Interesting observations from Jim Budd about Provence rosé. One - that most Provence rosé growers are "completely stupid" for not using screw caps - only 4 out of 80 used them. Jim's argument is that it's just a a darn sight easier. Two, that the same Provence rosé growers are being silly about getting upset over the mix up red and white to get rosé debate.
Still, Jim does prefer wines from the Loire region.
Engaging images and commentary about Provence from Lonely Planet - maker of the guides. Holly the Australienne creates a pleaseant, warm feeling about the place, featuring roman ruins, French markets with heaps of garlic, lunches in vineyards, Plane-tree lined avenues and lots of sunshine - enjoy!
It's amazing the lure that Provence has for non-residents or distant watchers. I am not undermining its charm and splendours, but some of the notions folk concoct about life in Provence are amazing.
In Evansville, USA, they imagine this: "Wouldn't it be nice to live somewhere romantic such as Provence or Tuscany, where all you have to do is step out your back door to find tasty wild greens and herbs growing on the hillsides?"
In Canada, it's this: "The roots of the Roman Empire run deep throughout southern France, no more so than in rural Provence. With its sunny scrublands, Riviera, vineyards, olive trees and Mediterranean cuisine, parts of Provence could pass for northern Italy. But Francophiles will find Provence also offers the best of la belle France -- Sunday markets, sleepy towns where locals play petanque, fields of lavender and salade Nicoise."
Maybe I shall compile a guide book of journalistic expressiveness about Provence.
Have updated the page about books set in or about Provence. Check out books in Provence.
I have been asked about birds of Provence. The feathered variety, not the St-Tropez species. Not being an ornithologist, I reached for Google, fearing the worst. The search "Birds of Provence" brings up little of immediate value and, to be honest, the internet offers very little on Provence's apparent wealth of birds.
So I made a reference page of the best I could find, called Birds of Provence. The pink flamingoes of Camargue are the main attraction.
"Sir Sean Connery has won a multi-million-pound court battle over a business deal involving diamonds, villas and property on the French Riviera. "
The winner is the Telegraph.
More grumblings regarding rosé production - this time from Anjou. "The debate threatens to re-ignite a much wider, and more explosive, argument on the nature of wine itself. Is wine a mysterious product of soil, soul, weather, grapes, sweat and tradition? Or is it an industrial product for mass-consumption like any other?"
The answer - label real rosé as "traditional": "when news of the decision began to circulate, pink grapes of wrath fermented in Provence and Anjou. "Real" rosé wines could be marketed under a new label: "traditional rosé". Blended or "fake", rose wines would have to be labelled "rosé coupé" or "rosé de coupage." But, claim producers, "it should not be for us to have to rename our wine. If the others want to label their bottles 'rosé made from jumbling up red and white', that's fine."
The debate threatens to re-ignite a much wider, and more explosive, argument on the nature of wine itself. Is wine a mysterious product of soil, soul, weather, grapes, sweat and tradition? Or is it an industrial product for mass-consumption like any other?
There's an extraordinary proposal that the EU would allow any wine producer in Europe to blend white and red wine to produce rosé. "Pink plonk can be made by simply mixing red and white."Naturally, Provence rosé producers are up in arms.
The uproar has generated some fantastic rhetoric:
"The battle for rosé's nobility risks being lost with a wave of Europe's magic wand. When you go home tonight, try mixing white wine with a few drops of red wine. It comes out orange and doesn't taste good It's nothing like rosé."
"It's as if the ferryboat was sinking and there was only one lifeboat – rosé. The new rules will allow everyone to jump in the boat and the result will be that everyone will drown. All our efforts have borne fruit and have permitted French rosé to be the world market leader. Now they want to saw off the branch which we have nurtured and are sitting on."
Producers say it is sacrilegious to simply throw together different coloured wine rather than following the "nobler" tradition of macerating red grapes for a few hours and bleeding off the rose-tinted liquid.
I am constantly reminding folk what a great place Provence is for cycling holidays - not that I would do it myself. Guests to our house at Mons do the 4km to the local village (with 300m of elevation) with gusto, and David our neighbour punishes his body with a 60-80km road trip every Saturday, dreaming of Lance Armstrong.
