Good Food

Each year rural France visits Paris.

At the Salon d'Agriculture you can taste all sorts of good food and drinks, see animals from all over France and - if you time your visit well - you can see people exercise their jobs with animals, preparing the goodies of the show or cook good food with them.

Have a great weekend.

Champagne er lidt mere ude end hjemme

For nogle uger siden fik vi de foreløbige tal for salget af flasker i 2014 her i Champagne. Måske husker du stadig, at det så fint ud. Måske også, at den slags faktisk har en direkte betydning for, hvor mange flasker vi får lov at lave senere på året.

Det er et organ, der hedder CIVC - Comité Champagne - der som en af sine opgaver holder øje med salg og eksport, som fortæller, at 2015 meget vel kan blive året, hvor eksporten af champagne overhaler forbruget her i Frankrig.

Det er også interessant. Hvis du skulle du være i tvivl.

Lidt champagnehistorie
Historisk set har champagnen først og fremmest været en eksportvare. Helt tilbage i det 18. århundrede blev der skippet champagne fra regionen her og til fjerne egne som zarens Rusland, Frederiks den Stores Preussen og såmænd da også til Kongens København i den florissante tid.

Det var først i det 20. århundrede, at tingene ændrede sig.

Den Første Verdenskrig og måske især børskrakket i 1929 fulgt af den store depression ødelagde markedet for champagneproducenterne, der især solgt meget til Rusland og til USA.

Det sluttede brat, og champagneproducenterne måtte kigge sig om efter nye kunder.

Fra eksport- til hjemmemarked
I denne periode skiftede markedet fra at være eksportorienteret til et stort fransk hjemmemarked, der jo altså først skulle opdyrkes.

Langsomt genopstod champagnen fra at have været en eksportvare til primært at blive solgt hjemme. Da jeg kom til Champagne i nullerne, tegnede det franske hjemmemarked sig stadig for et godt stykke over de 60% af samtlige flasker.

Siden har en stor del af verden klaret sig igennem endnu en meget alvorlig krise. I Frankrig ser den ud til at have bidt sig fast, og de få tegn på at det kan slutte er stadig meget spæde. I mange, franske hjem er hverken stemningen eller pengepungen nødvendigvis åben for de store champagnefejringer.

Derfor er eksportmarkedet nu lige ved at overhale hjemmemarkedet igen. I givet fald for første gang i tæt på 100 år.

Champagne Tange-Gérard er i aktion på den indre københavnske del af eksportmarkedet foroven.

Travellor's cries to stay on track

The vineyards can be a very peaceful place.

They can be noisy as well.

Like each spring when these travellers pass through the lands of Champagne on their way north.

They call out for each other to stay in line and on track and it is these cries we hear deep under. Very similar to the noise of the geese in the village.


Another reminder for us that spring is on its way. Another brief glance into the fascinating habits of nature. These birds travel thousands of kilometers between the place where they breed and the place they spend winter and they do it twice per year.

One of their big stops - a bit like Alsace for Danish campers heading to Southern France in the summer - is the Lac de Der in Southern Champagne. People go there to watch birds. The lake is a big artificial reservoir of water, it collects water from the river Marne to avoid floodings. Now the Lac de Der is a pleasure lake with all sorts of sports linked with water, and also a big place to watch birds.

It's amazing that these birds, genetically programmed to certain already amazing behaviours, apparantly are able to change location when something better shows up. Since the lake was created in the 1980'es it has developped into a big place to observe and count the birds. Ten thousands of these birds spend winter at the Lac rather than move further south as other of their kin.

This group is on the way up north. Maybe, at some stage they will rest in Utterslev Mose in Copenhagen, another big spot for geese otherwise on their wings.

Maybe they'll choose to hang around a while as they learn about the recent snow in Denmark?

We'll recognice their squawking anytime.

It's all about Oscars

So time is up for the Oscar's once again. In a few hours Paris time anyway.

Showtime. Nice dresses. Ugly dresses. Moviestars, starlettes.

And champagne.

Piper is up
This year Piper-Heidsieck is up if you're in.

"There is nothing more grand than receiveing a coveted Oscar", says CEO Cécile Bonnefond.

"It is therefore very natural for Piper-Heidsieck to be serving its champagnes at the Oscar's ceremony".

We could have said the same thing about Tange-Gérard. But I'm not sure we could supply enough bottles, so we did not even try to run for the honour this year.

More movies
As for the movies, I would like to go much more often.

I really like to sit in the red seat, talk quietly with whoever is with me as we eye the trailers and then go silent as the light's are off. 100% Showtime.

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" is done, with delight. "Timbuktu" as well with mixed feelings but not about the beauty of the film. I am pretty sure we'll make it to see Whiplash as well.

What about yourselves? Which of the nominated movies did you enjoy?

