One of Life's True Pleasures ......

One of our life's true pleasures....... is meeting and even for a short time, sharing 
"les Pelerins" with an incredible group of people who are our guests. I am constantly amazed by that group - their kindness and consideration, their observations and insights, which make the experience of  "the Provencal Dream" a much richer one.
Our blog below is written by Paul Baxter, who with his lovely and talented wife Diane recently visited "les Pelerins" and Sablet once more, with their family.  Paul is an Archeologist, at the State Museum of Anthropology, of the University of Oregon in the USA. It was so enjoyable to read his observations of our village, which he has kindly allowed me to share.  A big thanks to Paul and Diane.

"It is one of life’s true pleasures to go to a place that is the essence of its surroundings and become enveloped in that gestalt.  Whether that place is a bustling street in Mombasa, a fishing village in Alaska, a coal mining town in England, a train stop in Kenya, or a wine producing village in Provence, becoming for a moment a citizen of that place, reveals our universal heritage and common humanity.  And there is no better place for that to happen than at a table in the little café in Sablet.   

Patrons of the Cafe des Sports in Sablet, enjoying "un verre"* and a game of cards.

Pleasure can be defined as doing exactly the right thing at exactly the right time, and having a cold beer or glass of wine served with gusto by the smiling proprietor, who no doubt represents generations of smiling proprietors at this very spot, certainly qualifies.

Bruno, the owner of the Cafe des Sports in Sablet - always welcoming and friendly.

The interesting, and telling thing about this exercise, is that it is virtually unchanging, like Sablet itself. Except for the faces of a few participant observers such as us,  the cast and the experience takes place daily, as it clearly has since the 11th century.  And further, exchange the cassis and the Affligem beer, and the old men gathered at the table near the door of the bar could be in Kansas or Cairo. But they are not.  These old men have spent their lives producing the best wine in the world – there is no arguing about it – and now they are relaxing with very old friends, to laugh at the world and all in it, particularly themselves and by gracious extension, us.

The trail to Seguret lies along the cleared edge of fields, their grape vines heavy with fruit.  Somehow the greens of the trees are different, the soil is uncommon, the air is unusual, the little lizard, not quite the gecko of other trips. Travel, done well, changes one’s perspective on the world, on oneself.  Thoughtful introspection has space to occur,  a more difficult task at home.  This time, this place, for you, will not happen again. The phrase carpe diem, no doubt spoken in this place by some well-travelled Roman, floats in one’s mind.  The Britisher, he seemed British as we sidled by, seated in the midst of the trail sketching studiously, if not well, an overhanging tree, will be part of this diem for the rest of my life.  I did not sketch it, but because of him, I will remember it, and I thank him for that, although I would not have bothered him with my appreciation.

And then you return to the little apartment, with its views of the vineyards, underlined by the tiled roofs of this old, old village.  Eleventh century roof beams, wholly preserved, partner perfectly with the rough quarried limestone to create and continue this little town.  What can this mean in a world of international travel, instant texting, and scattered, scattered, families?  It is at the very least, a symbol of stability.  Those old men, the wine makers, are the sons of wine makers, the grandsons of wine makers, the great grandsons and so on,  for 50 generations, for 1000 years.   The depth of human-time is palpable. If one listens to these beams, to these stones, one can see the people down through time, in the streets, in the fields, growing the grapes, making the wine, sitting at the little café, telling the stories, and laughing."

Please Note:  The pictures were taken by another of our very talented guests!   Loran List - a Professional Photographer from Monterey California.
I have shown pictures  of Loren's pictures, as the originals are 24" x 18" and too big for my scanner.
The Originals are far superior in photo quality, but the composition is so wonderful
that I wanted to share them on this blog. 

* un verre - literally - a glass - or as common usage - "a drink". 

Le Vendange Provençal or The Wine Harvest in Provence

Looking across the vineyards busy with harvesters, our hostess pointed and said, “le vendange.”
That was on a beautiful autumn day in Provence during the vendange of 2001,
well before we purchased our home in Sablet – Maison des Pelerins.
We were staying at a Chambres d’hotes in Pernes-les-Fontaines. 
Our hostess suggested that we would have some of the freshly picked grapes
at dinner that night. 
That sounded great – but I wasn’t expecting anything like the grapes we ate. 
They were the sweetest, juiciest grapes that I had ever eaten –
 to quote Diane Lane in the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun,  “they even tasted purple”!


Sablet - Provence - Vineyards surround the small village of Sablet

Fast forward:  All through the summer we watch the bunches of grapes hanging on the vines.
Progressing from  small, tight, green clumps to deep purple, plump grapes that seem to overload their stems. 
In French, “une grape” is a bunch of grapes, the individual grapes are “les raisins”. 
As the season progresses, the vintners check the fruit,
trim the vines to make sure that the fruit are getting all the nutrients they need
for a bountiful harvest, and hope it doesn’t rain at the wrong time! 
The anticipation builds and builds until the announcement of the date on which
 “le vendange commence” (the wine harvest begins)!


Provence - Two streams of grapes so dark purple that they are hard to distinguish from the dark metal of the large mechanical picker as they pour into the truck that will take them back to be crushed and turned into delicious Cote du Rhone wine. 

That date sets in motion the arrival of the vineyard workers, usually towards the end of August. 
They come from many different places – whole families
who have worked in the area in years past.
During our first late August in Sablet, we noticed the vacant vllage houses 
suddenly being occupied, by families moving in, complete with everything they needed
 to live for the duration of the vendange.


Sablet - Provence - La Gravillas Cave Cooperative - One of the long line of tractors - just unloaded a trailer full of grapes to be crushed, sugar measured and seperated from stems and seeds.  Then off to get the fermentation started in large vats.

Then the signs on the side of the road saying, “Attention!  Vendange en cours”
What are they talking about?           It’s a warning......
that the roads of Provence will be crowded with slow tractors and smaller grape transporters
on their way to and from the vineyards and the Domaine or Cave Cooperative
to unload and then go back for the next load of sun warmed, sweet, sticky grapes.
The pace of traffic on all the roads in the area slows down to accommodate these vehicles.




Provence - near Orange Sud - Even on a very warm Autumn day, grape pickers working in one of the Cote du Rhone fields are ready to have fun when a camera is near.

In the fields, the grape pickers – their hands stained purple and sticky from grape juice,
are hard at work, but always good natured and never too busy
to have fun with passers by who wish to take pictures.

Lining up at the Cave Cooperative you see load after load of grapes come in,
unload, get their receipt for the load, and check on the sugar content before heading back to the fields.
This happens daily and continues until all the grapes have been picked
and it’s time to trim the vines and let them rest over the winter,
in preparation for next year's crop.   As the fall progresses,
 the clippings will be burned in bonfires right in the vineyards all around the area
- signalling the beginning of the winter season. Then the  cycle will start again.

All of this is happening right about now in Sablet.  I hope you enjoy some of the pictures of the 2009 Vendange – here’s to a great  2010 vintage!

2011 Update

I heard a few days ago that the Vendange has already begun in Provence - early this year, but the grapes are ready!

Here's to a great vintage!