At the Relais d'Artémis restaurant in Bracieux on Saturday, we of course ordered some wine to go with our lunch. The restaurant's vin du mois — wine of the month — was a rosé from the nearby Touraine-Mesland vineyard.
I took the picture of the wine bottle and label at the table, and only afterwards realized that I had caught a picture of Walt "in" the bottle.
A rosé was a good choice to go with our meal, which consisted of fish and veal dishes.
Mesland is a village just a few kilometers west of Blois, on the north side of the Loire River. The vineyard covers 110 hectares (about 275 acres) and is a sub-appellation of the much larger Touraine wine production area. Other local sub-appellations are Touraine-Amboise, Touraine-Oisly, and Touraine-Chenonceaux.
The waitress who brought the wine to our table told me that this particular rosé was made with Cabernet Franc grapes. In Touraine, rosés are often made with Gamay grapes, and sometimes with a special local grape called Pineau d'Aunis.
Mesland and other Touraine still wines are reds made from Gamay, Cabernet Franc, or Côt-Malbec grapes, and whites from Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc grapes. The region also produces a lot of sparkling wines that are known as Fines Bulles de Touraine.
Le vin du mois au Relais d'Artémis : un rosé de Touraine-Mesland
L'enseigne du restaurant Au Relais d'Artémis à Bracieux, près du château de Chambord
We enjoy rosé wines - I'm so glad it's that time of year again - for sipping a glass or two of chilled rosé under a shady tree somewhere.
ReplyDeletePreferably whilst not wearing thermal underwear !!
That's a great shot of Walt! Are you sure you didn't see him gazing at/in the bottle before you took the shot?
ReplyDeleteGreat shot...
ReplyDeletebut it is strange how our eyes will focus on the subject and totally disregard what is happening in the background...
which of course is why people in photos are often to be seen sprouting antlers...
or a telephone pole!!
C'est geni-al!
ReplyDeleteThat photo of Walt looks like 30 happy years in one moment and one fine rosé in celebration.
ReplyDeleteso hard to find any kind of roses here
ReplyDeleteI love those kinds of signs!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteBonjour Ken,
Normalement, on cuve son vin. Sur la photo, on dirait que c'est l'inverse: c'est le vin qui cuve Walt.
(Question de l'arroseur ar-rosé!)
One would think with the glut of wine in France, prices would not be so high.
ReplyDeleteMDR, Dean. Il s'agisssit d'une bonne cuvée, en tous les cas.
ReplyDeleteSuper, la photo de Walt !!! Domaine du Paradis, lucky you, lol !
ReplyDelete