bleudauvergne

Yep, that's about right.

Here's more pics. When we first arrived, it was easy to move around the floor. Regional products were on sale in some kiosks. Things got more crowded as the day wore on. We had a great time. I'll be updating this with other wines we tasted and bought as I have time to do so.

I hope glenn's watching because I think I have the answer to his soda problem. Syrups. The future is in syrups, son.

I'm really getting into this blog from cold and rainy France! Your outdoor meals look just wonderful.

I finally have a moment to post some pictures. We did not go on Friday due to some logistical problems and heavy rain. So Saturday morning we were out of the house by 10h00, and at 11h00, I found myself waiting outside the Hall Tony Garnier and being tempted by a quiche which I was only allowed to eat 1/2 of. I nibbled away at the quiche while Loic went to get the cart. He showed up just in time to grab his half... We finished our little picnic outside and then proceeded in to taste the wines. Our pass got us each a goblet with the Independent Vigneron logo on it to carry with us and taste from throughout the day. They are nice souveniers of the fair, and every year we add to the collection. 1. We started with champagne that was not featured in the D-G guide, but that we purchased their blanc de noir last year, CHAMPAGNE LACROIX. We recognised the vigneron, same guy as last year. The people serving us the wines are the ones who actually make them, so we asked all of the questions we wanted, knowing that thy're happy to talk about their wines, they were there when the grapes were picked, and all though the process. We tasted his Tradition, then the Grande Reserve, and then a Millésime 1998. We had questions about how they choose the millésime. They all tasted wonderful to me, and I worried a little bit about how we were going to choose. When we said goodbye to M. Lacroix, I was convinced that we were going to buy a case of their Grande Reserve, at €82.80 a case of 6 - which stood out as the best of the group. But it was only our first wine! 2. The second wine we tasted was CHAMPAGNE MONCUIT Pierre and this was classed by the D-G guide, a 2ème B GVC, SC4 which means second best class, subcategory 4. We were served by Valerie CHARPENTIER MONCUIT. I was not expecting fireworks but at that point I realised something very important. If a wine even makes it into the D-G guide, it's clearly a cut above. The first wine we tasted was the Cuvée Huges de Coulmet brut, a blanc de blanc 100% chardonnay. This was when I started getting excited. I could really feel in my mouth that that this champagne was exceptional. My doubts about being able to make a decision began to fade, because there were big differences between this and the last wine. The second wine we tasted was a Cuvée Pierre Moncuit Delos Reserve Grand Cru 2001, and then a Millésime 1999 Grand Cru, which I felt was simply the best champagne I had tasted that day, and was priced at €20 per bottle. I made a mark on my notes, this was the one we would buy. Before we said goodbye, we tasted a rosé, 2/3 chardonnay/pinot noir/gambonnais (sp?) mix. She warned us that we should have tasted it earlier in the progression, since it would be like moving backwards. I noticed that the last vigneron also moved us through his wines in a special order. This made sense, and I also remembered the loaf of bread in my bag... As we worked through the crowd to our next stand I broke off some bread and sipped a little bit of water. Loic did too. 3. CHAMPAGNE CHARPENTIER J. 3ème A GVC, SC2. My first question to the woman serving us was if she was related to the girl who served us our last wine! How strange! What a wierd coincidence. The lady laughed and said that the Champagne region had many many Charpentiers, and no, they were not related. We tasted her Brut Tradition, which seemed a little strange to me. The Reserve Brut, which was a mix of pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes, and then her Compte de Chenizot, which I noted as a possible buy because it was clearly a very nice champagne, very pleasant and was a good 7€ cheaper per bottle than the one we'd chosen as the best from the last place, at €13 per bottle. 4. CHAMPAGNE GONET SULCOVA 2ème B GVC, SC1. We were greeted by Karla GONET as we approached and she poured us tastes of the Cuvée Vincent GONET. We were completely seduced by this Champagne, and could say immediately that it was the best we'd had at that price all day. I felt like it was at the level of the Moncuit we had marked as best, but at only €13 per bottle, well, this was clearly far superior in our minds to any we'd had. We talked about her champagnes as we worked our way though tasting a blanc de blanc 100% chardonnay, at €15, and then as we tasted some simply beautiful wines, ones that were not in our budget but it was very educational to taste them and discuss what went into making them with her, the Brut Grand Cru 1999, the Millésime 1999, and the Brut Cuvée Gaïa, made from grapes coming from 98 year old vines planted by her great grandfather and aged in oak before bottling. This was very special and was €25 per bottle. Karla GONET next to her Brut Cuvée Gaïa in the brown bottle. 5. CHAMPAGNE J.B MICHEL, was not mentioned in the D-G guide, but again, we'd purchased from them in the past so we decided to give them another go. Mme MICHEL cordially greeted the tasters. This was the first vigneron we met who was targeting her sales techniques quite shrewdly. She did not identify us as potential big buyers, so, for the first time we were not served our tastes in the flutes normally used by the champagne purveyors for tasting champagne. When we arrived she was working up a couple of obviously rich ladies who were drinking it down with gusto, from their flutes, quite smug that they were being given special treatment. She made her sale as she doled out spashes to us in our wine fair goblets (first time we'd used them!) in between and rolled her eyes with the ladies as we used the spit bucket. When the ladies had gulped down their last drop of wine, purchased large amounts, and went on their way, she turned her attention to us. I asked if I could post her picture, and she gladly agreed. I mentioned that many of the members of eGullet are somehow related to the "metier de la bouche". At that moment, she must have realized something and her face dropped. She turned rather unpleasant as she asked us if I planned to post her prices. But of course, madame. Of course. "Its just that I have some American customers who might get angry, you understand." I didn't quite understand, could she explain that? Finally I assured her that one of my main reasons to post to eGullet on the fair was to emphasize the prices we can get at the fair. "Well, if you put it that way, ok." This woman really was a piece of work. We tasted a Blanche Brut at €14.50, which was nice, but not really measuring up to the others a lower prices, a Cuvée de la Terre blanc de blanc at €18, which I felt did not compare at any level with the other champagnes of the same price, and a Cuvée Rebelle extra brut at €16. Loic and I asked her to tell us more about the extra brut, it struck me as an extremely light and different kind of wine in comparison to the other champagnes we had tasted that day, while not exemplifying the best of the champagnes we had come to taste that day, it's starkness was kind of an abstraction or a caricature of what we imagine champagne to be, and that attracted me... it made me think it would be something nice to break out to celebrate an event, anyway. Mme MICHEL explained that the wine did not have any added sweetners added at the point in production where they normally add them. We'd tasted all 5 champagnes on our list, and we went to relax for a moment over a glass of water (which we had to pay 2€50 for a small bottle of evian to get a seat at the cafe) and decide. Our first decision was that we were going to make sure to bring our own water on the second day! We loved all of the Champagnes we tasted. Our final decision was to buy a case of the CHAMPAGNE GONET SULCOVA Cuvée Vincent GONET, and I decided, against the wise advice of my husband, to get 2 bottles of the J.B. MICHEL Cuvée Rebelle extra brut. You never know when you might need a bottle of extra dry champagne. I'm actually hoping there's one day this year we might have something requiring a stark champagne like this to celebrate. The champagnes took 1 hour and 15 minutes to work through. We estimated 15 minutes per vigneron, including the time it took to work through the increasingly crowded lanes to get to our target wines. We took a moment to check out the Loire Valley list, and since we were only going to be tasting reds from this region and had experienced such a marked difference between the wines based on their ranks already, we eliminated 5 from our list and then plotted a course on the floor plan for which we would taste the next 7 wines in search of the very best to offer from the Loire Valley. ---------------------------------------------- Kerriar, we went through the whole list and if you count the total, roughly 1 out of 5 of the vignerons at the fair are rated in his guide. His guide is not limited to Independents, however, and there are many in his guide that were not at the fair. Another thing to note is that out of all of the champagnes at the fair, only 3 were Dussert-Gerber rated. So you can't apply the rating ratio across the board by wine type. When we buy cases, they are for sale on the spot. You can of course, order them for delivery and pay a delivery fee, or decide you want to purchase more after you've got the wine home and had a chance to appreciate it at the table.

