A bit late but finally got the Puisseguin doctor to do the deed. In France, you buy the stuff from the chemist then find a Doc to stick in the needle.
Of course he said not to drink and eat too much last night. As if I ever would. The whole point of this trip was to attend the opening of our new wine bar at St Genes.
Diligent readers will remember that, terrified by the thought of losing our local village shop, the Laithwaites bought the place and handed the business over to a local mum we thought might run it well.
Last night everyone was telling me we'd really hit the jackpot with Anne-Marie and asking me how we knew she was so clever.
You get lucky is how.
She revived the shop and added a restaurant cum wine warehouse which is always full and is the only place anyone's ever been able to see the glorious panoply of Castillon wines laid out on display...whilst having lunch.
We begged her to keep the old bar between shop and restaurant ...with its pool and 'babyfoot' tables and the colourful local 'characters'.
Alas, that didn't work; it was only our family and our winemakers who ever played the tables and the local characters got frightened away by the new, clean efficiency of the place.
So Anne-Marie changed it all and has just re-opened it as her cool new wine bar. Purple and Orange!!!
In there, as well as her 100 Castillons, she offers a small range from around the world ... Laithwaites wines. We shall see how well that goes down.
The producers of St Emilions etc who come here are already not happy she will only sell Castillons. They see Chilean, Aussie etc wines on sale... they are going to choke on their Confit de Canard.
Anyway, two days after opening most table were occupied at lunch and at the Grand Opening the change seemed to go down well. Members of the local 'star' winemakers; the Thunevins, the Derencourts, the De Nieppergs rubbed shoulders with your more trad local farmers and tasted each others’ wines.
This, I feel, must help raise standards. Regular 'meet the winemakers' events here would be great I thought. I was looked after by Clare, Libby, Mark and the rest of my crowd. So I didn't get to overdo things.
Glad of that as this freezing dark morning head for the airport, home, briefly, then off to Santiago!
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