We left the grounds of Lourdes and headed east stopping for the night and then starting out the next day towards Banyuls sur Mer, a tiny hillside hanging village on the border between Spain and France (in France) where they grow a very specific type of grape that is known for the sweet wine that is made from it.
We went there for a couple of reasons. One was at a wine tasting event, about a year ago, Pat tasted a wine from Celliers de Templier and he loved it. He bought several bottles, and when we saw the vendor on another occasion he invited us to visit the vineyard, a large co-op of growers, and the warehouse where the wine is kept in barrels and then bottled.
The town is quite small and you have to do a lot of winding along the mountain sides and along the coast to there. I was interested in visiting this region because Cellars of the Templar Knights refers to the Knights of the Templar, the religious soldiers of the crusades, and of whom the DaVinci Code brings back to life.
Here, too, we had reservations for a winery visit and degustation but also we were going to be guided by someone from the winery who promised to take us out into the vineyards and explain the special process that is used to make Banyuls.
There are a lot of rules, and we didn’t realize until the tour that the red wine is only a secondary product to the dessert wine or appetizer wine called Banyuls.
The grapes are planted with specific requirements of space and orientation, and even the stone walls that terrace the mountain side are regulated. The vines have a lifespan of nearly 100 years, but the viable years are after 6 and before about 60. Can you imagine that you can’t even begin to use the product until over 5 years after your initial investment! And, you aren’t allowed to water or treat the vines after the 3rd year, though apparently they are not organic growers.
The requirements in France to be considered organic is that the ground must be fallow for 3 years, which would mean that all grapes would have to be removed during that time, nothing else could be grown, and then the vines would have to be replanted, but then they can't be harvested for a minimum of 6 more years. And the best grapes come from vines that are much older than 6. All this, and the guide said they are struggling to get enough growers to supply the grapes they need every year, because the completely grown and harvested by hand product is not very profitable.
So, we arrived in the town early, and walked around the beach area for an hour or so, had an omelet and fries, and coffee and then walked around the hillside streets of the town. As we did a huge thunderstorm was rolling in, and the sky was a beautiful blackish blue making the sea even more aqua marine green.
On the day that we arrived (pronounce Cauv) we found that there was a special tasting of CHOCOLATE and Banyuls. I said, “This must be my lucky day.” After all, this was now the third or maybe 4th wine tasting on this vacation, and well, let’s just say, I was starting to get a little bored with the whole wine tasting experience, but now…chocolate.
The discussion was pretty much in French, but I did get to try some really great chocolate. Did you know the best raw chocolate comes from the Amazon forest, but that raw supply is too in really short supply?
So, my recommendation? you should try some time to get chocolate with a very orange flavored candy on the inside. It’s fabulous.
