France Wine Tour Guide

We went to a number of lovely parties over the festive season. At one such occasion, where I had not been formally presented, I could sense a group whispering and looking in our direction. Eventually a pretty young lady in a delightful backless dress came over and in a revered tone said, ‘Are you Vernon Vine?’ When I replied, ‘Yes’, she charmingly asked me for my autograph. This celebrity status I must admit went to my head and I gave a slight bow and raised my glass and there was spontaneous applause from the assembled throng. I would like to thank all of you for your kind emails and cards. Some of the questions you have asked I will attempt to answer in the reviews that follow.

I had been reserving a bottle of Sauternes especially to have on Christmas day. Sauternes is a white sweet wine that comes from the south of Bordeaux. Stephane, who popped round several times during the festivities, remarked that buying true Sauternes can be very difficult as it varies so much from year to year and only the famous chateaux really make Sauternes. In fact my wine was an expensive disappointment and it was really just an ordinary sweet white wine. Every Christmas when I was young my father would receive a present from his company of a bottle of Sauternes.

This was the real stuff and those little sips that I had then still linger with me now. Sauternes is made from mouldy grapes. Starting in September and through to December the wizened looking grapes are used to make the wine. They may pick eight or nine times and this therefore makes the wine very expensive. The blighted grapes produce the particular Sauternes flavour with its intensity of scent and taste and the Sauternes oil-like texture. Good bottles can cost hundreds or even thousands of euros and I would be pleased to taste one with you.