My Best Christmas Present
Handyman on Dec 30 2009 at 11:53 am | Filed under: Everyday Raves
It’s a bottle of wine. We’ll get that out of the way first.
It’s more than the bottle though.
Like most gifts – it’s the thought that counts. And if the actual gift is actually something you want – it’s a bonus.
Christophe Baron is a notoriously elusive wine maker from France.
His winery is in Walla Walla, Washington. It’s called Cayuse.
If you know something about French wine making, have seen the movie A Good Year, speak French or know about Native American Tribes – you know something about Christophe and his wine already.
It’s all about the rocks. Yep. A very traditional French vineyard technique involves rocks. That’s the cultivation technique used by the vineyards that produce Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s best if you have rocky soil to begin with. Add rocks at the base of the vines to hold heat (among other purposes). Grape vines in general love a challenge and like to live a hard-fought life. Don’t baby them. Make them work for their water. Heat them up. The juice is that much sweeter.
Rocks, in French, is ‘cailloux’. One of the Indian Tribes of Southwestern Washington State (and northern Oregon) are ‘the people of the rocks’. The tribe is named ‘Cayuse’ (which comes from the French word for rocks). See how it all works together! Wonderful!
In A Good Year (starring Russel Crowe and Marion Cotillard with the wonderful Albert Finney) a major plot point revolves around the ‘horrible wine’ produced by the vineyard that Crowe inherits from his uncle (Finney). A soil expert even comes to test the rocky soil under the vines. I won’t give away a secret of the Ridley Scott film in case you haven’t seen it but the estate also produces a second wine.
What was the point? Marion Cotillard, rocks, French people, wine. Oh yes, my present.
I received a bottle of Cayuse wine for Christmas.
My bottle isn’t the 2002 Syrah but I’d love one of those too. The Cayuse wines are sort of hard to find and buy. The winery in Walla Walla is only open in early November. There’s a waiting list to be on the mailing list to be in the wine club – which is the only way you can buy the wine.
It’s good wine. Last year, Robert Parker scored 8 Cayuse wines with 94 points or more. Bottles seem to be available on line so you don’t need to actually go to Walla Walla to buy it – which is good. Cause I was in Walla Walla this year and I couldn’t find a bottle to buy. Though I did track down Christophe Baron in his vineyard. He said ‘And hue arre you?’ in a rather heavy accent. I think he didn’t really care.
Thank you Steve and Shirley for finding it, thinking of me, holding onto it till you saw me. They made quite an effort. So I got a bottle of wine. But it’s more than a bottle of wine. It’s a gift. A very thoughtful gift and that’s what makes it My Best Christmas Present.
It was close though – my new 2 cup Mr. Coffee and the tyrolean hat to go with my holiday party outfit were both in the running as well. Okay, they were my only presents but each one has a story to go with them and were thoughtful and carefully chosen just for me. So I’ll treasure all three.
