I'm not sure if I can handle
all this bread for breakfast. Oh how I could really go for an egg, or some
yogurt, or even just a piece of fruit. At least there's coffee, and for that I
am thankful. Especially today, because the weather is miserable. The rain
didn't hold off as hoped, but nonetheless, we're still going to Sonia's
vineyard today. I'm super excited to see land, and the production facility,
too! Perhaps it will clear up in time for the picnic.
At 9am, we climbed into our
small travel bus and drove 30 minutes to the Macon wine-growing region. We
pulled over to take a look at the mountain top below which the sloping side was
covered as far as the eye could see with row after row of vines. The mountain
was a 20,000 year old hunting ground and was capped by a tremendous limestone
rock, which historically served as the perfect lookout spot.
In New Jersey, you'll find
flat farmland that stretches far and wide covered by densely packed corn
stalks. In France, on the other hand, on almost every eastern-facing slope,
you'll find strategically placed plots of several parallel rows of vines.On
this particular morning, given the weather, a random van could be spotted here
and there, and nearby, a few men and women in heavy draped rain jackets,
checking on their vines. The vines had just flowered and most had been pruned.
This rain is troubling for the crop. The job of a grapegrower is demanding
given mother nature's inconsistency, and the vines require constant tending.
We'd stepped out of the bus
to read a bit about Chardonnay grapes on a nearby plaque, but soon after the
rain really began to pick up and we clambered back in to continue the drive to
Sonia's. 
Upon arrival to the newly built Perraud facility at which Sonia and
her husband produce wine with grapes they grow on land inherited through her
husband's family, Sonia gave us an indication of the terroir of the region by
walking us to a part of the land which had be excavated. Here we could see the
small limestone rocks just below the topsoil, followed by a layer of a mixture
of limestone and clay about a meter deep, and finally large limestone rocks a
few meters from the surface. We were told this is the perfect terroir for
Chardonnay grapes. The rocky top forces to vines to extend their roots deep to
the rich, mineral clay and limestone layer, and the large limestone rocks
further down prevent the roots from reaching too deep and wasting energy on
growing the extreme depths. Thus, older vines, at their best, 45 to 50 years in
age, may reach optimal depths.
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| All Chardonnay! |
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| Chardonnay have very green leaves. |
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| The vines had just flowered; now, baby grapes! |
We walked over to a plot of
vines that extended up hill. The vines were evenly spaced apart, and after
flowering a few weeks ago were pruned to only produce about 8 bunches of grapes
per vine. This, in turn, limits yields to about 50 hectolitres per hectare of
land. Here, it's quality over quantity--which I like. These vines were
relatively young, only about 15 years old. The vines had recently been pruned
aswell at the top to prevent too much energy investment of the vine in growth
upward. And finally, to prevent toppling over, the vines were wrapped around
and supported by wires.
The Perraud vineyards have
one hectare of red grapes, Gamay and Pinot Noir, the only red varieties grown
in Macon. The rest are entirely Chardonnay. In September, the red grapes are
harvested by hand and the Chardonnay is harvested mechanically by machines that
shake the vines. The red grapes are dropped into fiberglass vats where they are
pressed by stamping and the white are dropped in to stainless steel vats which
are pressed mechanically by an internal balloon-like mechanism that swells,
forcing the grapes against the wall of the vat and expelling juice.
Naturally, by means of yeasts
present on the skins of the grapes, fermentation occurs. Once alcoholic
fermentation begins, the grapes are moved to large vats, and eventually may or
may not be put into oak barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation. Wine in
barrels must be stirred for two minutes 2 to 3 times per week.
Here we had the opportunity
to taste wine from the vat and from the barrels. These were cloudy in our
glasses, and acidic to taste--their flavors were undeveloped and it was clear
that this wine was not ready and had a long way to go. The winemaker does this
kind of tasting on a daily basis to determine how to treat the wine in terms of
blending juices from different terrains in order to control the aroma of the
final product.
After trudging the vineyards
and tasting the unfinished product, we were good and ready to set up our picnic
and taste some of Perraud’s finished wines. Luckily, the rain came to a halt
and we were able to set up a table outside of the warehouse, overlooking the
surrounding vineyards. We set out the fruits and vegetables from our market
purchases the day before (tomatoes, arugula, watermelon, apricots), lay the
meats on plates (ham, salami, dried beef, and prosciutto), and unwrapped each
of our carefully selected cheeses. These were a soft, herbed goat cheese, an
aged Macconais goat cheese, Emmental, a blue goats milk cheese, brie de meaux,
and finally a young Macconais goat cheese. After slicing up some fresh bread
and pouring Perraud Chardonnay, we dug in.
The wine labels used by
Perraud vineyards each have a character from Little Red Riding hood on them.
These aren’t just cute—each character was selected for the label with an intricate
backstory.
Full from our overstocked
lunch, we cleaned up and got back onto the bus to take a drive through town
before our next stop at Madame Bourdon’s Fromagerie. We passed by old town wash
basins which were decorated with hung basket of flowers. These were spots where
women used to come to wash clothing and are now being preserved by towns.
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| These goats kept popping their heads up and disappearing! As Wei Jie said, "like Whack-a-Mole!" |
Eventually, we arrive at the
Bourdon Goat (Chevre) Farm. We met a few of the 70 goats which make up the farm,
received a tour of the milking facility, explored “le Petit Musee des
Chailloux,” and finally, with petit glasses of chilled white wine in hand, had
the opportunity to taste some of Madame Bourdon’s award winning goat cheeses,
which she makes with 320 litres milk from twice daily 2 hour milkings.
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| Aged to perfection |
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| Left: Fresh Right: Young |
The
fresh goat cheese was just 24 hours old, requiring 1.5 L milk. The young cheese
was 2 to 3 days old, and also used 1.5 L milk. Finally, the aged goat cheese,
at one week, coated in a thin layer of fuzzy blue mold, required 4.5 L milk to
achieve perfection.
Why did I eat so much at lunch? THIS WAS THE
MOST DELICIOUS GOAT CHEESE I’D EVER HAD.
I was so full, and Madame was pleading that we
continue to eat more and more of the cheese. Upon finding out a fresh cheese
was less than 2 euros and the aged cheese was only 3 euros, I died. Could I buy
it all? If only we had a refrigerator at Cluny Sejour… if that were the case¸ I
don’t think I could tell you how many cheeses we would have walked out of there
with.
To top it all off, we found
out that Madame’s children didn’t want to take over the business and they were
unsure where they’d be several years down the road. Oh boy, I’d move there in a
heartbeat. Teach me the trade!
If we hadn’t already had a
whirlwind of a day, after the Madame Bourdon’s farm, we ventured to the Abbot’s
retreat house where we met with Dr. Reinart to observe the grounds as well as
discuss a painting inside the houses accompanying church. At this point of
sitting, after a filling afternoon of cheese and wine, I realized that the big
midday meal knocks me right off my feet. It’s a wonderful experience at the
time, but come midafternoon, I’m in delirium, physically struggling to stay
conscious and battling my eyelids open. The Spanish totally got it right with
the afternoon siesta. 
Ever onwards! We made a final
stop at the Cluny Castle which was built to have a clear view of all the
surrounding land in order to keep an eye on all those arriving and departing
the town.
At last, we made it back to
Cluny Sejour and I went immediately to bed.
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