Today is Saint Vincent’s day, it is celebrated on 22 January every year. Saint Vincent is the patron saint of winemakers, so extremely important to the people who live in our area. He symbolizes the solidarity between them, so every year the villages and towns all across France, who have strong ties to the wine industry, come together to share some convivial moments.

Saturday evening we were invited to join some of the growers and producers at a local hotel restaurant, the Val Moret, for dinner.

There were about 20 people, some familiar faces, but also quite a few we didn’t know. A great way for us to meet new people and practice our French.

It was a really enjoyable evening, chatting in a mix of French and English. One gentleman surprised all his friends by speaking in very decent English to us, revealing a skill they didn’t know he had. The meal was delicious, with local trout to start, then roast beef, which everyone said was perfect for the English (they fondly call us ‘Rosbeef’), some local cheeses, then a very tasty, but not too sweet, dessert.

We obviously enjoyed Champagne as our aperitif, then a local Chablis with the trout and a Bordeaux red with the beef. For dessert they had chosen a Banyuls, which is a wine appellation, not known to us, in the southeastern corner of Roussillon in southern France. It’s in the lower edge of the Pyrenees, not far from the Spanish border. We learnt that Banyuls is a sweet, fortified wine, which can include red, white or rosé wines. We were trying a red variety. They make it by picking the grapes when they are at their highest sugar content and at their sweetest. It was a great way to try a different wine.

A lovely evening all round.