The current argument at our house is the difference between crème glacée and glace. He says ‘crème glacée’ is made with cream in the Italian style, and ‘glace’ is made only with milk. We don’t agree, since I have distinct memories of two distinct products at home, 'ice cream' and that horrible abomination, 'ice milk'. And I learned in school that 'glace' translates to 'ice cream'. In any case, I’m pretty sure that ice cream is made with custard, and not necessarily cream, but not exclusively milk, as he insists. But I'm not really sure, after all. Better to do a taste test. We don't really dispute about the food on the table, ever, except a few times about beef. Cuts, and degrees of doneness. I have read the posts of people who's spouses get up and microwave food they feel is undercooked. That's just not right! I tossed a pot roast out the window once. But that was a long time ago.

It looks delicious! I'd love to hear your notes on your experiences too! Did you travel for 8 weeks straight or stay for a week or more in one place at a time? What is that on the plate?

After our incredible weekend of wine (which included Monday as it is a holiday here), I will not hesitate to encourage all members of eG who find themselves near their local version of this event to GO! To help Kerriar who was asking for more details on the Dussert-Gerber Ranking, here is a link to the website that the book directs you to. If you can't read French, go ahead and google translate and you should get the gist of the ideas behind his ranking system. Some people this weekend mentioned this weekend that the Dussert Gerber ranking system is good for people who are working on building a cave, I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this. So - about the wine fair. I'll be adding pictures soon, and I'll add the list o what we ended up choosing for the cave - hope to have them up by tonight! A few notes about our methodology for choosing the best wines. 1) We didn't swallow any wine at all while at the fair before we had made our purchases for that day, we always used the bucket. No matter how we felt about how nice this wine might feel going down our throat, (especially those champagnes) we had to really exercise some self control in this area. If you do drink, even 2 or three tastes which can quickly add up, your ability to carefully judge will fade. The time to drink and enjoy for us was after we'd made our purchase decisions. 2) The vignerons were trying to sell us their wines, so we took what they said with a grain of salt. As you taste, they are going to give their running commentary on what you're supposed to be tasting... If you've got a 2003 rielsing and the person trying to sell it to you says "delicate notes of flowers are followed by an exceptional lingering presence on the palate" you can't help but think... We found that much of the commentary was useful in our learning process about the wine. For example, several people said - this grape comes from a more mineral soil. What did that mean? After a couple of times I began to understand what that does to the flavor of the wine... Finally, I noticed, for example, that at the end of the day the vignerons started mentioning food more and more often. Was it on purpose? People are getting tired and beginning to think of what dinner will be, they want to sit down, relax. The vigneron smiles and says - "this wine goes perfectly with rich sauced game and poultry and fruit compotes" - you might feel some strange attraction to the wine. Hmm, I wonder why? We were working on trying to buy good wines to keep and serve at our table, and we only do this once a year. So we took it seriously and tried very hard to keep our minds on the task. 3) Do make a list in advance, and try to narrow it down to 5 or 6 of the same wine type, taste them at the same time, and make your choice from that list. Our list of Champagnes consisted of three top ranked wines and two that we'd bought from before. We found right away that when D-G lists a wine as a 1ere Grand Cru, it is clearly in a slot above the 2eme Grand cru. Even being the amateurs we are, we were able to identify that the top ranked were clearly the better wines. Thank you guide D-G! We had a great opportunity to taste the best wines without the hit and miss, and although these are great wines, the prices were still within our budget. We narrowed the list to 7 vignerons for certain wines from the Loire Valley. Even with 7, it was a little bit difficult to compare, but I must say again, the top ranked ones really did prove to be the superior wines. With that trust, we whittled our list down to 5 only best ranked for Alsace, the Bourgognes, the Cotes du Rhones, etc. We could have missed out on some unknown gems, that's for sure. But our goal this weekend was not to get lucky, it was to purchase clearly superior wines for our cave and to serve at our table. 4) Like Boris said, we gave our palette a rest with bread and water often, especially when trying the wines that are more dense. I thought of Boris' words of wisdom the whole time as we concentrated on the Cotes du Rhones. This is a wine that I know well, we drink it all the time. But in the context of comparison, it became quite confusing. Boris' warning that only the wines with the strongest personalities are going to be attractive if we don't do something to bring ourselves back to a level field kept coming to me as we worked through the Rhone valley. Again, when we were ready to choose what to buy, we brought this up in the discussion and even went back to re-taste before we loaded our cart with cases of something we might regret later.

