Off to France I'm leaving today to tour viticultural France and will be back on February 23rd. I don't travel with a laptop and rarely have an internet connection when visiting vignerons, so I don't expect to be on here frequently, except to write the definitive biography of star New York sommellier Bryon Bates (which I promised three months ago). I'm going to the Loire for an extended trip, then down to Burgundy, the Mâconnais, the Beaujolais, then off to the Bugey and the Savoie, then to the Rhône and finally winding up in the Languedoc. I haven't been in the vineyards and the cellars since August and even though the weather sounds horrible all over France, I always look forward to my winter trip. Conventional wisdom is to take a trip to a warm climate and you'll feel new and rejuvenated. But for me, after five months of business dealings, buying and selling, talking to customers and suppliers, hearing all the gossip about which distributor is buying which distributor, I need to get back to the vineyards. The Wine Industry is about commodity -- it can get so tiresome and so depressing. It can wear you down. It is always a joy to get out into the vineyards and back to the vine, the cellars and the vignerons. This remains a joyful and passionate occupation and going to the source reminds me, every year, of how priviliged we are to be importing wines from so many great vignerons and great regions. I'll miss my wife, my kids and my dog and wish I could bring them along. I'll also miss my readership here, each and everyone of you, and hope you all have a good month. Work hard, drink good wine and do something that will bring joy and peace to everyone around you! I'll try to write in every so often. See you all soon!
have a safe trip.
That sounds absolutely warm and fuzzy Joe! Have a good trip and somehow convince Scott that he should send me on the trip next year.
Good luck.
Enjoy !
traveling mercies.
Diesel or sans plomb? |