Welcome 2018 -" Au Revior" 2017 - A year full of fun, love, family & travel

Photo Review

We started off  ringing in the New Year with a quiet celebration.  Later on in the month we celebrated 2 birthdays - Turning 16 years old and adding an official teenager to the house.  These girls keep me on my toes between their activities and social life!  Our two kittens turned 6 & 7 months old - the boys have become inseparable and often sleep next to each other.

During our mild winter, we enjoyed outings in Bordeaux  (coffee is always a wonderful treat!) and it's surroundings on the weekends - Darwin - Casserne Niel is one of our favorite places to visit as a family.  Having teenagers means less time all together but it's great to find a place where they enjoy going.

In early April, my mother and I went on a river cruise up the Seine toward Normandy.  We enjoyed many of the small towns along the way, most noteable was Monet's gardens in Giverny and the city of Rouen.

Our ship sailed all the way up to Honfleur on the Northern coast and we spent a day visiting the Normandy beaches and the American Military cemetery.  Busy week, including some great weather.  After our week, my mother ventured South to spend the next 3 weeks in Bordeaux with us.

The tourist season kicked back into gear and I returned to work touring groups throughout the region.  A weekend escape in Ile de Re was beautiful and relaxing - as usual.  It's one of my favorite places to visit and only a mere two hours from Bordeaux.

April vacation brought a visit with a very dear friend from the US and her daughter.  We enjoyed showing them Bordeaux, Arcachon, the Dune du Pyla and Saint Emilion.  Loved having the opportunity to take photos of the girls!  Especially having a 16 year old who more often than not, enjoys being off with friends.

Work continued to take me around various wine vineyards - I very much enjoyed Chateau de Reignac.  Will be doing a post of this chateaux very shortly.  The end of April vacation took us on a day trip to Talmont sur Gironde - a beautiful quaint village set up on white cliffs on the East side of the Garonne River.  So quaint and adorable - this little village is pedestrian only and is a beautiful mix of shops, restaurants and art galleries.

Weekend fun also meant enjoying a soccer game between Bordeaux & Marseilles.  

The months of May & June included tour visits throughout the city plus Chateau Giruard La Rose in the Medoc.  Had the marvelous opportunity to meet Veronique of the blog "French Girl in Seattle" here in Bordeaux.  It was one of those connections that clicked from the moment we sat down to chat.  So fun to meet my French counterpart who lives in the States!  The final long weekend in May was a delightful getaway to the countryside in the Dordogne - barbecue, poolside and just plain rest and relaxing for before the girls headed into their final month of school.

 June continued to be busy for me - including more visits to the Medoc, Sauternes & Cadillac.  Even traveled North 2 hours to Cognac touring a group through the village and taking them to the Cognac House of Remy Martin.  Always more to learn about this region and it's pure delight to share it.

 July kicked off with Soiree Blanche in Arcachon to welcome in the summer.  This fabulous public party is a "bring your own picnic" and bottle and the town provides tables, DJ and fireworks.  This is our second time we have participated in this evening and it's a blast!!  I love the Bassin & love touring my clients around the town of Arcachon and Cap Ferret. 
Additionally, we said goodbye to our little house that we rented for the past 3 years...for the summer we enjoyed an apartment in Pessac Center with a beautiful evening view from the balcony.

July included a lot of work on my part all over the region - Bordeaux, Saint Emilion, Sauternes & Chateau Margaux in the Medoc.  This month also brought a visit from good friends from Albany, NY.  We toured Saint Emilion, Bordeaux & the Dune du Pyla....enjoying lots of delicious wine and Oysters!  The girls enjoyed the month of July with their father.

I enjoyed a trip to Futuroscope with my oldest and youngest (while my middle daughter was away in the South of France with a friend) and then we headed out to the French Alps for a week of vacation where we caught up with my middle daughter.  We enjoyed an evening in Lyon on the way East.  This city is quaint and colorful and a beautiful place to spend a warm summer's evening.

Our week in the Alps was highlighted by visits to Lac Annecy & Geneva, Switzerland.  The water was so blue in the Savoie region and the mountain just called to me.  

 We drove into the Haute Savoie region for a day visit to Chamonix at the base of Mount Blanc.  Stunning views and a storybook village highlighted this area.  A ride in a gondola took us up for some peaceful sitting an beautiful views.  It was amazing to see the glacier on the side of Mount Blanc.

 Our vacation ended with my oldest going paragliding before we left the area and headed South to Nice to see family.  As we headed back to Bordeaux, we stopped in Marseilles for a night including a stunning sunset on the beach and a tour of the Velodrome the next day.  School started in early September and we finally found a new home ready for us in early October.

 September was back to school for the girls and high intensive season of work for me.  The harvest season was upon us - making for some great tours and photos.  My work also included touring groups from several Ocean liners who came to port in Bordeaux for a couple of days.

 October was a very busy month - celebrating not one but 2 birthdays - my baby turned 10 and I hit the half century mark....we also moved into our new home - which meant a lot of re-organizing and settling in.  My youngest got to enjoy coming to work with me for a couple of days in October and of course, as Americans, we celebrated Halloween with a party!  Trick or treating is slowly growing here - and the girls enjoyed ringing doorbells on the new street.

 The end of October also meant the two week Toussaint school break for the girls.  We enjoyed having friends visit from Paris -and headed out to Cap Ferret for a day. 

My visits to Cognac also included touring a small producer and the House of  Martell this month.  As we headed into November, we closed the tourist season with a final couple weeks of work.  Looking forward to beginning again in late March.

