Pyrenees vacation - Banyuls sur Mer (winery)

After Frau A and I finished the Pyrenean hiking part of our vacation (See here for days 1, 2, 3, and 4), we had a couple of days to explore the cultural side of Banyuls sur Mer, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Being in France, the first thing we looked for was a winery tour.  Naturally, there were plenty of options.  One was particularly interesting:  Cellier des Templiers.  We booked a tour (rarely conducted in English).

The organization consists of 750 winegrowers who formed a coperative in 1950, and then a formal sales and marketing entity in the 1980s.  But what is most interesting is that they cultivate grapes in almost the same manner as the original winegrowers from the 6th century: on terraced land, worked exclusively by hand.

Wine growing history here can be traced through Roman rule and the Middle Ages -- when the Knights Templar improved the organization and processes of agriculture.  The terraces are a legacy of this approach to viticulture. 

The Banyuls region is especially known for fortified, sweet wines (mainly red).  The primnary grape varieties are Grenache Gris (Grenache Noir), Grenache Blanc, and Carignan, with other varieties allowed but seldom used.  

As in making port, alcohol is added to halt the fermentation process while the natural sugar levels are high.
Our tour guide spent quite a bit of time walking us through the process, complete with a wall diagram.

The wine is aged in oak barrels.  It takes a minimum of 10 months for Banyuls AOC (appellation d'origine controlee, French protected designation), and 30 months for Banyuls Grand Cru (a superior designation).

In the photo below, you can see the walkways snaking around the cellar and providing access to the barrel tops.
On top of each is a stopper - testers drop a glass down for a sample, and taste/test the wine periodically.

Different cellars were set aside for different grapes or designations.  This one had the largest (!) barrels:

A unique part of the process for some of the varieties is that they are also aged outside.  (The process is called maderise, after Madiera wine which also involves outside heating and oxidation of the wine.)

We went from the top of the cellar, to the outside aging area, and back inside on the lower level of a cellar:

The tour guide paused a bit... she obviously loved being there.  It was cool, quiet, and smelled great!

This was the single largest barrel in the cellar (below):  over 1000 hl.

We ended the tour with some tasting, and of course purchased some that we liked best.  Oddly, I preferred the "regular" Banyuls to the Grand Cru.  The Banyuls' fortified/sweet wines are a great change of pace to the Italian reds that we typically have with dinner.  Definitely recommended.

Ther are other wineries, of course, but this had the best combination of size, history, and "brand name".  As you'll see in forthcoming posts, we moved on to the Mediterranean acquarium and a walk around town...

Introducing....

...Friday Photo Favorite 

We're having so much fun exporing through the lenses of our cameras and learning more about photography, editing, and the world. 

So we've decided to bring you a favorite photo each week. Maybe a pretty photo or a great memory or just something cool (and possibly unrealistic) we've made on the computer. 

This week - since it feels like winter again - a beautiful shot Herr J took one cold morning when he was getting SCUBA certified. This was the little lake north of Munich where they did their training dives. 

Easter in Istanbul

While I was expecting a lovely Easter brunch with friends, sun, flowers, and chocolate bunnies, I had no idea what was in store for us. 

First, the hotel was decorated for the season, with giant chocolate egg sculptures throughout the lobbies. I guess they knew the subtle scent of chocolate would be a temptation to eat the art, so they kindly left jars of chocolate eggs on all of the tables. 

 

And made frequent refills...because these eggs were GOOD! They had a thick candy shell and wonderful chocolate inside, with just a hint of hazelnut. Our group ate a lot of these, but I was thankful the hotel had them out the night our dinner cruise was 2 hours late for pickup-

 

In between days of siteseeing, we took Easter off and celebrated with a lovely brunch on the terrace - good friends, good conversation, and great food! 

 

They did a wonderful job decorating the terrace with flowers and eggs, as well as had clowns and a play area for the kids. But most importantly, the food...Instead of a traditional buffet, it was a bit of a mix between buffet and made to order. There were chefs at each stand cooking the foods, so that the food on the buffet was always fresh and frequently replaced. From breakfast (waffles, eggs) to sushi and tempura to grilled meats-seafood and freshly made caprese salads (choose your type of mozzarella!), it was all excellent. And of course to supplement the mains were a huge variety of sides, tapas, salads, and of course a döner stand. And wonderful turkish breads!

 

Here at the stand where they made artichoke and prosecco risotto and lobster ravioli (yum!) the chefs had all the ingredients ready. I had never seen what an artichoke looks like on its plant! 

 

And dessert...Instead of a dessert bar, they brought a selection of desserts and sorbets to each table. Wow...words fail me here, but let's just say macarons, peanut butter chocolate cake, lemon tart, and caramel cream puffs...just to start. 

 

And these lovely centerpieces. I think they're real flowers, but I'd never seen anything like them. Sort of like peonies, with lettuce in the middle. But in a good way!

 

But what really made the day for me was the little petting zoo. I thought I might have chocolate bunnies and chicks, but never dreamed I'd have the real thing!

 

Yes, the littlest bunny is cuddling with 3 ducklings. I thought I might die from cuteness!

 

How perfect are these guys?

 

Hi!

 

Adorable.

