Lost in Châteauvieux

Of course I got lost trying to find the winery in Châteauvieux the other day. I've driven through the village on the main road many times since 2003, but I had never taken any of the side roads before. I saw a sign for the winery at the intersection of a side road with the main road, and I turned off there. I drove for a few miles, and I finally realized I had to have passed the winery. I didn't see any signs on any of the houses along the road. But then I saw a woman walking along the shoulder. I stopped the car, rolled down the window of the car, and asked her for directions. I'm looking for the winery called the Domaine de l'Éperon Rocheux, I told her. Do you mean Monsieur Simonnet's winery, she asked. Yes. She told me to continue back toward the village and turn right at the next road. I did, but I still couldn't find the winery. And then suddenly there was a sign.

    
I saw a place to park on the edge of the road and pulled in. I walked back a short distance toward the building the sign was in front of. A young woman opened the window on the front of her house and asked if she could help me. I want to buy wine, I told her. Oh, she said, keep walking that way and go to the house on the corner. There were three houses on the corner, and I didn't know which one. By the way, the woman told me, that spot where you parked is private property. I apologized and said I'd move the car. Wait, she said. Park next to the Éperon Rocheux sign and I'll call somebody to come help you with the wine. She said a name that I thought was Yves. I moved the car, stood around out in the cold and damp for a few minutes. Then got back in the car and waited. It was a while before I saw a woman walking up the road toward me. I don't think her name would have been Yves.

"Yves" asked me if I had brought any containers to put the wine in. No, I said, I want to buy BIBs. Oh, I'll have to fill them for you. Come into the building (le chai is the name of the building where wines are made, stored in bulk, and then bottled or boxed). She got the plastic bags that go into the boxes to form a BIB and also the boxes. She had to put the boxes together and then tape the tops and bottoms closed, with the plastic bags inside. We talked the whole time, as she worked. Where do you live, she asked me. I told her the name of my village and added that I was American. I've been here 20 years now. She said she had heard a slight accent and assumed I was British. It's true that there are a lot more Brits around the Saint-Aignan area than there are Americans.

     Now we need to go to my house "Yves" told me. We haven't put the wine inside the chai yet. It's in vats in our back yard. Moving all the wine from our back yard across the road and into the chai is a complicated and time-consuming process. As we talked, I asked her if she was Madame Simonnet. Yes, she said, and then she corrected herself and said no, my partner and I are not actually married. I was fascinated watching her carefully fill the three "beebs" with Gamay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Franc rosé wines. I'd never seen them being filled before. Each plastic bag has a fitting into which she plugged a robinet (a spigot). Anyway, above are two screen captures from Google Maps showing where the Simonnet house is in relation to the Château de Châteauvieux. I don't know if they're very informative.