This blog has continued to be a great place to share both from our family point of view and to allow readers to see more of the region.  Bordeaux is a highly ranked tourist destination at this time and we are seeing more and more people coming to visit.  I hope from the photos that you can see why.  It's truly a spectacular region and after 6 years of living here - it still continues to amaze me with its rich history and stunning diversity.

As a blogger, I've been invited to enjoy many festivals and events. Notably this year, the food festival - Bordeaux SoGood in November and the Great Wine Capitals Awards evening which recognizes wine properties that excel in tourism.  (A blog post will be coming shortly - highlighting many of these properties).

Due to my work schedule, I wasn't able to write as many posts as I would have liked.  But new year - new resolutions - I know 2018 will be a wonderful year and continued growth for all of us.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year - May 2018 be filled with joy, good health and prosperity.

Cognac & Pineau - A visit to JLP Cognac Pasquet - Organic Producer

A family-run production - Domaine Jean-Luc Pasquet

On a cold but sunny day in November a group of us from my women's club headed 2 hours North to the Cognac region.  We were all interested in learning more about Cognac and our local drink pineau.  We arrived at Domaine Jean-Luc Pasquet in the late morning and we were immediately mesmerized by this beautiful location in Eraville about 30 minutes Southeast of the village of Cognac.

We were warmly greeted by Jean and his wife, Amy and they proceeded to tell us the passionate story of how they evolved into being an organic producer of Cognac.

This property traces its family ties back to 1730 having been transmitted directly or indirectly within the same family.  In 1971 Jean-Luc Pasquet (Jean's father) inherited the estate from his uncle and created the brand.  Their property sits in the highly desirable terrior of the Grand Champagne growth area of Cognac.  (Most of the big Cognac houses use grapes only from the growth areas of Grand and Petit Champagne.)  These days, it's Jean who has taken over the production from his father.

JLP- Domaine Pasquet continued to produce cognac in the traditional way, up until 1994 when some of their grapes on one of their plots started showing poor health leading them to discover the practice of organic farming.  After a year of experimentation, in 1995 they converted the entire vineyard in order to receive the Organic Agricultural Label in 1998. 

Their cognacs are blended mainly from the Ugni Blanc grape variety but in recent years they have began adding another grape variety of Folle Blanche.  This particular variety was devastated in the late 1800's by the phylloxera crisis but is slowly making a comeback as it adds finesse and richness to the eau de vie.

As we wandered through the property, Jean expained to us how Cognac is made and why it's so special, in addition to being a passion of his family.  So what makes Cognac different than other brandies?

Making Cognac is a multi-step process.  The process begins similar to making wine.  Grapes are harvested each fall and the bunches are pressed and then placed in the vat for fermentation.  By using natural yeasts and with absence of sulphates, a true local product is started.

Once fermentation is completed, next comes the distillation or the burning of the wine.  In the Cognac region, they follow a traditional Charentais method of double distillation.  This double distillation or adding the second heater or "bonne chauffe"  is specific to this region and is one of the reasons Cognac is different than other brandies.

This practice allows Domaine Jean-Luc Pasquet to obtain a fine and fragrant eaux de vie (the general name of the product after it's been distilled). 

However, it's the aging process that really allows cognacs in general to have their finesse and elegance.  For JLP-Domaine Pasquet, their eau de vie is aged in oak barrels, exclusively from the forests of the Limousin region.  It's the merging of the eau de vie and the wood that transforms the white eau de vie into a subtle, rich and elegant cognac.

The unique blends of Domaine Jean-Luc Pasquet are achieved by blending different vintages and different ages of the eau of vie allowing each product to have a unique aromatic richness.  Their cognacs range in age from 4 to 45 years old.  This age is the number of years it has been aged in the oak barrels.  For their organic labels - they have 4,  7 and 10 year old cognacs as they can only use the grapes from after their Organic approval.

They also sell older cognac blends that are not organic, these blend eau de vie that came from prior to being certified organic. 

Of course, we got to taste their cognacs and  honestly, they were delicious!  What I loved about their blends is that being a small producer they can be creative with their blends - they are not just striving for one particular taste - they look for what can be expressed from blending different vintages and now even blending different grapes also.

In addition to producing cognac - Domaine Jean-Luc Pasquet also makes pineau.  What is pineau?  Pineau is a blend of fresh pressed grape juice (from the Ugni Blanc and Montils grapes varieties)  mixed with eau de vie.  This mixture is then aged for 18 months in oak barrels.  Pineau is known more locally as a specialty and each producers creates their own.  I found their Pineau to be fresh and light with aromas of pears, spices and raisins.  The taste complex and fruity with a hint of oak.  I have to say, I really enjoyed their blend.  Pineau by the nature of its blend, is lighter than cognac, but I have found many to be stronger in oak flavor than theirs.

This passionate family has also introduced some other unique products which are only produced by them:

The first:  Raisignac - a sparkling blend of grape juice and eau de vie.  This sparkling drink is a great appertif or can be drank with dessert.  One could call it a bubbly pineau full of fruit yet light in flavor.

Finally: my new favorite:

Marie-Framboise:  This delicate blend of freshly pressed grape juice, macerated raspberries and cognac is pure genius.  This fruity blend is enchanting and can be drank alone or blended with sparkling water.  It's great as an aperitif or served with dessert.  If you love raspberries, you will enjoy this unique creation. 

We all fully enjoyed our tour that day of Domaine Jean-Luc Pasquet.  What a discovery!  The passion that this family has is beautifully demonstrated by their dedication to their organic production and by their innovative products.  A unique treasure to be discovered by all accounts. 

If you see their brand, give it a try and if are ever in the Cognac region - they are definitely worth a visit!!

You can find out more about them on their website : 

 Domaine Jean-Luc Pasquet  

or 

follow them on Facebook - JLP - Cognac Pasquet