Foux da fa fa

Foux da fa fa fa faaa aahhh.... Ay ya!

Oh Flight of the Conchords, you make France that much more enjoyable...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuXdhow3uqQ

As I sauntered down the street last night, I couldn't help but sing this song. It feels as if one chapter has ended and another has just begun, and I am so excited for what is in store. Since my winery has given me the entire month of August off, I feel it best to travel around France and see what this country has in store. While I had been planning a 4-5 day road trip to Switzerland and Italy, unfortunately my plans had to fall through due to cost issues. It seems 21 year olds have higher insurance to pay for renting cars... as if they think 4 extra years will really improve my already impeccable driving? But I'm not complaining (any more) because Krystal and I have decided on the next best option: Go to Paris!

So we have just booked our hostel for the week and will be taking off tomorrow afternoon. This will be my first encounter with a hostel, but I do have high hopes for it, as it has a good reputation Internationally. It is just outside of the main district of Paris, off to the north, and supposively has a good night life. Which sounds promising, but could mean anything really... as I hear possums have good night lives too...

My childhood book

But in any case, I will definitely have adventures and pictures to share upon my return to Dijon on Saturday, and I look forward to sharing them all with you!

To all of the VEN 3 people that I have met on this trip: It was a pleasure getting to know you all here in France, and I had a blast living with you in the dorms. I wish the best to you all in your future endeavors - be it wine, or other!

Cheers!

H&M Dinner Party

Wait, how did I get invited to this dinner party with the college fashionistas of France?

As I sip my creme de framboise bubbly, I ponder this question.

Seated around a patio table in the backyard of this french maison, Mark, Krystal and I stare back and forth at one another in states of shock and bliss. French phrases fly threw the air as I try to grasp them to make sense of the conversation. Mark and I exchange quizical looks, indicating our loss, and quickly join into the English conversation with Anthony, a French guy who is eager to learn more about America.

Lucy explains the drink to Mark

Lucy and her drink concoction - delicious!

As Mark and Krystal are also from California and live in the dorms with me, this casual hang out with french people our age, nonetheless at a house, is hard to come by. Somehow these two hit the jack pot one night a few weeks back when they met Anthony, Lucy and their friends in downtown Dijon. Lucky for me, this time I got to tag along with them all to this gathering that Lucy was holding at her parent's house last night.

Given no other information other than to meet up with Anthony, Lucy and their friends at H&M, it was quite a pleasant surprise to find out that we would be joining them for a BBQ at a house. A house! After living in a dorm room for the past two and a half weeks, and 3.5 for Mark and Krystal, you can bet our giddiness to eat a home cooked meal, with all the amenities of a home.

As it turned out, everyone at the gathering worked together at H&M in Dijon, and all except for Lucy and Anthony only spoke French. So while many conversations were not enjoyed by all, we all found a way to communicate and have a good time. The most amusing connection that we shared, was our appreciation for 90's American TV shows. It seems that some of our worst soap operas are a hit over here... and showing up 10-15 years late. But hey, they're enjoyed at least!

So after drinking and eating a great meal of sausage, pork tenderloin, fries, salad, and bread, it was time to leave this good company. Lucky for me, it'll be easy to find them, as I frequent H&M...

Krystal and Lucy with the frite machine!

Cheers!

The Unpredictable is Never Boring

I have come to realize that the weather in Burgundy during the summer is quite unpredictable. The clouds shift so rapidly that a nice sunny day is nothing more than a tease as a soft rainfall begins to poor down. In an hour, the clouds lift again... but only to return moments later with a cool and tranquil breeze. It is enjoyable, relaxing, and beautiful. Whether I am sitting in my room, hanging out downtown, or working in the vineyards I am constantly aware of the subtle climate changes. In the vineyards, however, I have a clearer view of my surroundings and therefore a better appreciation for what hovers above my head.

A storm over the towns in Burgundy on Friday which thankfully missed us on the hill

Just last Thursday I fell victim to one such rainy day. It was raining cats and dogs, or as they say in France, "raining nails". Despite the moans and groans of my coworkers, the head viticulturist instructed us to go out and work on the vines. It was miserable. Unlike my treacherous bike ride in the rain, it was not enjoyable. It was cold and muddy, and I was tired and hungry. While I was fortunate to have a huge trench coat and boots to wear, I was more than ready to leave once the guys called it quits four hours later.

My goofy attire and goofy coworker, Christophe on Thursday

In contrast to this day, Friday turned out to be the complete opposite. Like night and day; Thursday unbearable, and Friday so perfect.

