The FIAAC - the first instalment

http://www.lesrdvdupf.org

On Friday 3rd May, we headed south west from Varzy towards Pouilly-sur-Loire for an Art and Wine show (the FIAAC) that we had seen advertised on a poster as we had been driving through the village the week previous. We didn't really know what to expect, but whatever it was, the day surpassed our expectations so much that it will go down as one of our great experiences of our trip.

As we approached Pouilly-sur-Loire, we realised it was market day! An unexpected surprise. A couple of pastries (the best tarte amande et poire - almond and pear tart - ever!!) and some beautiful warm baguettes straight from the wood fired oven later and we wandered towards the information centre for the beginning of the festival.

The ladies at the entrance to the exhibition were very excited that their festival had attracted a family all the way from Australia and as I was explaining that we had seen the signs advertising the festival and were interested in seeing a few of the vignerons and artists work, a man (Pierre) started talking to me in English, enquiring as to our trip in France, the how's, who's, where's and when's were all explained. He was also very excited to have some Aussies in his small village and almost immediately invited me to his house for apéritif! Well, it was almost 11am...surely it's time for some wine! Of course, always in for a bit of socialisation (and wine!), I accepted immediately, then I introduced him to Michael and the kids!

The brick laid by the original owners of the house in 1645.

He lived across the road in what appeared to be a normal looking village house from the street. It was not until we were behind the gates that we saw what can only be described as incredible! The gates opened up into a sort of common area, similar to a courtyard, it had three stables to the rear, a couple of large sheds as well as what looked like a couple of empty shop fronts to the right; and their house (mansion!) to the left. Behind the house was a large backyard, which, to begin with I thought may have been a public park...but no, it was all a part of their property. The kids enjoyed the swings whilst we had the tour inside.

Pierre led us inside, calling out to his wife, to let her know she had visitors! Michael and I kept looking at each other, relaying our feelings of - was this really happening? This man that has just met us across the road has invited us back to his house for aperitif, where he now has to explain to his wife where he has picked up these tourists from?! Very bizarre, but at the same time, for us, very, very exciting! Evelyne, Pierre's wife came out to graciously meet us and ask if we were staying for apéritif, as if he invited strangers back to the house everyday! When I asked him if this was normal for him, he said "No, it is not everyday that you get to meet an Australian!"...so maybe we were a bit of a novelty - whatever it was, we weren't complaining. 

They showed us around their beautiful house, from the yards, to the stables, to their cave (wine cellar) which as all good caves are in France was underground and very chilly - a mere 12 degrees, he said that was good, then the wine was always ready to drink and no need for refrigeration. On the way down to his cave Pierre pointed out the brick pictured above - this was inscribed with the date that it was laid when the house was built - Avril (April) 16th, 1645 by Francoise and his wife Marie Petibon. The house had been inhabited by one of Napoleon's generals in the early 1800's and had been used as a retreat during battles.

In the cave of our lovely hosts - Pierre and Evélyne - impromptu apéritif at 11am - what a great space for a party!

We shared a bottle of the local Pouilly Fume that was accompanied with some beautiful truffle infused chevrè (goats cheese) from the area. The kids enjoyed some juice and biscuits - although they did stand back a little thinking this was all a little weird that they would go into some strangers house and mummy and daddy were now drinking a bottle of wine before lunch!

Some of the wine bottles in their cave

A very small selection of their collection

When we had almost finished the bottle of wine, with the kids getting a little restless, we went back inside their house to look at some of the artwork Evélyne had completed. She was a yoga instructor and an artist and their beautiful house had some of her artworks as well as many other trinkets they had collected on their travels. As we entered the kitchen I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. A double stove with a wood fired oven on one side and a gas oven on the other side. She could sense my excitement as she led me around her kitchen explaining her different knick knacks, I followed, trying hard not to drool! One thing she showed us, that we are on the look out for now, was a vinegar maker - you simply pour some wine into the top of the ceramic jar and after several weeks it turns to vinegar - Kian added the dregs of daddies wine glass to he jar!

The kitchen with the beautiful oven in the background 

It was nearing 12.30 by this time and we thanked them profusely but said we must be on our way otherwise we would not see any of the FIAAC - the whole reason we were in Pouilly-sur-Loire that day!

We headed a little out of town, to Les Berthiers. Our plan was to do a few tastings out there and then head back into Pouilly-sur-Loire towards the end of the day. We soon realised though that some of the caves may be closed - as most of France does between midday and 2pm - that is time to eat after all, and lunch is the most important meal of the day! We thought we'd try our luck and landed at the door of Claude Michot's cave, as pictured below. We thought it was closed, and we were going to drive on, but luckily, Michael got out of the car to check and it was open. This was the beginning of our next great adventure for the day.

