We were met with views of rolling green lawns, vineyards and a very age-appropriate jungle gym. Keeping in mind the need for decorum amongst Those Who Know The Wine, we refrained from frolicking straight over for a casual swing but alas, were not able to restrain ourselves from stroking the Wine Wall - a thing of beauty it was.
*Side note: This wall inspired #1 of the Wine Bottle Inventions we must imitate/create. We are still actively searching for a place where we can build our own version, made purely of bottles we have consumed ourselves.
We did not spend all day stroking the wall, however. Although, had the bottles been full & there had been straws, we would all have been quite content. But they were empty so we moved swiftly along.
Moving on entailed a mass migration to the mystical Cellar where the wonderous wine drinking commenced. We were instructed to taste as much Rose from a full tank as we dared - and we were all rather daring considering what lay ahead. Immediately ahead was a brief clown-car type incident involving a forklift.
After the forklift ordeal, we were all in need of more wine, which our gracious wine-making host was all too happy to supply. In excess. Straight from barrels. Starting with Chenin from various regions in various kinds & ages of oaks (at this point we were still novices as to the subtleties so didn't take too much of the finer details in). We did identify a very civillised Chenin who had been to finishing school & was a rather polite & easy-drinking fellow.
Having bade farewell to our gentlemanly Chenin, we meandered, with an empty spittoon ("We swallow, we don't spit"), to an Alice in Wonderland come Charlie & the Chocolate Factory type room with wine-infused walls and tiny trap doors. This largely confused the majority of the group and to soothe our disheveled souls, we were offered more wine. Straight from barrels. In the form of Cabernet Franc, who is also a very pleasant fellow & we all got along Marvelously - oh, wait, the marvelous came later. We got along splendidly.
By this time, we were largely well on our way....to lunch that is. Which was Marvelous in it's own right as well as being accompanied by a small truck load of Marvelous wine. Ostrich carpaccio, apricots, avocado, crunchy roast potatoes...and more things I would elaborate on if I weren't making myself hungry. Perhaps we'll just post some pictures.
After lunch, being the athletic bunch we clearly were, we engaged in some rather serious wine consumption out in the fresh air. Some people needed a rest from all of the exertion & engaged in a little game of Boule for a bit of a break. Even this proved too much strain for some who were forced to remove all their clothing and recover their energy by taking a small, quiet dip in the dam down the lawn.
With the smashing of a few glasses and the clinking of empty wine bottles on the lawn, we took our leave - back to the Magic Tour Bus to take us safely (home).
With that, our adventure ended in a slight blur, leaving us securely ingrained amongst Those Who Know The Wine (especially since we discovered we were not that far behind in terms of knowledge as far as the general group was concerned).
*Images compliments of @ishotimagesza & @andUnionWine
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