October has been a very busy month and I must apologise for my lack of content on the blog.
I started work at the annual Foire aux Vins on the 29th September for two full weeks in Loches followed by a week of tours and then we swept ourselves off to Paris for a long weekend to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary.
The Foire aux Vins is a big deal here in France. Originally created by the big supermarket Leclerc in the 1970’s, today it’s still by far the biggest and most interesting. All the big supermarkets have an annual wine fair but Leclerc’s is on a different level.
I was working in Loches as the general wine advisor and was promoting the wines of different people on different days.
A tailor made space accommodates the hundreds of wines available to customers over a two week period. Prices range from 1,99€ to several hundred and what you’ll find in Loches might not be the same as what you’ll find in Amboise. Leclerc’s wine buyers tend to be well educated and passionate about wine. There’s a core range in all the stores and then – you’ll find the little gems, personally chosen, that are never listed in the brochure.
Two big customer tastings precede the event. The Friday night is for those that spend a lot on wine in the store and the Monday night is for those that spend a lot in the store generally (and that includes wine). Hundreds of wines are available for tasting.
It’s a great chance for people to taste before they buy, chat with growers and narrow down their purchasing decisions.
People arrive at the store with brochure in hand, pages turned down marking the wines they’ve chosen. Trolleys laden with cartons of six leave the store and the first few days is remarkably busy.
My job was to help people locate the wines they had chosen, give advice generally and offer wine tastings of different wine on different days.
I met lots of lovely people, some who recognised me from last year, others surprised to find an English women helping them out and the odd one who was dismissive.
The gentleman who informed me he would be putting aside his 1,99€ Bordeaux for at least two years in his cellar as it was way too young to drink amused me.
The lady whose husband was ill and was doing the shopping touched me. She picked up three bottles of Chateau Pape Clement thinking the price was 83 euros for 6 not per bottle and then left them on the counter. She thanked me for taking the time to talk to her.
I talked politics with several, of the Queen with some, of Brexit with many and of course of wine with everyone.
It’s the last time I’ll work at the Foire aux Vins. As our own business rebounds back more and more, it’s a busy time for us so I’ll be happy to wave it goodbye. A great experience though.
Last week we had 14 through on three days of tours and on Friday we hopped on the train to Paris to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
Sitting here this morning I’m reflecting upon the amount of food and wine we managed to consume in such a short period of time. 5 excellent restaurant lunches or dinners (mostly classic French bistro or brasserie plus one Italian). Many bottles of delicious wine (and not a single one from the Loire!). Kilometres walked, buildings admired and the odd museum for good measure.
Our favourite dinner was at Chez Marcel in Montparnasse. We went years ago and had such a crazy evening it was a must on the list (hoping it would be just as good as we remembered).
It was. Loud, busy, great food, tiny. Everyone talks to everyone. You have to go through the kitchen to get to the loo which has multicoloured disco lights revolving.
The owner is engaging, the servers fun and efficient. Two complementary pours of Chartreuse and a large Calvados when we paid our bill ensured a slightly fuzzy head the following morning. Another memorable evening. You have to go!
So, things are back on an even keel now so I shall be more present on the blog I promise.
I hope to see as many of you as possible on Saturday for the live Zoom tasting and harvest round up.
