la gramiere

It's that time again!!! Menu for Hope V!

The 2008 Menu for Hope charity event starts today!  I spent some time browsing through all of the wonderful prizes that are available and it made me hungry and thirsty!  Now it's time to narrow down the list and put my money where my mouth is! 

Here is Pim's explanation of where the money will go this year, for full details see her wonderful site at www.chezpim.com.

This year for the 5th annual Menu for Hope, we are again supporting the UN World Food Programme.  WFP is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good.

With a special permission from the WFP, the funds raised by Menu for Hope 5 will be earmarked for the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa.  We chose to support the school lunch program because providing food for the children not only keeps them alive, but helps them stay in school so that they learn the skills to feed themselves in the future. 

We chose to support the program in Lesotho because it is a model program in local procurement - buying food locally to support local farmers and the local economy.  Instead of shipping surplus corn across the ocean, the WFP is buying directly from local subsistent farmers who practice conservation farming methods in Lesotho to feed the children there.

We feed the kids, keep them in school, and support their parents and community farming.  This sustainable approach to aid is something we believe in and strongly support.

As for La Gramière we are happy to participate again this year with another great day of work in the vineyard or at the winery!  As you saw just about 6 weeks ago Kate McWiggins and George Hingston came all the way from New Zealand to spend a beautifully sunny fall day toiling along with Matt and I in our Roussanne vineyard! Emma Buls the winner in 2006 has yet to make the trip but it's never too late, I specifically didn't put an expiration date on this prize so that you have ample time to make your travel plans.  I promise, whenever you come, we'll make it a day to remember!

 I know, many of you are thinking that with the current economic climate it's not really the best time to be planning a trip to France, but you're wrong!  The value of the Euro has fallen more than 20% in the last few weeks, so it's actually going to be cheaper now than it was earlier this year!  Here's the full details, make sure to visit Vinography and Chez Pim for full details on all of the prizes.

Labor of Love - a day in the vineyard at La Gramière. Courtesy of La Gramiere - Prize Code: WB 15

Planning a trip to southern France?  Why not spend a day learning what it’s really like to own a vineyard or work in a winery!  Depending on the time of year you visit, we could be pruning, plowing, picking grapes, bottling, making wine or even selling it. Our vineyards, located at the foot of the medieval village of Castillon du Gard in the southern Rhône valley, are the prefect place to enjoy a day of (very rewarding) manual labor. To celebrate your accomplishments we will prepare a gourmet dinner for you and your fellow workers at our house!

Locally grown products will grace the table and all courses will be paired with the best our local winemakers have to offer. We will taste wines from all around the southern Rhone, not just La Gramière, and you (the winner) will be paid for your hard work with 6 bottles of the current vintage of La Gramière.  Now all that's left for you to do is plan a trip to Southern France!

(Note this prize does not include airfare, transportation or lodging, just a day of good hard work, great food and great company!

Donation Instructions:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at http://chezpim.com

2. Go to the donation site at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhope5 and make a donation.

3. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code.

For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02

4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win.  Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Phew! I'm back, finally!

The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirl wind. It's very interesting, I spent a good part of my trip meeting people that I had "met" solely thanks to the internet and the " blogosphere"  as they say!

 It all started out in Paris for the Grand Tasting and "À l'Eure d'être Bû" another tasting put on by Laurent Baraou, a retailer just outside of Paris.  It was great to be in Paris for a few days and see my colleagues from the Bettane&Desseauve team.  I met Laurent Baraou by email after we had both done similar posts about "off"  tastings during VinExpo last summer in Bordeaux.  It turned out that we had tasted a bunch of wines side by side, but didn't know it!  After that Laurent came down to visit and taste our wine, he was pleased and decided to take us on as a new producer, which is great since we haven't taken the time to get distribution in Paris.  Laurent's tasting was organized in his new warehouse in Bû, a small town about an hour west of Paris.  There were a dozen or so other winemakers present, so it was great fun to meet some new people and taste their wines. 

Then it was off to New York, or Brooklyn to be exact, where I got to finally meet Michael and Emilia

 from Thirst Wine Merchants.  We've known each other for over 2 years now, but only through my blog and email. I spent a few hours in the store the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, pouring the 2006 and greeting customers. Their tiny shop was amazingly busy, with a non-stop stream of clients coming in to pick up a bottle or 6 or 12.  After they closed up the shop we went to a wonderful restaurant just down the street called Bonito.  It was kind of like Chez Panisse does Mexican, and I wish it was just down the street from my house.  If you're ever in Brooklyn, don't miss it.  There are two locations, the one we were at in Fort Greene, and the other in Williamsburg.

Next I got to have lunch with Terry Hughes of the blog Mondosapore, who is just starting an import/distributor business bringing in some great Italian wines.  It was fun to chat with Terry and to hear all about the challenges of starting up his own company.  He's a very courageous man and I know he'll do well with his small, high-quality selection of wines.

Finally on my last night there I met up with Alice Feiring to have dinner at the Blue Ribbon wine bar. For those of you who don't know Alice, she is a novelist and free-lance journalist who is very interested in natural wines and natural wine-making.  She just completed a wonderful blog-series on the New York Times about her first experience making wine.  We sat at the bar and drank a yummy bottle of low-sulfur wine from the Loire Valley. I have to admit that I didn't write down the name and I don't recall the name of it.  Maybe it's because we drank the whole thing, then I insisted on trying a beer on the list, needless to say, I was a bit tipsy!  I wonder if Alice noticed!!!??  Oops!  Oh well, it happens to most people on occasion.  

Next stop Colorado, I'll tell you more when I get some photos, I accidentally left my camera at my friend Dawn's house in Brooklyn, that's why you aren't getting any fun pictures here!  Speaking of my friend Dawn Brighid, she works for a non-profit called the Sustainable Table which is an organization the promotes awareness about the origins of our food.  Dawn writes their blog which is full of lots of interesting tips and articles about what we eat and where it comes from, check it out here: http://www.sustainabletable.org/blog/