#17 - RED-WHITE - or ROSE'?

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 RED - WHITE or ROSE'

#17

From:           Perpignan   - FRANCE

To:               Carcassonne - FRANCE

Distance:       97km / 60 miles

Climate:        15C - 60F

Do you prefer Red, White or Rose' wine? 
Well here in the southern French wine valley of Corbiere, the specialties are all three.


Leaving the area of Perpignan we accidentally took a lovely small road leading through the Corbiere wine valley. Both sides of the valley as well as up and down each nook and cranny of the mountain were filled with freshly young light green leaved vines. Small signs indicated we were on the Wine Route.

Bob was pleased!





As you can see on the TOMTOM the road was in the middle of nowhere.




We had to get off the busier roads for two reasons. One, our trip is designed to be the back roads of Europe. And two, the French are very aggressive drivers and always tailgating. So it doesn't make for a relaxing drive. Bob said - "it's amazing how aggressive the French are - yet Germany occupied them in 3.5 days!" ( no offense but please give us some space)



CORBIERE 
The Napa Valley of the South of France

This region, home to the Carignan grape, produces roughly 75 million bottles of French wine a year- predominately red. Not too far away from the Spanish border between the Pyrenees and the coast you can find a special region of wine growing. With over 53,000 hectares of vineyards growing on rocky slopes the terrain lends itself to a more windy climate producing rich and full bodied flavors of Red, White and Rose.
95% of the wine is however Red.

 As we drove along about every 10 yards was a sign for a Chateaux. These Chateaux are host to vineyards, their own hotels, their own gift shops and of course tasting of wine in hopes of an eventual sale.

Both sides of the Valley are covered with vineyards for as far as you see....

Again, we were the only ones on this scenic road....

If you are lucky, the best part of a country drive, is the fresh fruit stands along the side of the road.   And guess what lies up ahead... hmm... go ahead.. yes... a lovely French fruit stand with all the latest local grown berries and vegetables.

"Ugly Tomatoes"
These are anything but ugly... the wonderful flavors of France

It is difficult for me to explain in words just how sweet and delicious these local strawberries were..... in fact, I was convinced they poured sugar on them. So full of sweet succulent juice. They must have just picked them.

We also ate a delicious freshly baked baguette sandwich. Oh mais oui!!

 Are you curious which direction we were going to take? Right? Left?  Well, we took a right turn for two reasons. One TOM TOM told us to and the other is we choose Carcassonne as our next destination.  And why? Ah..you shall see tomorrow why this perfectly preserved Medieval town is a "must see" in the South of France dating back 500 years BC.

 For now, let's continue on the country road. Oh yes, here is something to note.So far, all the roads throughout France have been so poorly surfaced compared to even the small back roads of Spain.

Here is a taste of Bobs cynical humor: "The irony is  France has both funded perfect roads for Spain, while their roads are unattended to and in need of repair. Looks like Spain will have to lend France some money for road repair!"

 A wine Chateux!

In between the wine valley are poppy fields on either side, brimming a bright red  carpet alongside the road.
FYI- did you know that as soon as you pick the poppy flower it wilts and dies. Bees use poppy for pollen.

 Just as we turned the corner we were welcomed by a beautiful 12th century Abbey in a small stone town of Lagrasse - in the middle of nowhere.

Remember in a previous post I was trying to compare French style architecture with typical Spanish home design. I described the French style as having colored wooden shutters on both sides of the windows while the Spanish have bars. Below is some typical French style windows.

A rarity - drying clothes the old fashioned way - on a clothes line!!

Cold - 60 degrees and chilly!

The French hard at war!

The French hard at play!

Well I hoped you enjoyed the relaxing drive today. We promised you it would not have many twists and turns. What we didn't know was just how special the wine valley would be. Hope you didn't get too drunk smelling all that wonderful French wine.

Tomorrow - magical Carcassonne .....

night night....

TIDBIT- throughout Europe you may notice signs which forewarn  Radar Control. STOP! SLOW DOWN. It means they have Radar Cameras in place for speeding.

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