Perhaps I’ll explain more about that in another post.

I am sure you know now I like to cook and on Saturday morning I had a desire for Stuffed Tomatoes. I cut the tomatoes in half, scooped out the insides and put it on a plate. I will use the rest of the tomatoes later with the rice. I put the oven around 350 degrees, then I prepared the filling.

I used one onion, parsley, 13 Oz of mushrooms (fresh even better) and I cut them in very small cubes. Then I mixed all the mushrooms, onion and parsley with the ground meat and added salt and pepper.  

I am sure you can see the bottle of Fortant Chardonnay in the picture.  Why? Because after I have stuffed the tomatoes with the meat filling I added some Chardonnay to the baking dish, about a 1/2 inch. Not too much because you will also have the juice from the mushrooms. Top each stuffed tomato with the remaining half of each tomato and put the dish in the oven for about 35 minutes.

After 35 minutes, pull the dish out of the oven and add the rice (I used about 1 1/2 cups, uncooked) around the tomatoes and the rest of the meat. Then in the oven again for 15 minutes or a bit more until the rice is completely cooked. And the result is:

Of course my roomate, Francois, and I drank a glass of wine to complete the meal. The Robert Skalli Pinot Noir 2006 was perfect.  

What do you think? Do you have another pairing in mind with my Pinot Noir?

Hello everyone!  I work with Nicolas in the United States handling public relations for Robert Skalli Wines.  While Nicolas continues to discover America, I have been discovering the Sud du France with a few journalist friends in tow.  To use a phrase from Nicolas — it is amazing!

Here are a few things I’ve discovered so far via the airport…..

Air France still serves food on board and its actually good.  

Air France flight attendants are very good looking.  I guess it’s in the French genes.

Some Europeans have a thing against deoderant.  My flight was an olfactory experience, to say the least.

They offer you chamgagne and wine at no charge!  But, of course!  Wine is part of French food and culture. 

Bread and cheese are mandatory at every meal.  I’m down with that.

I can’t wait to share more about my experiences with you…..stay tuned!