Yikes! When I saw those photos in the NYT article, one illustrating "The French Way" to eat chocolate cake and the other, "The American way" I was struck with the clear lack of understanding whatsoever that the author of the article has about the way the French approach food. I can positively say I have never seen anyone pick at their food and leave it uneaten in such a manner - it's considered crass. For me, although the essay may bring up the point that the French approach food differently, the blundering false assumptions made by the author, and quick conclusions made from the "studies" and finally in clearly improbable scenario presented in the photos, discredits any expertise that the author could hold on the topic. The first thing to realise is that the French pride themselves on living without complexes, and will do whatever they can to hide the ones they have. The French way is to pretend you don't care while at the same time being very meticulous about every detail. Just about all of the French women in my entourage (I eat and discuss food with various members of a regular group daily) are continually obscessed with their weight and constantly share methods to keep it under control amongst themselves - they consider it a symptom of their species, and accept this openly behind closed doors. Add a man to the group and all discussion of the topic stops. French society puts strict moral codes around a woman's size, as a definition of her self control. Whereas Americans are raised in collective tolerance with the notion that they are loved just the way they are, whatever size, and then slammed with the reality of obesity once they reach the age where they are making decisions for themselves, the French little girls are being taught early on that they must exercise self control, and quietly and systematically praised by others for making "reasonable choices". I hear my co-workers discuss this as a child rearing issue constantly. In the States, such societal policing of women's weight is not generally accepted. It's against the rules to criticize - it's a cultural taboo, maybe it comes from our need to negotiate from school age groups of people with basic cultural and physical differences. Tolerance in this area is the norm in the U.S. On the other hand, French women count everything from fat grams to carbs, and keep each other in check, constantly. They comment on each other's plates and waistlines at every meal. About the magnificent specimen who devours her chocolate cake with gusto at the restaurant table - psst! She knows it's sexy and enjoys the attention it brings. Being sexy is the style here! And that means no complex! Don't even kid yourself with the idea that she's not calculating each and every crumb. The typical woman you see eating chocolate cake in the presence of others will most likely will be dining on a plate of steamed veggies in the privacy of her home at the end of the day. The difference is that it's stylish in the States to be publicly obscessed with obesity as a public health problem, and answers to association questions are likely to reflect the general themes being reinforced - no wonder Americans answered "unhealthy" when asked what they associate with "heavy cream". In France it's stylish to look like you have no food complex. The person associating "chantilly" with heavy cream is dutifully answering precisely as their society dictates.

My 16 year old niece will be coming to stay with Aunt Lucy (moi) next summer (to study French). I think making her a cookbook of what we prepare (and what I teach her to prepare) during that month is a good idea, including essays on certain foods, our visit to a farm, what we eat on a hiking trip, etc. I am watching this thread with interest, there are so many beautiful stories here! I personally have only one scrap of paper with a recipe for biscuits in my grandmother's handwriting. For the people still working on their books, and who are making computerized versions for loved ones, please let me know what software you find to be the best. I want to use a software to accomodate cooking and market photos. Since I'm only making one copy, perhaps the hand written way is best, though. I could have prints made of the photos and paste them in the book...

Apples and bread it is. Thank you Boris & Bux. That's very good advice Boris. As you can see there are over 100 wines on our list. We'll never taste all of them. My husband is a densely structured wine kind of guy. I personally tend to prefer wine/food matches, thus I'm thinking of what kind of food would go with the wines when I taste them. Don't bother asking the vendors - they'll usually just say what they think you want to hear. I rely on my imagination techniques a whole lot during this process. I certainly don't mind a nice glass of something rich and complex by itself every once in a while. We each have our own approach... I suspect we'll separate at the fair in search of various different wines.

Speaking of wine, we will be attending the wine fair and choosing a clairette for the apero and the champagne for dessert this evening. We will also stock the cave for the New Year. Link to see the wines we'll be tasting It's our first errand of the year for Thanksgiving.

