Tag Archives: France

Fronton, Gaillac, Madiran: Red Wines of Toulouse, France: Day 98 EU Austerity Drinking Tour

Posted on March 24, 2014 by waywardwine

This Monday’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour finds us 98 days into our alcohol-on-a-dime traipse through Europe’s famed regions. We leave glitzy but wet Bordeaux for southern France. Our hub will be Toulouse: a city surrounded by ignored but extreme value wine regions.

We leave Bordeaux still drenching in Atlantic rain.

But as the TGV speeds East, the sun emerges, mossy trees trade fade to gnarly shrubs, and the world becomes dry, calm, and continental in climate. Here the mellow Mediterranean holds more sway than the wet churn of the Atlantic. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Chateau Bellevue la Forêt, DURAS, Fer, France, Fronton, Gaillac, Jacobin Church, Madiran, St Thomas Aquinas, Syrah, Tannat, Toulouse | 3 Comments

St-Émilion Part 3: Macaron Sweets and Panoramic Treats

Posted on March 10, 2014 by waywardwine

Extracted from St-Émilion’s underworld (last post), our EU Austerity Drinking Tour continues above ground. Too sick to drink, we wander. Gates and walls gird every corner of this hill-town.

You almost expect a bouncer with sunglasses to stand there. But when each bottle costs a thousand bucks, these vines become too valuable for tourists to traipse through and take selfies (#vineyardselfies).

Almost bored by all the brilliance, we walk around another Romanesque ruin abutting another Grand Cru vineyard.

But then, on the city’s edge, we also discover the birthplace of macarons. In 1620, while Pilgrims were landing in Plymouth, this bakery started selling macarons. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1620, Bordeaux, Château, Fabrique de Macarons, France, macaron, Macaroons, Marie Antoinette, Pilgrims, Plymouth, St-Emilion, Troglodyte | 2 Comments

St-Émilion Part 2: Above and Below

Posted on March 6, 2014 by waywardwine

Today continues Monday’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour of St-Émilion: Bordeaux’s citadel to Merlot. Flu still numbs our adventurers’ palates, so we opt for a city tour instead of wine. The whole city is a UNESCO site, so why not?

We pass more wine-shops than people. The Roman “Cadene” Gate begins our slippery descent into the ancient core. It is a hodgepodge of eras with a home from 1291. *meh!*

We stumble past our less adventurous tourers, nearly falling in our rush. Then we mass into a small pocket: i.e. town square. An ancient market gapes to our left. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bordeaux, France, monolithic, Monolithic Cathedral, St-Emilion | Leave a comment

Blow Minds Valentine’s Day with Bollinger, La Grande Année, 2004, Brut, Champagne, France

Posted on February 13, 2014 by waywardwine

Valentine’s Day is Friday. You’re screwed. Posh restaurants filled up months ago. Not a single gift works. All that survives are roses from Columbia and chocolate that tastes worse than the heart box it spawned from.

You want to wow that significant other? Well procrastinator, Wayward Wine will help you blow their mind.

Buy Champagne. Not Prosecco. Not Moscatto. Not beer. Not “Sparkling Wine” in a box. Just buy Champagne, from France.

But to truly stop their heart, splurge on vintage Champagne. You can tell them that most Champagne is a (cheaper) non-vintage blend upwards of thirty harvests. Vintage Champagne is only made in those rare years, when conditions (meteorological and economical) are ideal. Each release tastes different because each year was different. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2004, Bollinger, Brut, Champagne, France, La Grande Année, Valentine, Valentine's Day | 6 Comments

Graves Open Doors 4: The Final Frontier: Château de Roquetaillade la Grange

Posted on February 10, 2014 by waywardwine

This installment of Monday’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour finds us sick, drunk, and headed to the fourth and last winery in Graves in southeast Bordeaux.

To recap: a free van picked us up for “Portes Ouvertes dans les Graves” (Open Doors in Graves) in the sleepy town of Langon (below):

We tried Bordeaux’s just-fermented varietals at Château Pont de Brion (here), ate rotten grapes at Château La Croix (here), and met a red-only, family run, micro-winery at Château Caillivet (here).

Well-smashed, our white tin chariot takes us to Bordeaux’s Southern-most winery: Château de Roquetaillade la Grange:

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Luckily, we didn’t walk.

Soft hills roll with vine rows. This is the highest vineyard in Graves: roughly 100 meters above sea-level. Not a mountain, but unlike la Croix’s river-side, rotting grapes (tricky, but perfect for dessert wine), dry breezes and more drainage keep Roquetaillade’s vines happy. With all this rain, that matters.

Also unlike the rest of Langon, this “Château” has a château: Continue reading →