Réaut – part one

At dinner with friends recently we tried a very interesting Champagne, which left us keen to learn more about it. The Champagne was from Domaine Réaut, in the nearby village of Courteron. We mentioned how much we liked it and, the following week, our friends organised a tasting.

It was a little hard to find, as it was located in a quarry at the top of the village, that seemed a tad unwelcoming at first. However, Alexander Réaut approached Brian as he got out of the car and things quickly changed. Alexander is a warm and engaging character. He is the son of the current owner, and will be the fifth generation vigneron for Champagne Réaut. As soon as he began to speak we realised he cares deeply about his craft, and is passionate about creating biodynamic wines, something his father first introduced in 1992.

We started our tour by visiting one of his vineyards, high above the village. Standing at the edge of the vineyard he explained that his methods are bio-dynamic, and he asked us first whether we could see the difference between his vineyard and the neighbouring one. The answer was the vineyards were unploughed, with grass and weeds growing between the vines. The first part of his philosophy was not to fight nature, but work with it. The greenery growing in his vineyard was an indicator to him of the soil beneath, allowing him to ‘read’ its healthiness, which he said was very good. To demonstrate this he took a spade and dug some of the soil up. The small handful he took was alive with worms and crawling insects.

He brushed them off and then squeezed the earth in his hand, saying that a healthy soil will clump into a ball, whilst a dead soil will crumble.

Walking away from the vineyard to a clearing in the woods above, he showed us his compost pile that he had created, made from cow and horse manure with the addition of dried hemp. This compost mix was rich, dark and again alive with worms. He folds this into his vineyards once a year, ensuring his soil has life.

He was very passionate and, moved by his clear love for his terroir, we were more excited than ever to try his Champagnes…

Finding my prince

A friend of mine had given me some plants. It’s always so nice, I think, when you can share plants from your garden. They feel special.

I was keen to get them in the ground, as it’s ideal growing conditions – warm days with lots of humidity, and the soil is damp and full of worms doing their stuff. We chose the positions for them, and soon they were happy in their new home. Can’t wait to see them develop.

Even though it’s way too chilly to be using the pool, Brian still needs to keep it clean and check the chemical levels. When he was up there earlier he rescued a rather ugly little frog, who’d managed to find a way in. It’s not really a good environment for frogs, so Brian fished him out. Hopefully he’ll hop off and find somewhere a little more comfortable to live.

We do still have quite a bit of work to do in the garden before winter, but the bright autumn days make being outside delightful.

It’s in the planning

It’s raining today, a low haze of cloud and very misty rain. Brian is busy planning a few projects. He’s found a product he wants to use on the back wall in the cellar, to help minimise some of the water ingress from the slope which oozes through the brickwork. The wet weather has created some high humidity in there, which he’s looking to reduce. We will hopefully be able to share more on that over the coming weeks.

He is also planning to build me a shed up on the slope. I’m not quite sure when this will happen, hopefully springtime, but he does want to get it planned. This is the start of his thoughts, it often develops quite a lot from his early drawings, but it’s nice to start to capture his thoughts, challenges and ideas.

One of our more pressing projects, now our B&B season is coming to an end, is to finish off the library. We are both really excited to start work on that again. So we shall hopefully be able to share more on this over the coming weeks.

Autumn dancers

With the warm autumn sunshine we are still enjoying seeing a variety of butterflies in the meadow part of the garden. We will need to get it cut over the next couple of weeks, before the weather changes, but for now it’s still nice to see the brightly coloured wings as they dance across the grass.

We have also seen some darling little light blue butterflies, which are smaller than any of the other varieties we see, and a bit too quick to photograph. However, this golden one, although we rarely see it, was a little slower in fluttering about.

Just delightful.

Packing up

We were not able to start renovating the pool again until about 11am, as we’d had a little bit of rain first thing. By noon though we were making some good progress.

We had found our rhythm. I would mix up the chaux, whilst Brian smoothed our last piece of work, then we both would work together plastering it on and shaping the edge.

We’ve learnt not to let it dry too quickly, as that can cause it to crack, hence why we are covering it with some old packing paper.

