Jean & John ("J&J") live in a gorgeous little village by the name of Saint Georges du Monclard. In a rural setting it's only a 15 minute drive to the city of Bergerac and most importanly to the Bergerac airport which is a hub for the Irish no-frills airline Ryan Air. This airlink is fantastic for Jean who regularly travels to the four corners of the earth (Scotland, Canada and NZ) to visit her 3 daughters and her grand children.
St Georges du Monclar is a 15th C settlement (I think - don't quote me) with its own small castle and tower. The wonderful thing about France is that these villages are not abandoned but living towns with a town hall, market square and boulangerie (bakery). The french are passionate about keeping their heritage, although the cost of upkeep on these ancient structures must be horrendous.
While not as famous as the Bordeaux, Bergerac produces some lovely wines. They have a reputation for producing delicious sweet sticky dessert wines and also some heavier red blends. That's the interesting thing about French wine. They don't generally produce their wine by variety. Rather, they blend all their wines. For example a heavier red will be a blend of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Cab Savignon and Merlot. In the wines stores, the displays are also organised by region rather than variety. It is taking us a while to get the hang of it!!
We visited 3 wineries, La Vielle Bergerie, Monbazillac and our favourite Chateau de la Jaubertie. Where we met a delightful man who had actually been to NZ. Technically his cellar door was closed, but hey, the door was open and so we snuck in. We were so glad we did - their wines were delicious!
For Sale: Renovators delight, good osp, a/c, circular swimming pool - a bargain!
We also did a bit of house shopping while we were in Bergerac. See the photo above. Complete with moat (circular pool), Chateau Monbazillac looked just the thing for us. Some minor renovation required. Heating system still to be installed. Plumbing a little on the random side. But what a bargain! Looking at the Chateau, we were reminded about the hilarious Wanaka rumour mill. About a month before we left for France we were talking to someone (I think it was Libby & Pick) who told us that they had "heard on the grapevine" that we'd bought a chateau in France and were moving there permanently. We loved how the Chinese whisper had grown. As you all know the reality is a 48 sq m apartment above our landlord's garage!
Before heading home to J&J's we snuck back into Bergerac to pick up the supplies for the BIG DINNER PARTY which J&J are hosting tomorrow night. Our mission was to find specific foie gras liver (ie., the real thing -not the pate version). No problem - just need to find the right aisle in the supermarket! Only in France!!
Bergerac City centre with a wonderful old Merry Go Round in the foreground
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