The wine fair starts today, and will last 4 days. We have entrance passes for each of the 4 days. There are about 400 vendors, and we have created our short list of the stands we want to visit. From these, we will choose one or two from each category of which to buy one or two cases. The list of wines we want to taste are listed here by region, although we have 4 versions of this list, the other arranged by ranking, vinyard, and stand no. Our criteria for making the list was the Dussert-Gerber ranking . For each vigneron in the list, the vinyard in caps is followed with the Dussert-Gerber ranking for this year in italics. Next on the line are the particular wines they are likely to have available for tasting, and their list price, for reference, finally the stall number in Lyon. Many if not all of these vignerons are likely to be in Paris in November. Here's the list: VAL DE LOIRE – VENDEE DOMAINE AUX MOINES 1er GVC, SC1 Savennieres Blanc 2002, Nonnes 2002 12€, doux Abbesse 2002, 14€ E – 75 DOMAINE FARDEAU 2ème GVC, SC1, -11 Cabernet Anjou-Villages rouge, 5.90€ D – 22 DOMAINE LES PINS 1er GVC, SC2, -3 Bourgueil Vieilles Vignes 7€, cuvée exception 2001 8.50€ D – 43 DOMAINE MABILEAU Laurent 1er GVC, SC3, -9 St Nicolas de Bourgueil 2002, 5.50€, Bourgueil 2002 C – 74 DOMAINE DOZON 1er GVC, SC1 Clos du Saut au Loup 2001, 7.95 €, Laure 2002, 6.15€, et 2001, Le bois Joubert 2001, Les Lysons 2002 C – 128 DOMAINE DES ROUET 1er GVC, SC2, -4 Battereaux 2001, 2000 D – 15 DOMAINE FARDEAU 1er GVC, SC2, -1 Vieilles Vignes 2002, 12€ , Stefy 2003, 23€ D – 22 DOMAINE DES QUARRES 2ème GVC, SC2, -13 Faye Prestige La Madeleine 2002 D – 56 DOMAINE DESCHAMPS 1er GVC, SC3, -6 Vieilles Vignes 2002, 9.50€, Les Procheronnes 2003, 8€, Les Loges 2002, Pouilly-sur-Loire, 5.50€ C – 92 DOMAINE ROUZE Jacques 1er GVC, SC1 vins rouges, Quincy 2003, Vignes d’Antan 2003, Reuilly 2002 D – 32 DOMAINE DES VARINELLES 1er GVC, SC1 Vieilles Vignes 2001, 7.80€, 2003, 6€, Larivale 2001, 14.10€, Crémant, 6.50€ D – 25 DOMAINE DUTERTRE 1er GVC, SC4, -7 Crémant St Gilles 6.80€, Touraine rosé 2003, François 1er 2002, Clos du Pavillon 2003, 4.30€-4.60€ D – 117 DOMAINE OCTAVIE 3ème GVC, -20 Cabernet 2001, Sauvignon 2003, Pinot noir 2002, Cot 2002 C – 16 ALSACE EST VIGNOBLES MUHLBERGER François 1er GVC, SC1 Pinot noir, 7.30€, Crémant, 6.70€ A – 81 GSELL Joseph 1er GVC, SC2, -3 Crémant 6.90€, Tokay 7.20€, SC3 Gewurtztraminer Spiegel 2002, 11.40€ D – 31 HUTTARD Jean 1er GVC, SC1 Tardives 2000, Crémant, 7€, Tokay Particulière 2001, Riesling Prestige 2001, Pinot blanc Vieilles Vignes D – 85 FREYBURGER Georges et Claude 1er GVC, SC1 Riesling Altenberg 2000, Tokay 2002, Gewurtztraminer Atltenberg 98 E – 8 GINGLINGER Jean et Fils 2ème GVC, SC1 Steinert 2002, 11.50€, Riesling tardives2001, 19€, Bilh 2001, 11€, Lerchenberg 99 C – 118 VIGNOBLES MUHLBERGER François 1er GVC, SC1 Altenberg de Wolxheim 2000, 7.50€, Clos philippe 2001, SC3 Gewurtz Tardives 2001, 16€ A – 81 DOMAINE BAUR Charles 1er GVC, SC2, -7 Riesling Eichberg, Gewurtztraminer Pfersigberg, Tardives 2000 E – 95 DOMAINE BAUMANN-ZIRGEL 1er GVC, SC3 Tokay Tardives 99, Gewurtztraminer Mandelberg 2000, Tardives 2000, Riesling Mandelberg 2001 D – 121 DOMAINE SAINT REMY 2ème GVC, SC1, -18 Grand cru 2001, 9.70€, Pinot noir 2002, 6.70€ A – 47 LANGUEDOC ROUSSILLON DOMAINE DE LA CASA BLANCA 1er GVC, SC3 Banyuls Tradition 2002, Blanc, Collioure rosé et rouge B – 29 CHATEAU DE LASTOURS 1er GVC, SC1 2000, 15.50€, Signature 2001, Anaud de Berre 2000, Simone Descamps 2001, Grande Rompue 2000, Blans de blancs, Dry, Gris de gris, Chatellenie E – 46 CHATEAU ETANG DES COLOMBES 1er GVC, SC1 bois des dames rouge 2002, blanc 2002, Vieilles Vignes 2003, Blanc 2003, Bicentenaire 2002 C – 51 CHATEAU DE L'ESPARROU 1er GVC, SC4, -11 Blanc des blancs 2003, 4.70€, rosé 2003, rouge en fût de chêne 2001, 7.50€, Vin de pays Côtes Catalane, 3.80€, Rivesaltes, 7€ E – 23 DOMAINE DU MAS ROUS 1er GVC, SC5, -15 En fût de chêne 2001, Traditionnel, Rivesaltes 2003 D – 116 CHATEAU PRADAL NC Côtes du Roussillon 99, 4.10€, Rivesaltes 2003, 7.15€, Rivesaltes Tuilé 95, 8.60€ B – 12 CHATEAU MOSSE NC Côtes du Roussillon 2002, 7.50€ D – 75 DOMAINE LERYS 1er GVC, SC2, -4 Fitou cuvée prestige 2001 C – 28 CHATEAU LA GRAVE 2ème GVC, SC1 Minervois Privilège 2001, 7.90€, blanc 2001, 9.70€, Expression blanc 2003, 5.70€ E – 33 PROVENCE CHATEAU BEAUFERAN 1er GVC, SC2, -3 Coteaux-d’Aix 2001, 6.10€, Blanc Tradition 2003, 6.90€, rosé friand 2003, 5.80€ F – 29 PROVENCE DOMAINES BUNAN 1er GVC, SC3 Bandol La Rouvière 2001, Moulin des Costes, 2002 et 2003 A – 70 PROVENCE DOMAINE LES LUQUETTES 2ème GVC, SC1 Bandol rosé 2003, 8€, rouge 2000, 18€ B – 31 PROVENCE DOMAINE LA ROCHE REDONNE 2ème GVC, SC1 Bandol Bartavelles 2002, La Lyre blanc 2001 E – 30 PROVENCE CHATEAU DES FERRAGES 2ème GVC, SC1 Côtes de Provence Mon plaisir rouge 2002, blanc 2003, 8.30€, rosé 2003, Roumery 2002, 5.40€ D – 23 SUD-OUEST-ARMAGNAC CHATEAU LE MAYNE 1er GVC, SC1 Côtes de Bergerac Réservée 2000, 7.15€, 99, 6.75€, Bergerac blanc sec et rosé 2003, 4.50€, Moelleux 2001, Montbazillac 2001, 4.80€, Montbazillac Réservée 2001, 13.70€ A – 40 DOMAINE DU HAUT PECHARMANT 1er GVC, SC2 Pécharmant 2001 F – 51 CHATEAU CLAMENS 1er GVC, SC2, -2 Côtes-du-Frontonnais 2001, Julie 2002 C – 95 CHATEAU EUGENIE 1er GVC, SC2, -5 Cahors Aïeul 2001, 8.50€, Tsars 2001, Haute Collection 2001 D – 118 DOMAINE DES GRAVALOUS 1er GVC, SC3, -11 Cahors réserve 200, 7.50€, Prestige 200, 13.25€, traditionnelle 200, 6.25€) E – 35 9 CLOS BASTE 1er GVC, SC3, -11 Madiran 2001, Esprit, Vin de Pays rouge C – 124 CHATEAU DE PERCHADE 2ème GVC, SC1 Tursan Passion 2000, 6.80€, blanc 2003, 5€ D – 104 DOMAINE DU CINQUAU 2ème GVC, SC3 Jurançon 2002 et 2003 E – 20 DOMAINE DE GINESTE 3ème GVC, SC1 Gaillac rouge Pourpre 2002, 6€, douc Blnde 2002, 10€, blanc Aurore 2002 C – 37 VALLEE DU RHONE CHATEAU RASPAIL 1er GVC, SC1 Gigondas 2001, 9.50€, 2000, Châteauneuf du pape Valori 2001, 14€, Côtes du Rhône Ruth, 4.90€, CDR-Villages St Jean, 6€ D – 34 CHATEAU DE LA GARDINE/ CHATEAU SAINT ROCH 1er GVC, SC1 Châteauneu-du-Pape Tradition Blanc 2001, 33,20€, rouge 2001, Gaston-Philippe 2001 58€, Rasteau C – 130 CHATEAU LA DECELLE 1er GVC, SC2 Valréas 2003, CDR Symphonie 2003, blanc 2002(viognier), Coteaux-du-Triscatin 2003 B – 28 DOMAINE DU PESQUIER 1er GVC, SC2 Gigondas 2001, 2000 11€, CDR 2001, 5€) B – 40 DOMAINE MATHIEU 1er GVC, SC2 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Marquis d’Anselme, 2000et 2001, 20-22€, Tradition 200114.70€, Blanc 2003, 15€, CDR Mar 2003 rouge, rosé C – 59 DOMAINE DE MONTINE 1er GVC, SC3 Coteaux du Tricastin Terroirs 2003, blanc 2003, 4.60€, rosé 2003, CDR Villages 2003, 4.60€ D – 61 DOMAINE LE COUROULU 1er GVC, SC3 Vacqueyras 2001, 7€, Vin de pays de Vaucluse, 5€, Vieilles Vignes, blanc F – 19 DOMAINE CHARAVIN Didier 1er GVC, SC3 Rasteau Parpajouns 2001, 10€, Rasteau Prestige 2001, 7€, Rasteau 2002, 6€ B – 63 DOMAINE DU POURRA 1er GVC, SC4 Gigondas 2000 et 2001 B – 72 MORION Didier 2ème GVC, SC1 Saint Joseph les échets B – 51 DOMAINE DES GIRASOLS 2ème GVC, SC1 Vieilles Vignes 2001, Rasteau rosé 2002 E – 79 DOMAINE DE FONTENILLE 2ème GVC, SC2 Côtes du Lubéron rouge 2002, blanc 2003, 5€ C – 42 FAURE Jacques nc Crémant de Die, 6e, Tradition, Coteaux-de –Die, 3.60€ B – 6 BORDELAIS-AQUITAINE CHATEAU CASTEGENS 1er GVC, SC1 Côtes de Castillon, 6 à 7 € D – 24 CHATEAU LARDIERE-DOMAINE DE JEREMIE 1er GVC, SC1 Premières Côtes de Blaye 2001, 6.90€, Tradition 2001, 5€, blanc sec 2003, rosé 2003, 4.10€, Pineau blanc et rosé 8€ D – 100 CHATEAU BRETHOUS 1er GVC, SC3 Premières Côtes de Bordeaux 2001, 200, 99, 98, 6.50€ à 9.10€, Bordeaux Clairet, 5.10€ D – 54 CHATEAU HAUT MOUSSEAU 2ème GVC, SC1 Côtes de Bourg 2001, 7€, Terrefort-Bellegrave C – 2 CLOS TRIMOULET 2ème GVC, SC1 Saint-émilion