Just another Grand Cru vineyard on a gorgeous day, ya know

The air was crisp and clean as the smell of fresh soil drifted about on Friday morning. As the rainfall from the day before had soaked through the ground, all aromas of the terroir rose through the air with the evaporation from the sun. Trudging up the muddy rows on this bright sunny morning was both uplifting and promising. We were all in good moods due the aspect of the coming weekend, but I especially, was excited to find that my french had begun to improve! For once I could understand a good portion of the conversations between my coworkers, and not to mention, have the guts to respond with more than just a laugh. At one precise moment, I was struck with the excitement for my stay here, and the promise that I would eventually be able to become fluent in French. In a deep breathe, I took in everything around me, and blew out all doubt in my mind.

The crew taking a break

For the weekend, Caroline came to visit me in Dijon and we had a great time catching up over many great meals during her stay. On Saturday we went to the cinema to see Inception, and left the show in a very trippy trance. As some of the scenes take place in France, with streets very similar to those of Dijon, we felt as if we were in control of a dream as we walked out. It was a very well done movie, and I recommend it highly. (Even if a few of the lines were lost on me :)

This week I will be working in the vineyard, except for Thursday and Friday. On Thursday Pierre Vincent, the winemaker at the Domaine, will be taking Mariette and myself to a Tonnellerie in Dijon (barrel making site). This should be very informative, as Domaine de la Vougeraie selects their own trees from the Citeaux (forest) in Burgundy for their barrel production, and seasons (i.e. dries) the staves on the property for at least 2 years. At which point they go to a Tonnellerie to have their barrels made from their staves (strips of wood).

After this week I will have the entirety of August off! For two weeks I will be taking a French course, but have yet to decide where I should go for the other two weeks. Any suggestions!?

Cheers!

Vineyard Life

Hello all!

I am happy to report that I have not had any more life threatening days thus far in Burgundy, and life has calmed down now that I am working. Each morning I have been rising before the sun at 4:15AM and starting work out in the vineyards at 5:30AM.

The sunrise this morning from Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot vineyard

There is a group of 5-7 of us that drive to the different parcels of vineyards each day to clean up the vines and prepare them for harvest. As everyone is going on vacation in August, this appears to be our final send off to the vines as they prepare for veraison (fingers crossed that it is a good vintage!) All of the vines are Guyot trained, which means that they have one main cordon, and the rest of the shoots are trained upwards and supported by the wires. All of the fruit appears to be in great condition, though still quite small, hard and green. The expected date of harvest is around September 15th, so this should be enough time for them to ripen up!

The guys taking a break at the Bonnes-Mares vineyard this morning

As I have had more experiences and adventures than I have had time or energy to write about, I thought I would take the time to give you some background information on my scholarship and winery (ie my reason for being here). Since I was able to visit the Clos de Vougeot Chateau last Thursday, I have gotten a better idea about the group behind my generous winemaking scholarship.

This is the Clos de Vougeot from Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot monopole vineyard

The Clos de Vougeot is a castle situated in Nuits St Georges that was originally owned by the monks of the Citeaux until the French Revolution. Afterwards, the castle changed hands for many years until it was handed down to the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in 1948. The Confrerie is a group of rich men who support Burgundy wines and help them and their wineries prosper. Since their establishment in 1934, this group of has grown more and more each year as new members join and generously contribute their money to scholarships like mine! Thanks to this group of wealthy wine lovers I have been able to obtain this internship with Domaine de la Vougeraie and live comfortably in Dijon. In August, I will also be able to take a French course at the Universite de Dijon for a few weeks, and then travel. I hope to go to Paris for a weekend, and then hopefully to a town near the Mediterranean to cool off and hang out (and... drink wine, of course)

Here are some photos of the castle in the courtyard

This is the room where the Confrerie (and their Laureates) have their grand dinners

Come October I will have the opportunity to experience such a night!

I am also excited to share some photos and facts that I have discovered about Domaine de la Vougeraie.

They own 34 hectares of vineyards and produce 27 different wines. Primarily their production is Pinot noir, though they have a few remarkable Chardonnay, such as "Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot". This Chardonnay in fact is on the Clos de Vougeot property and is the only monopole vineyard there. This means that Domaine de la Vougeraie is the only winery to own an entire "clos" or sectioned off vineyard at the Clos de Vougeot. This vineyard is surround by a stone wall, and all of the vines within it are owned by Vougeraie. This is quite a feat as most vineyards are split up among many proprietors, and wineries only own a few rows within an appellation (specific vineyard).