We didn’t quite make it to the other end, as realised we need another bag of chaux, but also, by the end of day 3, we were definitely feeling it.

Reset

After we returned from the market we were keen to get back to work, so we headed up to the pool for day two of our renovation project. We started by pulling the gravel away from the edge, so that we could work on it much easier.

I then started to chip away at the loose render, collecting it carefully as I went. We didn’t want to end up with little bits of sharp render in the stones around the pool.

Brian then removed all the odd shaped pavers that were cut in along the edge of the pool. We felt these looked clumsy, and wanted to try and smooth the edge to make it more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, as well as a bit safer.

First though we had to reset some of the pavers, which were either already loose, or became so during the digging out. It was a bit scary removing them at first, as we weren’t sure if they’d stay in one piece or how difficult it would be to clean them up sufficiently to be able to reset them.

We didn’t let it worry us though, and plugged away removing the cement on the pool edge and pavers. We were soon confident in what we were doing and making some good progress.

We finished the day just cleaning up, and making everything ready for an early start tomorrow.

Un petit cadeau

Before starting back up at the pool, I wanted to nip to the market for a few veggies. Brian went and bought us a couple of pain aux chocolates, then we met back up at the café for coffee.

After, we nipped to the butchers, as I’m preparing a cheese and charcuterie platter for our guest on Sunday evening.

I’m really quite known now at my regular stalls in the market, and they always slip me a little present with my purchases. This week a piece of basil from the flower lady, and some tomatoes from the organic vegetable stall. At the butcher’s, I bought various cold meats and some slices of locally cured ham. Having sliced off what I needed, he then offered me the end of the joint as ‘un petit cadeau’, asking if I would be able to use it? ‘Bien sûr’ I replied, thank you very much.

I think it will be very tasty in a chicken and ham pie this evening.

Slap on the chaux

We woke to a gorgeous blue sky, perfect to get on with some renovation of the rendering around the pool, and resetting some loose slabs.

I had the job of mixing up the chaux, whilst Brian cleaned down the areas we were going to be working on. It’s best just to damp them down before then slapping on the chaux.

I’d taken our lunch up there, cheese and pickle baguette, so we were able to enjoy the whole day working on the walls, chatting and feeling like we’d had a thoroughly good workout by the end of it.

Before heading back down to the house for a well needed shower before dinner, we sat for a while admiring our work, and planning for tomorrow whilst enjoying a nice hot cup of Earl grey tea.

Pear chutney

I’ve been helping my friend with her glut of apples, which means nearly everything has apples in it at the moment, but I’ve nearly used them all up, having made some delicious cakes, tartes, jams, jellies and chutneys. She also shared with me some pears. I had thought about making a pear tatin, but decided I had enough to try some pear and ginger chutney instead.

With Brian helping, we first peeled, cored and chopped the pears.

Then I added some chopped red onion, and grated in some fresh ginger. I then added cider vinegar and sugar and some salt. After a good 30 minutes the sugar was melted, the onions were cooked, and the pears were glazed in a syrupy, sweet and sour mixture.

It's difficult putting labels on bulb shaped jars!

I carefully filled just over 6 jars with the chutney, which can be used straight away or stored in a cool place. I think it will be very tasty with cheese.

Autumn colour

I’ve got a beautiful Japanese anemone growing between the lavender in front of our house. It’s a beautiful pale pink with a dusty yellow centre, and makes a fabulous contrast against the lavender. I hadn’t planted it, it must have just rooted maybe from a seed that a bird had carried.

The autumn colour around the garden is way more vivid, with some beautiful vivid pinks, and mauves. My mum had given me the two bright pink plants, so I love the fact that they are flourishing in the garden.

I cut some mint flowers to help add some interest to a little posy I’d picked for the table. I like using herbs in flower arrangements as they add a very subtle aroma to the display.

Banana pancakes

It has been a wonderful few days sharing time with my niece and getting to know her boyfriend. They enjoyed learning about Champagne, the process, the region and, of course, the tasting. Although it has been harvest this week, which means the vignerons are often too busy to offer tastings, we were able to make a visit to Richardot, which was excellent. Always a delight.