E – 71 CHATEAU DUDON 2ème GVC, SC1 Premières Côtes de Bordeaux JB Dudon 2001, 6€, Blanc F – 22 CHATEAU L'ESCART 2ème GVC, SC1 Bordeaux Supérieurs Marion 2001, 2000 E – 40 CHATEAU DE BEAU SITE 2ème GVC, SC2 Graves Les Clos de Beau-Site 2000, Château de Beau-Site 2001 E – 103 CHATEAU CAPET GUILLIER-CHATEAU TOUR DE CAPET 2ème GVC, SC2 Try what they’re recommending B – 80 CHATEAU MILON- CLOS DE LA CURE 2ème B GVC, SC2 Saint-émilion GC 2001, 2000, 11.50€, E – 97 CHATEAU MAGNEAU 2ème A GVC, SC2 Graves Julien blanc 2002, rouge 2000, blanc 2003, 6€ à 8.50€) D – 69 CHATEAU MONLOT CAPET 2ème A GVC, SC2 Saint-émilion GC Prestige 2000 23€, Lalande De Pomerol Bel Air B – 17 CHATEAU BELLES-GRAVES 2ème GVC, SC3 Lalande de Pomerol 2001 C – 81 CHATEAU LA HAYE - SAINT ESTEPHE 2ème A GVC, SC5 Saint-Estèphe 2001, 14.50€ E – 39 CHATEAU GRANINS - GRAND POUJEAUX 3ème GVC, SC1 Moulis 2001, 2000, 99, 98, 12€ C – 48 CHATEAU PONTAC-LYNCH 3ème GVC, SC1 Margaux 99-2001 A – 72 CHATEAU LAFARGUE NC Graves Pessac-Léognan 2001, et blanc 2002 C – 76 CHATEAU BOIS-MALOT NC -8 € E – 85 CHATEAU CANDELEY NC Entre-deux-mers A – 85 CHATEAU DE PORTE PERES NC Graves 2001, 7.50€, Clos Graouères 2001, 7€, Moulin-à-Vent B – 30 CHATEAU DES TOURTES - CHATEAU HAUT BEYZAC NC Premières Côtes de Blaye D – 86 CHATEAU FONTIS NC Médoc 2001, 2000, 99 B – 53 CHATEAU LALANDE LABATUT NC Entre deux mers Prestige, 7€, Marysou 2000 A – 31 CHAMPAGNE CHAMPAGNE GONET SULCOVA 2ème B GVC, SC1 Special Club, Grand Cru 99, Blanc de blancs 99, Vincent Gonet, Gaia, Extra Millésime 98 B – 15 CHAMPAGNE MONCUIT Pierre 2ème B GVC, SC4 Vieilles Vignes 89, cuvée Réserve, Millésimé, 13-19€ E – 42 CHAMPAGNE CHARPENTIER J. 3ème A GVC, SC2 Comte de Chenizot, 16,20€, Millésime 98, 15,60€, Pierre-Henri, 20,80€ A – 26 CHAMPAGNE LACROIX NC Blanc de noirs, 13.85€, rosé 13,60€, Tradition, 12,30€ D – 91 CHAMPAGNE J.B MICHEL NC Pauline, 18,30€, Rose, Blanche brut, 13€ C – 33 BOURGOGNE-BEAUJOLAIS BLONDEAU DANNE Charles Père 1er GVC, SC1 Meursault 1er Cru sous le Bois 2002, 20€, Puligny-Montrachet Sur la Garenne 2002, 21€, Saint Aubin Le Village, 12€, Les Crombes D – 113 DOMAINE BEL AVENIR 1er GVC, SC2 Chénas 2001, 6.25€, Grand Guinchay 2003, La Chapelle Bois de Loyse 2003 C – 26 DOMAINE DES CRAIS 1er GVC, SC2 Beaujolais Village, 2ème GVC, SC3, St Veran Vieilles Vignes 2000 7.60€ C – 58 DOMAINE BILLARD GONNET 2ème GVC, SC1 Pommard Chaponnières Vieilles Vignes 2000 16€, 1er cru Rugiens Bas 2000 A – 7 DOMAINE DELAGRANGE Henri et Fils 2ème GVC, SC1 Volnay-Caillerets 1er cru 2002, 18€, Clos du Village 2002, 17€, Pommard Chanlain 2002, 18€, Auxey-Duresses blanc 2000 12€ D – 14 DOMAINE TAUPENOT-MERME 2ème GVC, SC1 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Bel-Air 2001, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Morey-Saint-Denis 2001, Charmes Chambertin 2001 B – 27 DOMAINE DE LA FEUILLARDE 2ème GVC, SC3 Saint Véran Vieilles Vignes 2002, 7.90€, Presitge Fût de chêne 2001, 8.40€, Tradition 2002, 6.85€ A – 60 GVC, SC3, DOMAINE MOSNIER Sylvain 2ème Chablis 1er cru Beauroy 2002, Vieilles Vignes 2002, Côtes de Léchet 11€, Chablis 8€ A – 45 DOMAINE CACHAT-OCQUIDANT ET FILS 2ème GVC, SC3 Aloxe-Corton Les Maréchaudes 2002, Corton-Vergennes 2001, Ladoix 2002 C – 86 DOMAINE FELIX ET FILS 3ème GVC, SC1 Chablis 2002, 7.50€, Saint-Bris Sainte Claire 2002 6.50€, Côtes-d’Auxerre Saint-André 2000 8.50€, Aligoté 2002 5.10€ E – 28 DOMAINE GILLE Anne-Marie 3ème GVC, SC1 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Brûlées 2001 14€ D – 26 DOMAINE MALDANT Jean-Luc 3ème GVC, SC1 Savigny-les-Beaune 2002 13€, blanc 2001 B – 34 DOMAINE PATRIARCHE Alain et Christiane NC Meursault, 20€ F – 18 JURA - SAVOIE DOMAINE TISSOT C – 18 DOMAINE ROLET A – 82 DOMAINE PETIT Désiré D – 115 DOMAINE DUPASQUIER C – 22 DOMAINE DE LA PINTE F – 14 DOMAINE BAUD E – 18 Tonight we will begin with the Champagnes and Clairettes, plus Alsacians.

