While the first weekend of fewer restrictions was spent on mundane but useful things like gardening, shopping, feeding ourselves and preparing for the coming week, this weekend we were daring and crossed the regional border into Centre Val de Loire. Such braveness and intrepidness!!
It was fun to be out and about together - during lockdown having two in a car was a signal to be stopped and checked, so we just didn't do it. We went over to Restigné, near Bourgueil, first of all. We took the roads less travelled across country, admiring the woods, fields and villages we hadn't seen since February or so. It was great to see our friend Laurent the wine maker again, and for the first time this year. He has not been having a great time of it. The markets that allow him to sell his wine to the public have not allowed vignerons in until the last week or so, he doesn't sell to the supermarkets as he doesn't have the volume and can't go very low on price (or as low as they want), while the bars and restaurants that he supplies are closed. Added to that, customers such as ourselves have not been able to get to him and he has been severely hampered in gaining a living. While he has applied for the government handouts, he has heard nothing back. He was very pleased to see us.
Normally at this time of year we get the gossip on the spring weather and how it has affected the buds on the vine. This year, he was more interested in telling us and showing us how much damage one broken bottle can do when in a trailer full of goods for market. With little margin and few sales, losing a few presentation boxes in such a way is a loss too. We left his place with 20 litres vrac (i.e. needing to be bottled) of his 2018 corsé red wine and 20 litres of his best dry rosé for us, and a further 10 litres each of dry rosé and the 2019 red for Chinon.
Then on to Chinon! Coming along the Vienne, it is a dramatic way to enter the town. First there is the river, which was lower than I have seen it since October last year!
Then as you get closer, the chateau dominates the entrance to the town - it has a long history but is most famous for being the place where Joan of Arc performed her first miracle - spotting the Dauphin disguised among his courtiers.
Then we had a lovely afternoon/early evening catching up with family and their new neighbours, including reciprocal cellar visits, and didn't get home until 8pm. Today has been more relaxed, and has included feeding the country cats, picking ticks off them, watering seedlings and eating home grown strawberries and raspberries with the chunk of Mum's shortbread that I purloined yesterday. Not a bad weekend!
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