Reasons to be cheerful

The last week has been great with not one, not two, but three reasons to celebrate! Firstly the vendange (grape harvest) came to an end on Wednesday, so as well as getting a long overdue lie in, we got to experience the ‘Gerbaude’, a sensational party thrown by the chateau for the vendanguers (grape pickers) as a thank you. Secondly, this weekend marked a full month of us being away in the bus and thirdly (and most importantly) it was my birthday!

So, to recap on the week’s events, on Monday and Tuesday we worked as usual in the vines; by Wednesday it was clear that us workers had made good time (we all worked an extra day last Saturday) and the harvest was on schedule to end on time.  On Wednesday morning we were told that we only had to work a half day but would be paid for a full day - it was very lax, interspersed with long breaks, aperitifs, and impromptu football games. 

On Thursday everybody had a day off and the Gerbaude party was due to commence on Friday.  So, on Thursday afternoon  we decided to move from our pitch to a quieter spot away from the techno heads and party animals, knowing that from now until they left they’d be in full on party mode – they had kept us up all night Wednesday! We also got the chance to drive the bus into the local town to get the screeching noise and steering issue diagnosed – thankfully it wasn’t a big deal – we needed to replace two belts, which it turned out had been on the bus since it was built in 1994 - the mechanic told us we would die before our bus did, which is reassuring I guess! We took the opportunity to get an oil and filter change and get the tyres pumped up, which were horribly low - poor bus! So hopefully no more mechanical problems now.

On Friday we started the day at 10am going to the Chateau office to receive our wages and a complimentary bottle of 2008 Chateau Gruard Larose wine each (90€ a bottle!). At 11am a tour of the Chateau for the vandangeurs commenced - it was fascinating to see the other side, i.e. where they actually make the wine (not that I understood all of the detail as it was in French), but it is impossible not to be impressed by the set up.

The cellars in the Chateau

The Chateau owner Monsieur Jean Merlaut owns six Chateaus in the region and is very ahead of the game – the state of the art modern viewing tower erected here three years ago is incredible, and the first of its kind here in the Medoc region, it allows the viewer to see the whole estate and really appreciate it’s scale and grandeur.

Queuing up for the Gerbaude

After the tour we had the delight of the Gerbaude – it was great to see everyone in their ‘best’ clothes – I didn’t recognise half the people I had worked with over the last fortnight, dressed in their chic French style, both men and women, almost unrecognisable from in the field.  At the party the bosses, including the chateau manager, the farm manager, our grape picking Boss Bernard, and Jules, personnel manager and our tour guide, served us all drinks (spirits) with the most delicious, accurately cut and exquisitely executed  Hors d’Oeuvres I have ever seen. There was a big sound system set up in the dining room and no one was in any rush. By the time the first course was delivered we were all merry - to start there was a trio of sea food with an accompanying white wine. 

Me, Nick & Mr Frederick the Farm Boss

Next was fillet of beef with potatoes and vegetables with two different red wines of the chateau, which we had tasted earlier on the tour. Then there was a cheese course and finally chocolate profiteroles accompanied by a delicious champagne I have never heard of before. The French really know how to throw party - I’m not sure what time we left, 8 or 9pm maybe, but as usual I did not have a hangover the following day. The party was a great event and I left with fond memories, determined to return next year to do it all again.

Carcans Beach

On Saturday most workers were leaving the Chateau, and we didn’t feel any reason to hang about – with it being my birthday we decided to head to the ocean about 45 minutes away, to a region where there are two enormous lakes as well as the sea, the Atlantic, a real hot spot for surfers. It was at Carcans in the Aquitaine region where we arrived to a full on sea air rescue mission taking place that thankfully ended well. That night we drank a bottle of champagne then ate a lovely local restaurant, not too pricey and totally delicious (in general we have found it more expensive that we expected in France). 

Best wine ever (so far!)

Back at the bus we opened one of the Chateau Gruard Larose bottles of red - OMG, I’m no wine connoisseur but ‘silky ribbons’ is my description for this perfect supple, rich,  soft but spicy wine!

Sunday, today, we decide to visit the lakes after taking the drone down to the beach first, where Nina loved tearing up and down the dunes. This evening we are parked up by Lake Lacanau – we drove around, went down a few uneven dusty roads where everything was falling off the shelves (and I freaked out a bit) due to the bumps - we didn’t really want to be in a campsite and eventually we found a little spot, where we are now right by the jetty, bang on the lake – it’s raining intermittently, but hey, you can’t have everything!

We don’t have any specific plans from now, except to slowly head southwards – maybe take six weeks to get to Southern Spain. We love going off the beaten track.







How many times do you wonder ‘what’s down this road?’  Most times I used to just wonder, now I actually go and see.

Tout  a l’heure