bravo.

... To be honest, however, about my meal that Thursday, it'll be game of some sort not dinde. Sorry, but I cannot pass that up for turkey. ← This was my sentiment exactly! My thought is that Thanksgiving is a holiday where we give thanks for what we have. Wild game fits the bill here in France at this time of year. In my imagination, I was dreaming up a creaking buffet covered with stuffed game from all corners of the woods and field, brimming with various stuffings like cornucopias of viande, vessels of sauce, apples in mouths, etc. But Loic won't let me. For the Christmas meal here in France, we have had Boar, sometimes a roast beef, sometimes Langoustes with caper sauce and/or a nice big fat chapon. My mother-in-law talks to the butcher, to her friends, to everyone around her in line at the market, her co-workers, etc. for weeks and then comes up with a plan. She determines what she's going to cook according to what's popular, what's especially good that year. That's the way it should be... But for Thanksgiving, my husband's French view is that without a turkey, it's not really an American Thanksgiving meal. I suspect he loves the spectacle and having an excuse to carve this huge bird at the head of the table (which he never had the opportunity to do at home at Christmastime, with his father and various uncles holding seniority), and to show others how it's done. He also may be afraid that if we serve large amounts of other things, it may be seen as gluttonous, but not so for the Turkey, because it is the tradition and we must follow it. He's been bragging for years to everyone about our yearly Turkey excursions, about to what lengths we go to get them at the wrong season, about the discussions and sometimes pleading that goes on, calls to farmers, and friends who know people with farms, the promises kept and broken alike, the sending of our local merchants to seedy locales to fulfill this wholly uncommon request, and the silly misunderstandings that have happened. That's what they'll all be expecting. So Turkey it is. This time it's going to have to be the meal that wows as a whole, and we're sticking to the Turkey, hell or high water. Thank you for the suggestion about Maitre Mathieu. This year we are going to order ours this year through a butcher at Les Halles here in Lyon. I will take the camera along, of course. I am really going to try and get it just right this time, because never, not once, has an order come back as I requested it. In one circumstance, I had to finish plucking and empty the carcass myself, and once the bird was partially cut into pieces. Two years ago, I ordered a certain weight bird and not one but two birds were delivered, totalling the weight I requested. This time I am going to go over it with the butcher (making sure I am speaking with the boss of the operation) carefully and in great detail. My regular butcher simply cannot comprehend my desire to have a turkey at the end of November, even if I try and explain, and says that the only birds available don't meet his quality standard, thus he won't do it. He obstinately refused to carry out the order last year, and I can respect that. But I have to do what I have to do.

