Last of the summer wine!
As summer gives way to autumn in Provence, I confess to feeling a certain touch of melancholy as we say goodbye to the long, light, balmy summer evenings, during which we have enjoyed sharing an apéro or two with friends and family.
Eating outdoors, which has become the norm during the summer, will now have to be confined to midday when the sun is still warm enough to enjoy our al fresco lifestyle.
After a long, dry, very hot summer, the leaves are already turning and falling. The grape harvest is in full swing, it is said that the quality of the grapes is exceptional this year, despite a lower yield….shhh! keep it to yourself….the 2017 vintage is supposed to be really good one! If our grapes are anything to go by, the nectar-like sweetness bodes well for a good alcohol level…but our’s are dessert grapes and we’ll be saving them for breakfast and after dinner with a good French cheese.
The vineyards are a hive of activity with workers, machinery and tractors. Harvesting begins in the early hours when the sugar levels in the grapes are more stable, the quality and the acid levels are better and there is less chance of spoilage. The air has a ‘green’ aroma due to the sheer quantity of freshly cut vines. The roads are stained with grape juice as the winemakers’ trailers, loaded with grapes, trundle to and fro to the various domains and chateaux, where they will be transformed into our famous shell pink rosé wine.
In addition to our wine cooperative in Lorgues where many small winegrowers can take their grapes, which are then transformed into a great everyday rosé, we also have at least 12 Chateaux and Domaines within 5 km of us, producing excellent rosé, red and white wines, including Chateau Roubine, Chateau des Crostes and Chateaux d’Arnaude, just to name a few.
Nature’s bounty….lavender, almonds and sloes.
Despite the arid conditions over the summer months, mother nature has been working her magic, providing us with simple pleasures that will see us through the colder months.
Lavender..
Sitting on the upstairs’ balcony, after a recent rainfall, (the first in four months), a gentle lavender fragrance wafts up, as our lavender bed begins to dry in the autumn sunshine. A fragrance, I want to preserve in our home over the coming months, as a nostalgic reminder of summer days long gone and the lovely promise of the next summer to come.Time to harvest the remaining flowers and seeds. Lavender bags… the perfect way to capture the memories of summer…. in drawers, linen cupboards, wardrobes or just hanging in a bedroom or bathroom.
Almond heaven…
Those of you who follow my blog, may remember the stunning almond blossom in early spring. The fruit is now falling from the tree. Almond shells and nuts are concealed in a greyish green velvet cover. Natures very own purse of goodness!
I had forgotten about the nut harvest until the other morning, when holding the gates open for the car to pass on returning from the bakers, I heard the cracking of shells under the wheels …..I was soon gathering one of our favourite nuts…
I’ll be toasting them and adding to winter favourites like tajines and curries, I’ll be grinding them to make biscuits, frangipan tarts and to sprinkle on our morning yoghurt…and the best bit is that they are free!
A traditional flavouring for the drink of the moment….gin!
And if autumn in Provence wasn’t giving enough, our hedgerows are loaded with sloes. We will need at least another month to wait for the first overnight frosts which intensifies the flavour and makes them perfect to make sloe gin, a perfect tipple for the festive season
Prick the tough skin of the sloes all over with a clean needle and put in a large sterilised jar.
- Pour in the sugar and the gin, seal tightly and shake well.
- Store in a cool, dark cupboard and shake every other day for a week. …
- Strain the sloe gin through muslin into a sterilised bottle
Well the last vineyard behind us has been harvested….time to have a glass of last year’s toils