We enjoyed some lovely relaxed meals of roasted cauliflower with a tahini and pistachio dressing, spiced baked rice with roasted tomatoes, classic French tomato tart, lentil salad with a mustard dressing and coconut chia pudding with fresh mango. Brian matched some delicious wines, and shared his knowledge on how to taste wines, to help develop your taste buds, and enjoyment.

Before they left today we had a delicious breakfast of banana pancakes, which I served with lemon and sugar and maple syrup or homemade jam. They went down very well, especially as they were gluten free, so we could all enjoy them.

As they were leaving we spotted a little praying mantis near the gate. Such an intriguing little creature, who was already wearing his autumn colours.

Sans gluten

We woke to a bright blue sky, with a slightly cool breeze. Despite the freshness, the courtyard made for an excellent sunny spot to enjoy our breakfast.

Our niece is arriving today with her boyfriend. They are exploring France, so decided to pop in and see us on their travels, which is fabulous. We are looking forward to spending a few days with them catching up on all their news, and plans for their adventures.

I’m preparing a few things to enjoy whilst they are here. I’ve baked some biscuits and a French apple cake, a bit of a favourite of mine at the moment, although this one is gluten free, so a little more challenging.

I’m very pleased with how it’s all come out, and actually can’t wait to try them.

A memorable year

Usually Harvest has a clear beginning and end, with a busy and exciting middle, but this year it’s been different. For some it’s already over, for others it hasn’t begun yet, whilst for too many the cost of picking what grapes they have outweighs the benefits of picking them, so they will be left on the vines.

So this morning it was so good to see them picking at the end of our valley. It’s quite slow work, as care needs to be taken to ensure that only the best grapes are picked.

It will not be a big harvest, but it will be a memorable one. For some, the last time their family had a year like this was 1985, and that year is etched in their memories.

We will learn more over the coming weeks on the impact of this sadly memorable year.

Little things

It’s those small, little things I often find real joy in.

We headed into Troyes today as we had a few things we needed to do. There was a chill in the air but the sky was was bright blue, and the sun was refreshingly warm. The change in season was definitely upon us and it was the first day when I needed to slip on a jumper. I chose something bright and joyful.

We first visited the framers where we were dropping off a painting to be framed, one that is very dear to us, as it was painted by a very special friend. After some consultation with the framer, Brian was happy that he understood what we wanted, and we chose a rather spectacular frame, which we cannot wait now to collect and see just how it’s going to look.

We found a lovely little café down a side street, for coffee and a hot chocolate, and had a quiet moment; Brian reading through my daily blog before posting. We decided it would be nice to return here one day for brunch.

Before heading back to the car, I had wanted to try some boots I’d seen earlier in a shop window. I loved the boots, but also loved the free bag they put them in. It makes the purchase so much more special.

It’s massive!

Through the summer we’ve been watching a new ‘pressoir’ being built in Landreville, the village next to ours.

It all really started when we saw some massively long beams being delivered. They were parked just off the main road to the entrance of the village for a few days, I think whilst they worked out how to get them up the narrow, winding road.

Once there, they then needed to install a crane to position them. Another amazing feat.

Over the weeks, then months, we’ve seen the building progress. Before it was totally sealed, they needed to fit in some of the larger equipment needed for a pressoir.

A few weeks ago, they had the tanks delivered. Huge stainless steel containers for the jus to be stored in.

We will keep watching it develop over the coming weeks. For now though I think they are having a short break, whilst the old press next door is used for the harvest.

Avions, voitures et motos Anciennes

The annual ‘rassemblement’ at Celles-sur-Ource airfield returned on Sunday. It was an absolutely brilliant day out. The weather was perfect, with puffy white clouds in a blue sky, providing a perfect backdrop for the antics of the pilots.

We arrived just after lunch, had a little wander around looking at, and ‘ooh-ing’ over, some of the classic and historic cars. I am particularly partial to a bright red car, of which there were a few, along with a host of 2CV’s, and a gorgeous light blue open top Mercedes. Pretty much a car for all occasions.