When I was in high school, every day after soccer practice I used to make myself a sandwich on white bread with thick slabs of cheddar cheese, mayo, and lots of salt. Every once in a while I would add lettuce.

I went to an insect restaurant in Beijing. They fry everything crispy, and had lots of selection. I have to admit the thrill came not from the fabulous taste of the insects, but from the idea that I was eating them. Many insects are eaten for their health properties in China. You might want to research that so that when you go you have more of an educated perspective on the experience. I had grasshoppers, fried crisp. They needed a little bit of salt, in my opinion. In the process of eating these, I finished off three beers, which made things a bit easier. The scorpions were slightly scary to eat, since I was not sure if the stingers contained venom. I later read up on the topic and realized that I had nothing to fear. But being scared was part of the thrill.

So very sorry I did not get to your question earlier! We only celebrated on the Thursday once, when it was just the two of us. It was difficult once more people started getting involved, because of work restraints, your're absolutely right. Therefore we have begun celebrating on the Saturday following the Thursday. This gives people a chance to travel. We have also had some resistance to the meal taking place at noon (as was the tradition in my family, growing up). This year we are making it an evening meal. They said they don't care if we eat till 2AM. This saves me the hassle of getting up a 6 in the morning to stuff the turkey, so I don't mind. Fritz, what was on the menu? It sounds like it must have been fun.

I just remembered two things. 1) Our first trip to Brittany, we went for a walk at low tide. An uncle of my husband noted all of the edibles clinging to the rocks. We promptly went out and bought knives and spent the rest of our 2 weeks prying the oysters from the rocks and eating them on the spot. We were very enthusiastic about it and must have eaten hundreds. My husband's grandmother said that she hadn't seen so many on the rocks in many years. They surmised that they must have come from nearby beds. It was wonderful, in any case. 2) There is apparently a difference between the oysters which are grown in beds and the ones that they harvest wild, according to one oyster vendor we spoke to. She said that the farmed ones don't have as much flavor. I don't know why. Could it be their diets? Maybe she was just trying to sell us the higher priced ones. We do note that when we have a chance to taste several varieties, they always have different qualities, sizes, colors, shapes, clarity, flavors. I've never found a pearl.

It's funny you should ask about the pumkin pie, Susan. My husband has taken that as his yearly job, and he makes it every year. We used an old Southern Living recipe, that calls for a can of this and a can of that. Products you don't find here. Those good old down home traditions we find in Southern Living, you know. But we use fresh everything, and we have to cook things down a bit - it turns out nicely and isn't as sweet. The French guests say it's interesting. As a rule, they don't really associate cinnamon with sweet flavors and are taken aback by it, as they are with cinnamon in apple pie. You see it more and more often, though. When Loic does it, I say it's the best pumkin pie ever made. I was telling him that this year I want little tartlettes, because I just don't see everyone being ready to take on slabs of pumkin pie after the meal. I guess because all these people are traveling great distances for this, I want to get this meal just right for them this year. We want to try and keep things on an equilibrium and not throw them into sugar shock at the end. As for the size of the turkey, we actually purchased our first oven because it could handle a "real turkey". Our oven now is much smaller, at least half the size of the first one we had, and last year it was able to handle a 7 kilo bird. (about 15 lbs.) That fit nicely and in setting the air circulation to roast, gave a perfectly browned bird. The oven really does a wonderful job. It turned out just lovely. Almost too perfect.

Hi Robb. We had a nice meal at Le Chalut in St. Malo. I ordered the claires as a first course in the €49 menu. They serve both kinds and a la carte les claires were 18€ more than the other ones. I wasn't sure why. It would be interesting to do an experiment and tell them you want an all seafood menu, and see what they bring you in place of the fois gras as an amuse. My big regret when we went to St. Malo / Mt. St. Michel was that we didn't go to eat oysters instead of wrestling through souvenier alley at Mt. St. Michel. Please share what you learn about oysters with us, Robb!

It’s finally turning into a real tradition here at our home in France. We have so much to be thankful for. And the French people I know take this pretty seriously. I hope there are other eGullet expats here in France who can share ideas and things they've done to make Thanksgiving in their own way here. Anyone who's looked for a good quality turkey the week after the Beaujolais Nouveau arrives knows it's a real task. I was going to do away with the turkey this year, since frankly it's such a hassle to get a good one so early in the year (i.e. not at Christmas time). We either get fast growing industrial birds or itty bitty scrawny free rangers, nothing over 5 lbs. available. But my husband won't hear of it. I never realized how involved he's gotten with the tradition of the monster bird. Our French guests always moan and groan when it's served, but they love it. We know it. This year, in my mind I was planning to serve a turkey consommé with little corn breads and a fresh poultry herb purée, followed by some other courses (chestnuts with smoked ham, the multi-gourd succotash we love, a tomato sorbet), then game animals. Rabbit, quail, maybe a side of wild boar etc., which is abundant this time of year. Different fresh breads with each course. Cornbread, cloverleaf rolls, and then little individual loafs of multi-grain bread to go with the salad and cheese course (French touch). My husband, who began celebrating Thanksgiving when he met me, wants the biggest turkey we can find, who cares if it's a factory bird, and he wants it with all of the fixins at the same time. He says it's all about the stuffing, and he's probably right. We always serve three kinds: plain, one with fresh oysters, and one with sausage and extra sage. He strongly resisted letting me serve certain dishes as a separate course. We are going to compromise - after I worked out the schedule and showed him that it will run logistically more smoothly by breaking certain dishes off into courses, and after assuring him that yes, the chestnuts will be available with the turkey if anyone would like a second serving, he agreed. One other thing that is changing is the guest list. My husband has locked in confirmation from relatives all over France. Not only are his parents coming up from the midi, his sister and her boyfriend are coming from Grenoble, and a cousin from Paris. So it's a real family affair this year. Is there anyone else in France who will be celebrating Thanksgiving in France?

Your thread got me thinking, and I began planning in bed with coffee Saturday morning....

This is pretty hard. There are lots of seasonal stuff that I hesistate to mention because I can't use them all year round, like basil, tarragon, sage, etc. OK the year round top 5 are: 1. Salt 2. Bay leaves always go into the stock no matter what other herbs. 3. Onion/shallot/garlic (it's one family) 4. Paprika - I use a lot of that because it makes up a big part of my general spice mix. 5. Fond de volaille (that's chicken stock reduced to concentrate it's flavor) Ok that's five.

Swirling velouté!