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Did somebody say WINE!. What vacation would be complete without some sort of drunken "Cask of Amontillado" type winery tour. Bob had heard of a place that was WAY of the beaten bath in a town called Beaun. It was way up near Lyon, and it was a drive that people usually only see in the movies. |
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They spend a few days gathering the grapes with hired hands in the red bins. Crush them and let them sit in these oak tubs. He noted that they were pretty thorough and got ALL the dead mice out of the tubs BEFORE filling them. |
| Here we learned the big scam. They get rid of their casks after only a few years and sell them to US wineries who try to sell their stuff as having been kept in "aged french oak barrels." What a scam. The room was damp and musty with casks of wine stretching far into the dark far end. |  |
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The tasting begins!! Not that I can't control it, but I was pretty darn excited to have a toast or five. It's not every day you get to tour a 500 year old winery with the owner. He was determined to keep popping corks of any year or blend we so much as glanced our eyes at. A wonderful trait in a Winery owner I must admit. It was fun to pretend I knew what I was looking at as I swirled the glass around in the dim cellar light. Nobody laughed out loud, and I don't think I would have mind if they did! |
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| Even the curved brick ceiling of this still lower basement couldn't' contain our excitement as he got out the glasses. |  |
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Not a bad year. A bit dry. Or maybe not... I had better try another few years to compare too! |
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His card. If you are ever in Beaune look him up. It's a free tour and you get a $60 bottle of French wine for around $10. Not bad!! |
| A famous old hospice. Felt like doing something vaguely culturally redeeming after feeling so debauched on the tour. We then retreated to a cafe where we could refresh ourselves with yet ANOTHER cafe au lait. It's easy to pronounce, tasty, and you can get it anywhere. Smile, say "Une croisant avec cafe au lait s'il vous plait" and they'll actually think ... well they'll think you're a nice tourist instead of the typical UGLY AMERICAN. |
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