The airfield itself was a hive of activity, with local and visiting aircraft lined up along the runway, and a number of visitors taking up the offer of a flight over the vineyards for just €55. I have to admit though, it’s not something I am too interested in, maybe due to my dislike of heights.

What we hadn’t expected though was the ‘air show’ of the older aircraft that peppered the sky during the afternoon. It was fantastic being so up close to the planes, seeing them take off and land and perform amazing loop-the-loops, low level flying and at one point even upside down flying. I definitely would not have wanted to get into the wrong plane! I hope you enjoy the short video Brian has made of the show.

Medieval Fayre

Last weekend we visited the Commanderie of Avalleur, for its annual medieval festival. They have various events during the season, and it’s open to the public throughout the year, free of charge. This event is particularly good, as it’s two days of themed displays and activities, with tours of the commanderie and chapel and plenty of refreshments.

The scene is definitely set as you arrive. We were greeted by some very realistic looking knights, and an encampment that had been designed to reflect the period. There were lots of people dressed in period costumes, seemingly going about their business, bringing the whole scene to life. The public are also invited to come along dressed in similar period attire, however we passed on that this time.

It’s a fun day, where you learn lots about the period of the Templars from the people demonstrating the way of life they had. One lady was exhibiting an early version of a ‘Winchester’ rifle, and mixing up gunpowder in an iron bowl to show how it would flare inside the barrel. At another tent a man explained how they would make their bows and arrows, selecting different arrow heads depending on what they were used for. For example, when catching fish they needed arrows that would stay in and float. It was fascinating.

There was also a demonstration of sword fighting, which looked extremely difficult in their cumbersome layers of armour.

It all felt very authentic, and made for a great day out.

A prickly load

The plan today was to tidy up the garden, as the sun wasn’t too strong so it was a nice day to spend pottering around.

We’d bought a garden shredder on our trip to Dijon last week, and decided to test it out. We have so much garden waste from the roses, which is prickly to load into the trailer and take to the déchetterie, that we thought a shredder could work better, and I can either use the chippings on the garden, if they are suitable, or dispose of them more easily at the déchetterie.

Brian had set the shredder up, and I made a start on some pruning of the roses. It wasn’t long before we were really making a difference

We’re loving the shredder it seems to be working really well, especially with the green branches, which we were thinking may prove to be more difficult, but it just gobbles them up.

Another little job that Brian wanted to do was to replace a protective cover for a cable near the front door, which had faded and broken in the intense sun. He soon had it tidied up, and protected again. I think we will look for a better solution for it, something more aesthetically pleasing , but for now it is safe.

Beautiful finish

It was such a lovely evening, we couldn’t resist enjoying a chilled glass of white wine from one of our favourite burgundy villages, Saint Romain. We enjoyed it with some Moelleux du Revard Cheese, and a spot of my homemade apple and rosemary jelly.

What a beautiful finish to our day.

Excusez-moi

There was a bit of a chill in the air this morning, we’d woken early as I was keen to get to the market to buy some flowers. The lady sells out so quickly, as they are always so spectacular and inexpensive. I bought these two bouquets for just €8. So as not to have to carry them around with me, whilst I did my other shopping, she popped the daises and sunflowers behind her stall, and the dahlias she fitted under the stall. ‘Tout à l'heure’ she piped, as we walked away.

I was heading to get some mushrooms, when Brian briefly looked back, and noticed another lady handing over my bunch of dahlias, and our stallholder about to take the money for them…again! “Excusez-moi, Madame, ma femme vient d'acheter ces fleurs il y a un instant”. The stallholder apologised to us, and the lady, and placed them behind her stall for safe keeping. The other lady looked quite put out though, so we made a hasty retreat.

The market was full of beautiful fresh late summer produce, I couldn’t resist getting a selection. We have a guest dinner this week, so it’s lovely to use local ingredients. We returned for our bouquets and then headed home.

I set myself up to arrange my flowers outside in the sun, choosing from my collection of vases I’ve put together.

The house is full of colour and sunshine now.