We’ve been in numerous wine clubs over the years, mostly from our local northern Michigan wineries, and all have been good. Our neighborhood wine shop, Lake District Wine, does an excellent job of curating wines from around the world for its club members, and I highly recommend it to my friends in the Traverse City area.
But the wine club I can’t live without is the Princess and Bear, a Seattle-based importer that specializes in wines of the Languedoc-Rousillon region of France, where its founders, the delightful Carol and Steve, have a second home.
I discovered this club by accident after a previous visit to France when I was obsessed with all things Languedoc. (Actually, I’m still obsessed with all things Languedoc). I was intrigued that a U.S. company imports wines solely from the region I adore, and I tried to sign up for their club only to learn they could not ship to Michigan. Alas.
At the onset of the pandemic, events transpired that caused me to query P&B again, and while they still couldn’t ship to Michigan, I learned they could ship to Chicago. So for the past three years, our son in Chicago has been our wine smuggler, so to say.
As John began thinking about retirement, I mentioned to him that the P&B club had an annual party in the south of France and this year’s was scheduled for early October. Maybe we could go? Signing up for P&B wine week put a timeframe on our plan to launch the post-retirement period with travel. Had we not reserved this trip, I’m certain John would have either delayed his retirement because AP couldn’t do without him or we would’ve stayed indefinitely in North Carolina because our family couldn’t do without us.
Wine week is based in Montpellier, where as fate would have it is also home to some of the best and least expensive French immersion programs. Leah had long wanted to take a deep dive in learning French, so she took advantage of our trip to travel with us and enroll in a four-week course through Accent Francais, which has housed her with a French family.
After depositing Leah with her new French mommy, John and I began the activities of P&B wine week, and they have been spectacular.
First up was a welcome dinner at a tiny Montpellier restaurant, La table des poètes. We met other members of the wine club, all of whom are from Seattle. We are the only Michigan representatives in attendance, which is not surprising considering that Michigan doesn’t allow the shipments. (Protectionist state laws might foil most wine lovers, but I am undaunted).
The evening began with a Vegas-style casino game featuring wine tasting and a testing of one’s wine knowledge.
The sommelier who was our master of ceremonies was entertaining and extremely lenient about awarding points for correct (or vaguely correct) answers. No Jeopardy rules of getting it exactly right. Which means, of course, I won.
My prize was a bottle of Champagne from Gosset, the oldest wine producer in the Champagne region, making wine (although not champagne) since 1584. When my wine guy Ric explained the bargain of European wines in relation to American wines as “they paid off their mortgages centuries ago,” he could’ve been referring to this place.
Wine casino was followed by a multi-course meal featuring so many delicious little bites paired with wine, and also great conversation. I spent much of the evening learning about the joys of living in Montpellier from Ann, an American who makes her home here now and organizes a weekly coffee meeting for other Americans in the city.
I shouldn’t be surprised that, despite being in another country and among strangers, John managed to find someone with whom to talk shop. Seated across from him was Jim, a retired attorney who was involved in an endangered frog case John covered. It’s a small world! Jim and his wife, Pat, live in part-time in Montpellier and, like me, Pat loves knitting and books. If we ever live here, we’ll have friends.
Yesterday we took a walking tour of the city followed by a tasting of P&B wines at the top of Montpellier’s Arc de Triomphe. It was a steep climb up a narrow, winding stone staircase, but the view at the top was an ample reward (as were the wines).
From the top of the Arc de Triomphe we could see the Pic St. Loup, which we will climb tomorrow.
Today’s activity was unbelievable. We had a private tour of the vineyards and house of Chateau l’Engerran, whose wine maker, Diane Losfelt, was voted France’s winegrower of the year in 2021 by the prestigious Guide Hachette.
Our tour began in the small tasting room, where we received glasses and set out for the vineyards. The morning was foggy – our first clouds of the trip so far (the sun soon returned). Matthieu, our excellent guide, gave a master class on the chateau’s terroir, growing methods, history and local wine-making rules. Each stop of our tour through the Chateau’s history was accompanied by a tasting of one of its excellent wines.
We learned about one previous owner of the Chateau of whom Alexandre Dumas must have never been aware of else he surely would have penned a novel based on his exploits. Laurent Quetton Saint George was a monarchist who escaped the guillotine in the French revolution by emigrating to England, which didn’t like having all those French royalists about so suggested some of them go on to Canada. It was in Canada that he made his fortune, which he later used to acquire the Engerran estate near his birthplace of Montpellier. He also acquired a wife, and he died soon after marrying her. The story, as Matthieu told it, is that St. George was poisoned by someone in his new family, who were concerned about sharing his wealth with children from a relationship he had in Canada. He is buried in the estate chapel.
After our tour through the chateau’s tangled vines, we adjourned to the lawn for a delicious lunch accompanied by more wine.
The first course of the lunch. I stopped taking photos after this because I was too busy eating.
Incidentally, one fascinating tidbit we learned is that the chateau recently hosted a film production crew. Which film? A new adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo! It’s to be released at the end of next year.
The universe seems to be signaling that I’m currently where I’m meant to be.
The pictures are so lovely, both the photographs and the ones you paint with your words. I’m glad it’s all going well and you’re enjoying so much good wine!