Happy New Year 2021 my friends. One thing’s for sure – it can’t be worse than 2020 can it? Onwards and upwards as we move towards the finish line.
I took a break from blogging over Christmas and was happy about that. I did however have time to reflect upon a few positives that I felt came out of 2020 that I posted on Facebook and I repost them here for you in case you didn’t catch them.
It would be easy to find nothing good at all to say about last year but in fact there were quite a few good things that came out of our enforced slow down.
So, the positives:
We walked miles and miles through the Vouvray vineyards and now have a comprehensive knowledge of who owns which parcels and where they are.
I, like the rest of the world, jumped on the sourdough bandwagon. It occupied me for hours and hours and nearly drove Nigel mad. I’m over it now he’ll be pleased to know. It was hugely satisfying and sourdough undoubtedly makes the best toast ever.
We were able to follow the vineyard year closely from budburst to harvest and were able to get up close to harvest this year for the first time in years (we’d normally be busy with guests).
We’ve sourced more of our food from local suppliers and shops than we did before. I’ve learnt how to use Zoom and have created business opportunities in partnership with Château de Montdomaine. Working with Louisa Martin was a pleasure and we had lots of fun creating 2 mixed cases complete with tasting notes, recipes and virtual tastings. Thanks to everyone who supported us in this venture, it really meant a lot to both of us.
I had the pleasure of working in the tasting room at Domaine Vincent Careme during the summer thanks to Tania Van Zijl Careme who has been wonderfully supportive. I proved to myself that I can also work in French, something that I’ve not done until this year.
I wrote a daily blog during the first lock-down and was surprised how easy it was to find things to write about when there is absolutely nothing going on. I learnt to observe the tiny things that happen each day and to take pleasure in our surroundings.
We managed to keep in touch with friends in the UK, Belgium, France and US via virtual aperos and dinners.
I managed to get over to the UK and spend a week with my parents in late October. Just made it before things got serious again.
We’ve had a wonderfully supportive network of friends who have encouraged us during what has been a pretty awful year for our business.
A few negatives:
We nearly drank the cellar dry and had a bit of explaining to do with the accountant at year end.
Our beautiful cat Pesto has become a complete diva thinking she can come and go as she pleases and demand food at any time of day or night (yes that’s our fault).
I never managed to lose the couple of kilos that I put on over Christmas last year and it looks like I’ll have the same problem this coming year too.
All in all, a challenging year for us (and for everyone) but we have so much to be grateful for.
We live in a beautiful place, have outside space to escape and are just metres away from miles of beautiful vineyards where we can walk without seeing a soul. There are so many people much worse off than us.
So, we look to 2021 with hope and anticipation. We thank you all for your kind messages of support and friendship this year. They have given us comfort and reassurance that things will eventually return to normal.
Raising a glass to you all from Noizay. Happy New Year everyone! See you soon.