 

After a wondeful afternoon (yes, we spent 3 hours at brunch) we returned to the room to find a chocolate creation. A white chocolate egg with marshmallow fondant flowers and a few more of the tasty chocolate eggs. 

More to come on our long weekend in Istanbul. It was a really wonderful trip. A chance to see good friends and to relax a little and enjoy the sun and the beauty of Turkey. But so many photos to sort through first!

Happy Easter!

After way too much work and stress, we're finally off for a short break in Istanbul.

Easter is a big holiday in Germany. We're only taking off the 4 day weekend, but many take a 1 or 2 week break now. Luckily the airport in Munich usually isn't as horrible as US airports on holiday weekends!

Wishing you all a wondeful Easter, filled with family, friends, flowers, (chocolate) bunnies, and all the cute fluffy things that come with the season!

 

We'll be back next week, with some great memories and hopefully some good photos.

I spent New Year's Eve 2002 there, but I'm looking forward to going back with a better camera, more experience, and Herr J!

(Can't wait to see what Nikon can do with the mosques and lights...)

Celebrities wearing trachten

Winter is ending, festivals are beginning...which means it's time for more trachten! I got to wear mine this weekend for a bachelorette party. Yes, somehow trachten has become typical bachelor(ette) party wear. 

For some fun, here are celebrities in trachten.

Hippodrome has its own web pages to document (mostly German) celebrities that were in the tent. Other sites have dedicated pages to famous ladies in a dirndl.

It wouldn't be a "celebrity" post without at least one Kardashian and one Hilton....

 

And then popular institution Wetten Dass... seems to often have beautiful foreign women on the show in dirndls. First, Katy Perry...

...and Salma Hayek (with Karl Lagerfeld). 

The pages of the celebrity magazines here will often have some of FC Bayern's stars in trachten. Here we have Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thomas Mueller with their partners. 

 

And the ladies' favorite, Mario Gomez at Paulaner Nockherberg

At Oktoberfest last year, Boris Becker opted for trachten on top and jeans on the bottom, while his wife Lilly chose a beautiful dirndl with flowers in bodice. (For those of you not living in Germany, Boris Becker is not just a tennis star from 20 years ago...he's a constant presence in the tabloids and society pages)

Only at the Hofbräuhaus in Vegas do they have Hugh Hefner's girlfriends tapping the keg... Not exactly the authentic type of dirndl, but hey, it is Vegas!

And of course Heidi Klum's Got Milk ad

Signs of Spring

A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I feel alive again...spring finally is here! 

 

 

Though most of the trees and flowers are still only budding leaves, there were a few early bloomers out at the Botanical Gardens. 

 

And of course many great flowers inside the greenhouses.

 

We're still a few months too early for the baby ducks and geese, but for now we have turtles.

 

 

And most of the trees in Munich are starting to show signs of life.  Interesting that Munich is a couple of weeks behind Frankfurt. These are the trees budding in the Bavariapark here in Munich. Last week in Frankfurt, the leaves were out and plum trees covered in bloom.

 

 

I've never seen anything quite like these blue and yellow ones, also at the Botanical Garden in Munich. 

 

Some of last year's swan babies hanging out in the pond at Schloss Nymphenburg. 

 

Even better, we can finally eat dinner outside again. The Augustiner am Dom has interesting signs of spring. Not just the Easter-ish table cloths, but that they seem to have lamb as their current seasonal menu. I do think of cute fluffy lambs at Easter, but it feels a bit odd to feature them as dinner! We had flammkuchen instead....

 

 And best of all? Spring means the beer gardens are open again!  

Hard to believe how quickly things changed. This is the Nymphenburger Kanal, only a few weeks apart. We went from people on the ice to algae and ducks swimming. 

Ski Trips - St. Anton am Arlberg

Not long ago, a friend of mine from Northwestern University moved to Hamburg with her husband and two daughters.  One of their first vacations was to St. Anton in Austria for skiing.  That reminded me of my trip there. 

St. Anton is a skiing mecca - 2700 km of runs!  It's only a couple hours from Munich (she and family had to drive perhaps 8 hours from Hamburg). 

St. Anton is a specific town, but also references the general area with all of those ski slopes.  Below is the skiing map for the area, and you can see the neighboring villages of Lech, Zuers, Stuben, etc..

The practical area is also larger, because the towns just outside of the above map have more affordable lodging, with the drawback that you have to drive (or take the convenient ski bus) 30 minutes each way.  I stayed in Flirsch, a ways down the main road (east).  Each town has small hotels or houses to rent.

I mentioned affordable lodging because St. Anton is definitely an upscale ski area.  Lots of BMWs to be seen!  The ski lifts seemed to be pretty modern and attention given to upgrades, whereas other older/less posh areas will still simply maintain more T-bars and 2-person lifts. 

 

 Once you get up -- and the highest points are pretty high -- you can see what the fuss is all about.  Some of the views are dramatic, with trails running past peaks jutting through pure white snow:

The weather for my trip was great, and there were some places where the trails ran above the clouds.  You would overlook the valley covered by a blanket.  Very cool.

In the next photo, the trail actually disappears into the clouds below, with gorgeous peaks in the distance. 

Hopefully we can arrange to meet my friend next season and get some more shots (and video).  Until then, we have to start moving on to hiking & vacation season while waiting for the snow to return!