Claude Michot - the vigneron

Claude Michot's cave

We entered the cave and introduced ourselves to Claude (the vigneron) who has descended from a long line of wine making musicians. We also met Pascale Nectoux - the artist for this cave, who also just happened to be the President for the festival! She explained to us the idea behind the festival of getting the vignerons involved and then having a list of artists that they could choose from to exhibit within their cave. A marriage of the wine and art so to speak. She had been very excited that Claude had chosen her, explaining that as the President of the festival, she would have been embarrassed had she not been one of the chosen artists! As we stood talking to Claude and Pascale, Didier, Pascale's husband joined us. Pascale explained that we were from Australia and he mentioned he had heard that there were some Australians around...apparently word travels fast and our reputation was preceding us!! 

Pascale Nectoux - the artist and the President of the FIAAC

It was nearing lunch time for the vigneron and the artist and they asked if we would like to join them! We politely said "only if it's not too much trouble" whilst inside I was secretly screaming for joy! We added our baguette that we had purchased from the boulangerie in Pouilly-sur-Loire this morning, as well as the little collection of fromage (cheese) that we tend to take along with us when we go out driving for the day. We also had some sauccisson and a mango to contribute to the lunch table. Didier went back out and bought another couple of plates of food and a feast was laid out.

We were joined by the vignerons daughter, who was studying to become a vigneron herself, (slowly the French are beginning to accept that women can make wines just as good as their grand fathers before them), as well as a couple of others, of whom I am still not sure what there connection to the artist or the vigneron was, but all of a sudden we were sitting at a table of French people sharing a meal with them, with everyone speaking what English they could, and us trying to speak what French we could! It was another fantastic experience to add to the day!

Once again, we had to excuse ourselves, explaining that we had come to Pouilly-sur-Loire that day to see the FIAAC and we hadn't gotten very far yet!

Didier, Pascale and Claude at the lunch table

After leaving Claude's cave we visited a couple of others. 

Firstly, we went to Domaine Champeau where we tasted some fantastic local wines, and viewed some artwork by Cyrille Borgnet. I think though at this cave, we were still reeling a bit from our experiences of the day so far. We needed to come down a little!

Next on our agenda was Le Domaine Marchand in Les Loges. We arrived in Les Loges and found a house with a sign saying Marchand Cave Ouvert (Marchand cellar open). The door looked closed again but after our first visit, that we nearly drove straight past because we thought it was closed, we didn't want to just go past. Kayla was in the lead so she opened up the door, only to find we were standing in the lounge room of the vigneron, not actually in the cave! We apologised profusely and were led around the corner to the cave!  It was a fourth generation winery, but the vigneron himself was not there - his mum and dad were though. They didn't speak a word of English but we managed to have a little chat with them, and they told us they'd get the artist, as she was having a little nap after lunch!

Clément Marchand - the vigneron

Out came Stéphanie Ludet, a Vietnamese born, French girl, that now lived in Peru! She had travelled back to France especially for the FIAAC and was really enjoying being here, but was also a little homesick for Peru. Her mother and father had been invited to the vignerons house to enjoy the first family meal they had shared in 4 years.

Stéphanie Ludet and the mother of the vigneron Clément Marchand

Our last cave for the day belonged to Patrice Bailly of Domaine Jean-Pierre Bailly. This was a young winemaker that had spent 12 months in Australia, working for Hardy's to teach them how to make a Pouilly Fume or Sauvignon Blanc, the French way. He had loved his time in Australia and said he would love to return but he had had to get back to his own vineyard! The artist that joined him was Evelyne Weisang, and her works hung in this cave (the actual cave had been donated by a friend of Patrice's for the event as the cave that is at the vineyard of Patrice was not appropriate - or pretty enough - for the event) making the scene quite majestic.

Patrice Bailly - Vigneron

Patrice Bailly cave

That was it for us! We headed home with very contented minds and bellies! The experiences we had on this day are ones that will last us a life time. Meeting some amazing French people that were all so welcoming, inviting and hospitable. It is funny that some people had said to us in our preparations for France, and it is a common misconception, that the average French person can come across rude, or arrogant even. I don't know if we are just not moving within those circles, but every person we have come across to date, whether they be in Paris, in a town or in the smallest of villages, are making this trip even more memorable than we thought it would ever be.

Au revoir for now!

Kim
xoxo