I've been sitting here for the past hour or longer just looking at some of the photos I took in Paris back in July. The one here reminded me that the 2013 grape harvest is well under way in France. In the French language, there's a special term for harvesting grapes — vendanger is the verb — and the harvesting process is called la vendange, often in the plural when it describes this season of the year: C'est l'époque des vendanges.
According to news reports, the 2013 grape harvest will be smallest one in France since 1991. Weather conditions are to blame. Several regions — parts of the Loire Valley, Burgundy, and Bordeaux included — have seen a significant part of the crop destroyed by hailstorms.
Around Saint-Aignan, the vignerons — grapegrowers/wine producers — have been luckier. The grapes at La Renaudière, for example, are heavy, healthy, sweet, and ripe. Most of them will be harvested this coming week, and the weather is supposed to be warm and sunny. That's good luck.
Hi Ken, I'm catching up after being gone for the summer. So happy that your roof repair was successful!
ReplyDeleteHi BettyAnn, we had an inch of rain Friday night, and it came down hard enough that it woke me up. No leaking, though. We are optimistic.
ReplyDeleteAhhh-- good news for your area's grapes! And for your kitchen ceiling!
ReplyDeleteAND Good News for La Renaudiere - their harvest should bring in more Euros if the other areas of France have a lower harvest.
ReplyDeleteGreat news that your kitchen ceiling was fixed leakfree! Hooray!