Last week end, I went on tour with Choeur Varenne to the wine-growing region of Burgundy. We spent a good part of the three days eating and drinking. Our first stop after two hours' coach ride from Paris was in the middle of the Chablis vineyard. And by 11am we were tasting the resulting wine from previous years.We learned about the complexity of Burgundy wines and why it is important to try many different bottles before purchasing anything. The soil and growing conditions can be very different on vine plots just two meters apart on the same hilly slope because of varying sun exposure, soil drainage and depth, rockiness. This results in a great variety of wines although they are mostly all processed from the same grape varieties: chardonnay for whites and pinot noir for reds.
We visited historical buildings that had been hosting wine processing since the 12th century. We were treated to a fantastic red wine which changed aroma and taste each time I took a sip from my glass. It started off with red berries when we first tasted it at lunch time and had evolved to leather and cocoa notes by the evening when we opened left-over bottles with our picnic on the way back to Paris.Of course, we also sang a concert. Electrified by the surprisingly large audience already waiting for us when we reached the rural church to give our concert, we gave one of our best tour performances. We, of course, celebrated our musical success with more eating and drinking at a restaurant in Dijon.
Three days of eating, drinking, visiting, singing. No wonder I felt exhausted every day at siesta time.
Chevaliers de la table ronde
French traditional song
Photo of me napping: Caroline L.
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