This is me in front of Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot

At the Clos de Vougeot there are 80 proprietors who own parcels of the land. Interestingly, all of the vineyards are Pinot noir (as this is the Cote de Nuits), except for Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot! The monks originally made this the Chardonnay section for their own consumption and it has stayed that way ever since. Since the Cote de Nuits is a Pinot noir appellation, Le Clos Blanc vineyard can only be a Premier Cru, even though it has the quality of a Grand Cru! Tant pis!

Side note: In Burgundy, wines are classified by their origin and placement on the land. Grands Crus are the highest up, both in price, quality, and placement on the hill, then the Premiers Crus follow, a little lower, and the Villages are at the bottom.

Domaine de la Vougeraie also owns one other monopole vineyard called "Le Prieure" and other parcels of land in Grand Cru, Premier Cru and Village appellations. Here are some photos of them that I have captured while at work.

Mariette hard at work in Le Clos de Prieure vineyard on Tuesday

My handy shovel that I use to remove "les Americains"

(shoots originating from the American rootstalks)

The Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru Vineyard

After a hard day at work, it's time to relax :) As one of my coworkers says "Trop dure, ma vie"

Too hard, my life...

Cheers!

First Day of Work

Friday, 7AM work commenced. Despite getting no sleep the night before as I tossed and turned in my bed, I was amped to join the forces at Domaine de la Vougeraie. I knew that I would be working in the vineyard that day, and for the rest of next week, but I wasn't sure what this entailed.

I carpooled with Mariette, a student from Dijon, and we set out for the specified vineyard for that day near the Clos de Vougeot (of which I will describe more later)

The Clos de Vougeot

In this vineyard, named Prayer, or Prière, we met up with two younger adults (late 20's-ish), a guy and girl who appeared to be a couple? maybe? and two other older men. Taking our own rows, I was instructed to pull off secondary shoots, or entre-coeurs, and the random shoots arising from the ground. These were accurately and amusingly named, les Americains, as all grapevines around the world are grafted onto American rootstalks, and the lower portion of the trunk can send up suckers, or gourmands. So I hacked and pulled, pulled, and hacked. Topping a few meristems here and there to focus more energy in the shoots and fruit below I put my Viticulture courses to use. As we worked, I strained to catch as many words as I could decipher in the conversations that flew back and forth between the other works. Occasionally, I am called out by Christian, an older man working with me, as he stops me to ask questions about California and instruct me in French words and vine morphology. I am honored to be representing California for this man, and it makes me smile when he says he wants to move to California. I can't help but laugh as I look out into the gorgeous landscape of vineyards enclosed by stone walls, reaching up high into the hills, and wonder who in their right minds would desert a place like this? In the distance the Clos de Vougeot castle sits mid-slope and shining like a beacon of beauty.

Another vineyard near Beaune, but along the same route as Prière

I yell over to Mariette, "C'est incroyable que je peux travailler ici"

(It's incredible that I get to work here)

"Pourquoi?" she asks. Why? Because it is absolutely beautiful :)

For six straight hours we go up and down the rows at a leisurely, but steady pace. At the end of each row the men pull out their tobacco and roll their own cigarettes. After five minutes of resting we start up again. I grab water here and there, but my hunger pains subside at each resting point so I power on. Yet, there is no power involved as I feel as if I am running in neutral, coasting. I am not tired, hungry, or thirsty really, just eager to learn, which powers me forward.

Never in California would I get such an experience - such involvement in the vineyard is a rarity, a gem. "Does anyone machine harvest in Bourgogne?" haha, that's a joke right? NO!

I believe I will get to pick the fruit for Vougeraie. Maybe not, but in any case I will have my hands in on close to all of the winemaking process, from caring to the vine, picking the fruit, and caring for it through the process of fermentation and just slightly after. What a thought? I can't think of anything better.

Jokingly, my dad mentioned that I must have done something good in my previous life to have it so hard in this one. Maybe? :)

Standing in front of the Monopole vineyard that Vougeraie owns at the Clos de Vougeot

There are other stories that I would like to share with you, but unfortunately I will have to go out of order I little bit. My next post will be a compilation of those moments thus far.

Much love to you all.

Cheers!

The Official Tour D'Laur

Bastille day, July 14th 2010, hereby goes down in Laura's Book of Epic Adventures. Like a typical Roach vacation gone astray, this day was not expected to be anything more than a leisure adventure through the surrounding area... However, the fate of this day was taken out of our hands, as one misfortunate event led to another. To get an idea of what I mean I will keep a running tally of those lost, hurt, or otherwise disheveled from the going ons of this day.

