It was amazing to spend a full week in The South of France with minimal amounts of driving. However, this being a Jeremy and Nicole vacation, it was time to get, “On the Road Again.” So after our incredible bike ride, we ate a baguette and started driving – to Southwest France and the A.O.C. Languedoc!
After a couple hours driving, we soon noticed that grape vines covered every stretch of the land, in contrast to Provence, where the vines tend to grow on hillsides amidst beautiful homes and towns. Driving into Languedoc, which boasts the largest volume of wine production in all of France, is like walking into Costco, only a million times better – wine everywhere!
We had been warned that the wine of Languedoc isn’t “as good” as the wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, etc. Maybe not, but the wines we tasted, from A.O.C. La Clape cannot be scorned as merely “passable” French wines. In fact, they were delicious! Bolder in taste and perhaps a little more like what we have come to know in California.
We stayed at the guest house of Winery Mas du Soleilla, a boutique winery which produces less than 100,000 bottles of wine each year. Their wine was so delicious that we bought seven bottles during our two day stay! Nearly all of the bottles Mas du Soleiolla produces include blends of multiple varietals. After a few weeks in regions that tend to produce single varietal wines (Burgundy = Pinot Noir, Provence = Grenache Rose) It was fun to taste another style of wine making. We were particularly happy to taste some varietals we also don’t often see in California except perhaps at Cline Cellars! Roussanne, Carignane, Mourvedre… Our favorite from Mas du Soleilla was a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. We bought two of those bottles!
In between sips of delicious wines at Mas du Soleilla, we spent time on the beach in Narbonne Plage. Another very hot day, we just couldn’t be too far from the Mediterranean Sea! And although Narbonne Plage was nothing like the beaches of the French Riviera, we couldn’t help but love it’s Jersey-shore-ness. How can you not like a beach with a store from which you can purchase a jug of wine that you pump yourself for 2 Euros a liter! That’s almost cheaper than gasoline!
By 5PM, we had endured sufficient sun exposure. And we likely were reaching our limit of International iPhone mega bytes trying to follow the progress of Stage 16 in Le Tour. So we packed up our bags and headed to a bar just off the beach to watch some cycling action. It was a very exciting day, with Lance Armstrong in a breakaway that was 9’00 ahead of the peloton. Lance was trying to salvage a final stage win in this year’s tour, which as we all know, has not been going incredibly well for him. With a rose in hand, I stood in front of a television, cheering my heart out for Team Radio Shack. I definitely amused (or maybe, annoyed?) the locals. I like to think I’m the first American girl they have ever seen be so excited about cycling.
After much unrest, Lance wasn’t able to pull it out in the end. But he came so close! And watching that stage of Le Tour is definitely our favorite one to date, regardless of the results. Tomorrow is a rest day for the riders and for us, but we’ll be back on Thursday in the Pyrenees at Le Col du Tourmalet! Maybe Lance will but out a win then? Or maybe Andy Schleck will use the anger in his stomach to triumph over Alberto Contador? Either way, we will be there, drinking our jug of rose and cheering everyone up the HC climb and most exciting stage of Le Tour 2010. A santé!
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| 2010-07-20 - Narbonne Plage |
First - are you drinking all that wine or are you shipping some of it back home? Second, you are doing a lot of bike riding and seeing some tremendous sites. WOW. I also like the food choices -- lots of variety -- protein, some carbs, cheese for dairy, veges, fruits, and vino. I also liked the Jersey shore pix.
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