Here's Nicholas Roe of the Daily Mail trying to enjoy 3 days on the saddle. "If you're going to try a biking holiday, Provence is a wonderful place to start. Sure, it's hilly - my own 75-mile, three-day circuit had many climbs on the first two days, although it was almost entirely downhill on day three. But distracting you from the pain of effort is an almost constant parade of scenery...And when you get tired? Well, there are beautiful villages to welcome you with cries of 'Bonjour Monsieur!' and coffee, wine and cakes. "
Here's a review of the latest study in Provence's essence: Seeking Provence: Old Myths, New Paths by Nicholas Woodsworth. The central theme of the work according to the Telegraph is thus: "Provence and the Mediterranean in general are ...unique repositories of a sensual way of connecting with the earth, life and all its works." Hmmm.
I liked the picture - a classic Provence vista.
We are thrilled with this painting that Vicky Claringbold, our neighbour in London, painted of our holiday home nr. Mons in Provence.
This is the view from under the two large olives at the front of the house.
The folk at "Lost in France" were good to enough to publish an article that I penned - full of good tips about what to do near Fayence on your holidays.
Coleen and Wayne are coming to town, according to Marie Claire.
Beats the Wirral, I guess, but I wonder where?
Incredible. France tops the world 2008 "quality of life" index, according to Living Internation (and here's the commentary). I will retire now.
The rest of you can enjoy a taster of life in Provence in Mons.
Fascinating article from San Francisco about Brettanomyces, a fungus that imparts certain odours to certain wines, it appears. The wine cited by the author happens to be a Bandol: " vividly remember the first Château Pradeaux I tasted. This mourvèdre-based red from the region of Bandol in France's Provence had the distinct odour of a horse-filled barn. When I served the wine to a friend, he looked up, smiling, and pronounced his judgement: "This smells like s--t.""
I am truly encouraged to discover that there is in fact an official best baguette. Apparently there's an annual competition: "Best Baguette in Paris Award 2008". 14 of the entrants 143 14 were automatically eliminated for not complying with the criteria of size and weight peculiar to the “baguette tradition” (70 cm long, between 250 and 300 g) - only in France. Or maybe that's the EU?
Well - the baguette tournament was a cliffhanger, coming down to a nerve-wracking run-in between "two baguettes – numbers 132 and 97 – which were tied. The jury therefore carefully re-examined them, still tasting “blind”, in order to decide between them. Number 132 was unanimously found to be richer in aroma and taste, whilst number 97 appealed perhaps more for its attractively browned appearance and voluptuous, gourmet aspect."
Here's the winner brandishing the victorious baguette: Anis Bouabsa,28. Apart from the glory, he will be supplying the Élysée palace for a year so will have to hire someone to deliver the President’s baguettes every morning.
You have to hand it to Browns Fashion (of South Molton Street fame).
Surely, Browns' Jelly Shoes are the ultimate fashion beachwear item? I picture folk all over French Riviera beaches sporting these jelly shoes this summer as they coast the sands in Cannes & Antibes. Of 100% rubber, they must feel gorgeous.
At £80 - surely a steal?
Truffles have become such an important global commodity, up there with oil, gold and pork bellies, that the FT is covering them.
The writer negotiates Richerenches with michelin-starred chef Michel Rostang. His advice about picking them: it's about the dealer (so they don't mix the smart stuff with fakes), the smell and the appearance. And cooking them: "I don't mix truffles with other flavours, it's all about the truffle." He recommends starchy foods that absorb flavour, such as potatoes, pasta or Jerusalem artichokes.
Petanque is the native provencal ball game - it a bit like football in the UK. I read in the Times that the name pétanque comes from the Provençal words ped tanco, or pieds tanqués in French, meaning having your feet stuck to the ground. Because there is no run-up, the pitch is shorter than in other boules games. These days pétanque is played by about 17 million people in France and in more than 50 other countries.
I sound better than the author of the piece, but then I played squash as a teenager and developed the flexibility of wrist much cherished by boulistes.
The article has a brief summary of the rules. First to thirteen, not the fifteen I've been playing.