With train tickets to Beaune, a town to the south in Burgundy, we all left Wednesday morning to go for a bike ride through the vineyards of Beaune. With little packed in our bags other than baguettes, cheese, salami, wine and water, we set off on the travel on this beautiful, sunny day. However, once arriving to Beaune, it was realized that we were missing 4 students, as they did not get off the train at our stop and carried on into the next town (uh oh...4 down..)

So the 15, or so, of us continued on. Slowly, but surely we started on the trail, as we made many, many stops along the way due to a learning bike rider (not me, I'm from Davis). Luckily this young man had the determination to carry on despite his many falls, scratches, and running-intos and the positive energy to learn the hard way with a smile on his face.

The official Tour d'Laur

Once in the park of Beaune, we found the route through the vineyards and were quickly on our way through the Grand Cru and Premiere Cru Clos (sectioned off vineyard parcels) near Beaune, Pommard and Volnay. After a few hours of biking, picture-taking, gawking, and ooo-ing and aw-ing, we came upon the center of a deserted town and set up for lunch. With a fountain nearby, we took advantage of its cool water by jumping in and cooling off (which was not the least bit clean...but who cares?) By this point many of the members downed their 1 and 2 Liters of classy red wine in plastic bottles and were pretty amped to head back. Myself, not included in the drinking, was quite dehydrated by this point and searched out more water for the trip back.

Mark, Ryan, Krystal and Caroline enjoying the break before heading back

So we retreated in the direction that we came, but the ride back was a little trickier than the ride there for some. A little wobbly at the handle bars, a few lost their balance as we entered back into the vineyards, but everything else seemed to be going well. Just as we were making our way down the hills, the slope gradually increased to where we each were picking up speed and racing down the path. Spread out and of a safe distance from each other, no harm seemed possible as I angled forward on my bike to gain more speed. Just ahead of me, as I rounded the corner, I am forced to squeeze my breaks as I noticed three bikes parked directly in the path and one of the girls from the group lying on the cement as two other's looked on.

As I stopped, all I hear is "I'll call 911" as another girl takes off into town, and the rest of the group began to circle around the scene. A local woman runs toward our group and mentions that she is a doctor as begins to examine Connie. I step back to give her and the others room, but stay near to help in any way. I find out that Connie was the first to go down the hill, and hit the large bump in the road and did a 180 flip off her bike and fell head first on the ground. Luckily she is conscience through it all, but she is quite dizzy, numb and in pain. As she most likely suffered a concussion, the ambulance comes to take her to the hospital and check for any damage. Along with Connie goes one of her good friends, Kayla, and Caroline, as the French-English interpreter (3 more down...)

Our misfortunate event

With more bikes than people, we were thankful to get the help of a local man who offered to take them in his truck to the rental company. With him went Professor Lapsley...and another student who was too drunk and sick to ride her bike (...2 more down)

Once this catastrophe passed, the rest of us realized that a storm was setting in, and we desperately needed to start back before it hit. Not even 5 minutes after getting on our bikes, the clouds became darker and more luminous as bolts of lightning shot to the ground just off to our left near the vineyards. Exhilarated and a little worried, I made sure to wait for the last of the group to go and fought my way in the rain and the thunder. Never before in my life had I seen a storm so beautiful and dangerous. Like biking through a twister the winds picked up and swirled around us as we biked in the dark. With the group once again split up, I entered into town with two other guys but we were confused about our next turn. Luckily one more guy came after us and told us to turn around and make the next left.

Following his orders we flipped around, soaked to the core, and biked back to the intersection. Just as we approached the stop sign, a booming cracking noise went off to the right of us, not even 10 meters away. We biked faster, despite our shock, as a HUGE tree collapsed in the street behind us. Taking up the entire road, the tree laid in the spot we had been just moments before. We realized that each of us just barely scraped by as we looked at the tree lying there, our hearts pounding, as we thanked our lucky stars.

Realizing that we were still in danger by riding metallic objects in the lightning storm we continue onto the bike-rental. While we expected to be the last of the group, we find out that we are the first 4 of the 5 to make it back. The middle group had some how also gotten lost along the way. By this point, I was like "Shit! Can it possibly get worse!?"

Luckily, after running around in search of them and returning once more to the bike rental we come to find out that they all made it back While they are all in one piece, they definitely had their fair share of scratches and bruises. One guy had flew off his bike, over the handle bars, along the way as he raced to catch up with the guy in the lead and had scratches all up and down his body. Another girl had popped her pinky out of joint and back into place as she also fought her way back. While I was lucky enough to get by with no scratches, I was definitely shivering with the rest as we returned to the train station. Wanting nothing more to return to our dorm for showers we were all greatly disappointed to wait two hours to get home as many tree branches had fallen in the railways and needed to be picked up.

