Tag Archives: France

Mimolette Returns!!! Moulin à Vent Stephane Aviron

Posted on November 13, 2014 by waywardwine

Mimolette: that Tahitian sunset-colored, melon ball of a cheese has returned. Last spring the Orwellian Federal Drugs Administration decided that no more than 6 microscopic cheese mites per square inch could exist. 3,800 pounds were destroyed. It did not matter … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Beaujolais, Cheese, France, Louis XIV, mimolette, wine | 2 Comments

Christmas Markets, Wine, and Pastries in Strasbourg, Alsace, France: Wolfberger and Domaine Loew

Posted on November 10, 2014 by waywardwine

We leave Luxembourg after three days. It was cold, charming, and filled with the leanest wine I have had. But this way we avoid bias or over-attachment . The fish starts to smell after three days, as grandma said. After 136 days of travel, we fight to keep things fresh.

So no respectable EU Austerity Drinking Tour would head to Germany without a brief stay in Strasbourg: heart of Alsace and its fantastic wine. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alsace, Christian, Christmas markets, Domaine Loew, France, Strasbourg, Strasbourg Cathedral, Vosges Mountains, wine, Wolfberger | 3 Comments

Fontenay Abbey: Au Revoir Bourgogne

Posted on October 27, 2014 by waywardwine

Having hit 130 days of nonstop travel, our EU Austerity Drinking Tour needs a moment of sober solace. The last three days in Burgundy have climbed Beaune’s premier cru vineyards, visited the Hospice de Beaune, and Dijon’s medieval gems.

Today we wake at 9am, feast on chocolate croissants, then hop train to Montbard. Our small map puts famed Fontenay Abbey nearby. Since UNESCO declared Fontenay a World Heritage Site on our birth-year, it must be worth a day trip. But the 6 kilometer march, without sidewalk, near freezing, turn this into surprise penance. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Burgundy, EU Austerity, Fontenay, Fontenay Abbey, France, French wine, monks, montbard, travel, UNESCO, wine | 2 Comments

Beaune Part 2: Hospice de Beaune Hotel Dieu

Posted on October 13, 2014 by waywardwine

Last Monday’s post, we hiked the frozen tundra of Beaune’s vineyards, tasted pinot noir from skeleton vines, got lost, and ate its chalky soil. Today, we tumble back into Beaune to visit the Hospice de Beaune Hôtel Dieu: home of the world’s most famous wine auction.

A few plagues and marauding bands brought Beaune to a humanitarian crisis in the 1440s. Desperate to stop disease and buy a one-way-ticket to indulgence-paved heaven, Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor, and wife Guigone had a hospital and hostel built for the poor. We arrive outside, a bit underwhelmed: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Beaune, Christies, EU Austerity Drinking Tour, France, Hospice de Beaune, Hotel Dieu, wine | 3 Comments

Beaune Vineyards: EU Austerity Drinking Tour: Nuiton-Beaunoy, Burgundy, France

Posted on October 6, 2014 by waywardwine

After much delay, our EU Austerity Drinking Tour continues. 131 continuous days of travel, drinking, eating, and drinking our way through Europe has worn us out. But somehow, we keep striving in Burgundy. Today, we visit Beaune: wine capital of Bourgogne and possibly the world: Continue reading →