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Showing posts with label Chateaux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chateaux. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
I went to a book party last night and drank too much chardonnay, so I'm showing my grape picking ventures today...
October harvest in Riquewihr, Alsace, is one of the most beautiful anywhere. I got to stand on a hill and sling a pair of shears for few hours. My 'payment' - to sit at the long vineyard table and share a huge luscious lunch. Alsatian grape picking is a family affair. Every member shows up to help with les vendanges.
At Regaleali Vineyard in Sicily I just watched. The pickers sang, chatted, smoked, picked grapes in the most leisurely fashion. You can take cooking lessons here with Countess Anna Tasca-Lanza.
Napa Valley grape pickers don't walk.They race to get the job done.
In Burgundy they used to carry straw baskets/paniers on their backs. You'll find these at Fr. ebay. You'll find all kinds of wine-related goodies on ebay.fr. I should know. I used to spend hours and $ looking for still life objects and I've got a closet full of taste-vins to prove it!
19th century Bordeaux pickers...
Figures are more fun to draw than grapes...
I'm better at wielding a paintbrush than grape shears/secateurs. Some passerby on the Bordeaux La Route du vin insisted on taking my picture back in the day when I haunted the vineyards.Lordie...
Friday, September 12, 2008
After posting Monday about the new cookbook from Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte, I sought it out at the Strand bookstore...
The pictures and setting are utterly lush and truely decadent - just as good as a visit to the chateau. I was inspired to do my version of this heavenly line-up of L'ile flotante -floating island with pink pralines and green tea custard. 
The inside is every bit as yummy as the cover: Decadent Desserts: Recipes from Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte.
The kitchens are downstairs at the chateau - I shot these pieces montees of fruit and macarons - click for a better look!
Here's a model of an old dessert, decorated with architectural details.
And stacks of brass molds to make even more desserts.
Plus a life size tableau of a cook preparing the meal...
This is the author of Decadent Desserts and resident owner of the chateau, Countess Cristina de Vogüé. It's hard to believe even a cracker crosses her lips much less the fabulous creations inside her cookbook. Note the countess is wearing an apron with the chateau's symbol, l'ecqureuil or squirrel.
Ah to be a countess and reside here. It must be a lot of work I suppose...
If you visit Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte on a spring and summer weekend, you may catch their special candle light dinners well worth attending. Someday...
BONNE WEEK-END!
BONNE WEEK-END!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Every 2 years a huge international wine exposition takes place in Bordeaux
The crowning event at the end of the expo is a grande soiree,La Fete de la Fleur
Only the creme de la creme in the wine trade attend:
chateau owners, distributors, celebrities etc.
Each year it's held at a different grand chateau in the Medoc..The year I went, it was at the lovely Chateau Cantenac-Brown.
I wrangled an invite by suggesting I should take photographs
for Wine Enthusiast magazine.
A tradition at the Fete is the prestigious awarding of new memberships into
Le Commanderie du Bon temps du Medoc
New and old members get to parade about in claret red velvet robes..
Hugh Grant was one of the recipients, but alas, I did not get his picture :(
Here are the St. Emilion Bon Temps members parading...
After Champagne and hors d'oeuvre on the grounds
there's a grand dinner inside.
In 1997 it was held inside a tent in case of rain.
Between courses there was Cirque du Soleil-style entertainment.
Performers on stilts dressed up as Bon temps members paraded...
Acrobats decked out as corks flew through the air to keep us amused.
I did this party doodle after the Fete...
The dinner menu served was quite simple - just 5 courses.
After all there were 1500 guests attending!
But I was amazed to see the cheese course/fromages served to each guest
individually by special cheese servers, rather than 6 chunks of cheese sitting on a plate.
The piece de resistance was of course, the wine menu shown here.
13 wines served to go with the 5 courses! ! !
I noticed while sitting at the Wine Enthusiast table,
A tradition at the Fete is the prestigious awarding of new memberships intoLe Commanderie du Bon temps du Medoc
New and old members get to parade about in claret red velvet robes..
Hugh Grant was one of the recipients, but alas, I did not get his picture :(
Here are the St. Emilion Bon Temps members parading...
After Champagne and hors d'oeuvre on the grounds there's a grand dinner inside.
In 1997 it was held inside a tent in case of rain.
Between courses there was Cirque du Soleil-style entertainment.
Performers on stilts dressed up as Bon temps members paraded...
Acrobats decked out as corks flew through the air to keep us amused.
I did this party doodle after the Fete...
The dinner menu served was quite simple - just 5 courses.After all there were 1500 guests attending!
But I was amazed to see the cheese course/fromages served to each guest
individually by special cheese servers, rather than 6 chunks of cheese sitting on a plate.
The piece de resistance was of course, the wine menu shown here.
13 wines served to go with the 5 courses! ! !
I noticed while sitting at the Wine Enthusiast table,
quite a bit of tipping of the waiter to get very large glasses refilled
with some of the world's finest wines...
Hmmmm...
Here is the sad secret that has kept me from following in Ms. P. Hilton's footsteps...
Here is the sad secret that has kept me from following in Ms. P. Hilton's footsteps...
My alcoholic capacity is about 2 THIMBLES FULL!
THAT IS IT!
Anymore than my quota, say 3 thimbles full
and I am known to become dangerously flagrant.
Plus I suffer massive hangovers!
So I did not get to leave the soiree drunk and disorderly :(
But I did get a very nice claret red umbrella (it started to rain)
And the truly amazing fact is
I still have this umbrella 10 years later!!!
Friday, August 17, 2007
I really only got to pick grapes one time... At the October harvest in Riquewihr, Alsace, one of the most beautiful harvests anywhere. And that was only because Ed Lauber of Lauber Imports put in a good word with one of his vineyards.My 'payment' for standing around holding grape shears in my blistering hands, was sitting at the long vineyard table and sharing a huge luscious lunch. Alsacian grape picking is a family affair. Everyone knows everyone else and every member of the family shows up to help with les vendanges.
At Regaleali Vineyard in Sicily I just watched, as the pickerssing, chat and pick the grapes in a most leisurely fashion. You can take cooking lessons there with the Countess Anna Tasca-Lanza.
I only imagined these Tuscan grape pickers. I was never there at harvest time. Tuscan vineyards are some of the most beautiful and idlyic. In Napa Valley, California, the grape pickers don't walk.They run or race to get the job done. More imagined grape pickers, this time in Burgundy where they used to carry big straw baskets/paniers on their shoulders.
You can sometimes still find these at French ebay...
You can sometimes still find these at French ebay...
I used to spend hours looking for so-called still life objects. I've got a kitchen closet full of taste-vins to prove it!
Imagined 19th century Bordeaux pickers... More imaginary grapepicker doodles.The figures are more fun to draw than the grapes... I'm way better at wielding a paintbrush than a pair of grape shears/secateurs if I may say so. Some passerby on La Route du vin in the Medoc insisted on taking this quaint picture.Lordie...
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