The rain storm at the train station (unfortunately I was unable to capture the storm in the vineyards on my camera but will have some of me on facebook thanks to other brave souls :)

But, long story short we all made it back that night, Connie recovered alright, and we all fell asleep early after rejoicing our return with a glass of wine.

Cheers to bearing the worst and celebrating the best!

13 Juillet and Company

I am nice and settled in my little dorm at the University of Dijon and have been enjoying the company of the VEN3 students, Caroline, Pascal, and Jim Lapsley.

This is my room: I have a great window view of lots of trees and am quite close to the bus stop which I frequent to go into town.

To get an idea of who these people are that I've mentioned, let me give you a little background information...

Caroline also just graduated from UC Davis in V&E and is doing a harvest internship at a winery in Burgundy. She will be living with a family in Beaune for the duration of it, but for the last few days she has been visiting us in Dijon.

Professor Lapsley is a Professor from UC Davis Viticulture and Enology and is the instructor of the VEN 3 course (Into to Winemaking).

Above is Professor Lapsley in the CA Republic biking shirt he got from REI

(This is just a taste of my 14 Juillet adventure)

Now, Pascal is a man of many trades. He is the UCD V&E correspondent and trip advisor as well as a Professor at the University of Dijon.

This is Pascal teaching us all how to remove a cork with a knife. Pas mal!

The students of which I speak are all interested in wine and the french culture, but originate from all over California and even New York. Like all groups they come from all walks of life, and it has been fun getting to know them and share what winemaking experiences I have with them.

Pascal and Jim have been nice enough to let Caroline and I join the VEN3 group to their various destinations and amazing meals. To put things into perspective, I will begin with Tuesday night, the night before 14 Juillet, the French national holiday which is the equivalent to the US's 4th of July...

With little to do but settle into my new home, Pascal invited me to join the rest of the group to a restaurant in the Centre Ville of Dijon. Here in this plaza restaurants line the borders with outdoor seating, and in the middle two lines of water fountains shoot high into the air. At one of these restaurants, we join the rest of the city in indulging in life's greatest pleasures, food.

As the wine passes around the table, our eyes, mouths and stomachs feast on the delicious three course meal. Oh la la... the parmesan, tomato risotto is so luscious and savory... the chicken and ratatouille so tender, and the raspberry tiramisu, to die for.

The French really do know how to eat!

After this glorious meal, we all went to an outdoor dance (or rave-like dance) put on my the city's fire station. It was crazy fun and we all danced till our feet ached and our heart's content.

With a big day ahead of us the next day, we walked home around 1AM to get some rest before our bike ride through the Burgundy vineyards.

With expectations of a glorious day passing through the vineyards on bike and enjoying a picnic lunch with everyone... no one could have guessed what 14 Juillet had in store for us.

I think I have seen a lot, but 14 Juillet 2010 in Burgundy goes down in history for me. Stay tuned for my posting!

Cheers!

Bonjour mes amis!

After 30+ hours of traveling I finally made it to my (first) destination, Dijon.

Lost with no direction, Caroline and I took control of our trip yesterday when we landed in Paris at 6am. With no contact information to our french correspondant, Pascal, nor to our wineries, we bought train tickets to Dijon where Pascal lives and works. After booking a hotel for the night at Hotel de Palais, we went in search of an internet cafe. Here we received Pascal's latest email with more information on our living situation for the duration of our stay. With no hesitation I purchased a SIM card for my phone, contacted Pascal, and arranged a meeting time that night.

What a relief!

After grabbing dinner and a much deserved shower, Caroline and I went back out to enjoy some glace and limonade (ice cream and sparkling limonade).

With a laid-back and casual meeting expected that night, I threw on my t-shirt and jeans to meet Pascal. Low and behold as we ambled down the street talking, we walked right into an annual festival of food and wine (4/14) celebrating Louisiana food and music. The entire town was out, eating, drinking, dancing. It was a sight to behold. Women dressed up and glorious in their summer dresses were escorted by men, equally well-dressed, as New Orlean's music drifted thought the night air. Despite my haggard appearance of bead-head, drowsiness and all together too casual clothing, I was so happy to be witnessing this scene!

Now with Pascal's help I have moved into my dorm at the University of Dijon and will be staying here for July and August. Away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Dijon I will not be so easily distracted, but will have the company of my peers (or used-to-be-peers) in VEN 3 from Davis.

Now I am off to catch the final World Cup match, talk to you all very soon!

Love,

Laura