French Wine – Leaving The Vine
Granted a catchy but not totally accurate title. Of course it’s the grapes leaving the vine. Who will later become wine. And this is the moment they begin their journey.
The French Wine Harvest – “Le Vendange”, like all events agricultural, marches to the drummer of the seasons in each region. The obvious leaders in the pole position are the Southerly regions – Languedoc and Provence – where the Sun pumps up the volume and the sugar content first.
Alsace, in France’s North-East corner, where the old timers speak a mix of French and German no one else understands, is the last stop on the tour. With the harvest of the sweet wine destined grapes – “Vendage Tardive”(late harvest) around October 15.
As I’ve noted before, the harvest is simultaneously a cultural and a social event as well. Bringing together folks from all over Europe, who, outside of this gig, would probably never meet. Considering the mix of lifestyles and ethnicities. (My fellow scribbler Robert Camuto has “done” the vendange and morphed his experiences into a book. Cleverly titled: “Corkscrewed.” P.s. – He’s not paying me for this plug. Nor have a received a bottle of his wine.)
While words and pictures can’t hope to fully convey the multi-layered emotional experience that is Le Vendange – they can give us a taste.
Here’s mine:
French Wine Harvest from bicyclegourmet
THROW ME A BONE HERE, PEOPLE!
What are ya thinkin’?
your video transports me totally to the vineyard and the family atmosphere. exceptional!-as usual…lol!
It’s not often we get a slice of the real France…..that hasn’t been airbrushed and edited to some ad agency’s idea of “perfection.”
What you’ve shared here is without a doubt, a classic example of what honest reportage should be.
Super Video! – Especially like the morning mist….everybody else seems to only show vineyards in the sun…
i’ve been to alsace and i can totally relate to your comment on the language. however -no trouble communicating..even with definitely fractured french!
Your presentation is very well paced and gives an authentic view of this annhual and important event. Two thumbs up!
really liked this vid!
Watching your video it’s easy to see how you(and your “scribbler pal”) were attrached to this country. I mean – who would’nt be?
Your other commentors have beaten me to the obvious punch – An excellent piece of reportage!
Thanks to you and this video, I’m planning to “do” the vendange next year. Thanks for the inspiration!
really gives me the feeling of being there!….maybe someday i will go. thank you for this great video.
as one of your other commentors said, i like the contrast in your video…the mist and the sunny shots……all that plus the fun time everyone is having..even though it must be hard on the back!
Adrian – I’ve “done” a vendage. And it’s not hard on the back. It’s MURDER! – Especially if you’re 6 ft. 3! But the rest – is even better than in DA BG’s video. So – if you’re short – you’ll be fine!
(lol)
very different..and much better ..than the usual portrayals of french life that we see. looking forward to more of this quality.
if it’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words…..then your video certainly must be worth a million. Well done!