Klagebrev

"Min kone og jeg har en lille” klage”….. du burde have fortalt os, at vi skulle købe flere flasker da vi besøgte jer. Vi er blevet rigtig gode til at lukke en flaske op og det tager snart slut med jeres fine dråber.

Vi er enige om, at vi bare må ned og hente flere forsyninger."


To enere og en toer
Ja tak, den slags klagebreve modtager vi gerne.

Vi er hjemme i påsken, jeg gør nogle kasser klar med det samme.

Som et lille plaster på såret kan vi tilbyde en lille én og endvidere en toer til passageren. Okay?

Tegn på forår lugter skidt

Det er ikke fordi vi gøder meget. Vinstokke skal ikke have det for godt. De yder bedst, når de skal kæmpe lidt for det.

Alligevel slipper vi ikke helt uden om en omgang NPK hvert år i udkanten af vinteren.

Ikke for det, her synes foråret nu i fuld gang. Fuglene har gennem flere uger taget fat i det tidlige forårs lydspor, og nogle dage kravler temperaturerne op i det tocifrede, og vi vender vores vinterblege ansigter mod lyset og varmen.

Piller med jern
Andre har forlængst gødet. Det er dem, der har en traktor, og som må tage frostdage til hjælp. Ellers er traktoren for tung.

Selv har vi måttet vente på forsyninger.

Ikke nok med at vi køber økologisk, i år indeholder pillerne også et ekstra skud jern, og det handler stadig om at undgå karens.

Selvsyn og måling
Vores ældste vinstokke er plantet først i 60'erne, de yngste i 80'erne, og vi har ingen planer om at genplante hele parceller.

Det kan godt betale sig at holde lidt øje med deres velbefindende. Blandt andet bladene sladrer om eventuelle mangler, men det er klart, at vi kigger også på planternes generelle vigør, og så tager vi jordprøver, som vi får analyseret på et laboratorium.

Gode øjne er en fin ting, men mere systematiske målinger er også et godt værktøj.

Træt ved fyraften
I sidste uge kom gødningen så til huse, og Alain har brugt nogle dage på at få den knust og kværnet i vores rækker.

Alt i alt nogle tons piller, der skal hældes ned i den kværn, vi kan spænde på vores lille motordrevne hjælper.

Jeg skal hilse og sige, at nogen er ret lange i armene, når det er fyraften.

Pink Champagne...

... temmelig banalt på Valentinsdag.

Mon ikke vi får den drukket alligevel?

God weekend.

Pink champagne... rather banal on Valentine's day.

I guess we'll drink it anyway.

Enjoy you weekend out there.

 

Petzi and Proud Mary

The idea of champagne is truly big, and it pops up in even the least likely places.

I'd like you to meet Rasmus Klump, Skaeg, Pingo and Pelle. They are well-beloved Danish cartoon characters from the fifties, and many Danish kids will get to know them sooner or later. Our own kids watched cartoons with them for hours and hours.

These cute little characters live in a nice and neat world of their own. Every day they set out to explore the seven seas with their ship, Proud Mary. Always back for dinner, and dinner is always a tower of pancakes, cooked by Mum.

Petzi the bear
Now, what a surprise to hold this cover of a French translation from 1957!

Also, I could never imagined, that even Rasmus Klump aka Petzi would baptize his boat with champagne. But, then again, all true sailors do, don't they? It's bad luck to go for sparklers, they say.

This album belongs to a true connaisseur who owns the whole series. We spend a good deal of an hour of attendance whilst our kids did their swimming course to exchange facts - both good-to-know and need-to-know - about the cute little bear-like character.

More in Wikipedia: Francais, English and dansk.

How to get the most of a chilly friday

Friday morning in the vineyards.

We are cold.

Sunny sunny 6th of February. But a freezing cold wind. So I have to be dressed up like this.


But saved by the bell. A young vet pops by, sent to us by a friend to discover a little bit about growing vines in Champagne.

Since he is vet, I take for granted that he is used to outdoor life and invites him to discover the vineyards with me. Despite the wind.

I explain him about our vineyards and how we prune them. And twenty minutes later, we are both ready to head back and get a bit of heat back in our bones.

Come for Chardonnay
He is well prepared, and knows what he wants. I still give him the talk about Chardonnays and Pinots, but he has come to get some 100% Chardonnay.

There is just one bottle ready in our fridge, not even labelled, but boy does it smell good as I uncork it. We both smell it even before I pour in our glasses. Fresh, yeasty and buttery.

Maybe it is the cold winds. Maybe the perfect timing, an hour before lunch, maybe the champagne just happens to be good.


The rest of the bottle keeps the right temperature very well at our doorstep this Friday.

The young man leaves with Blanc de Blancs, Selection and Rosé d'Assemblage in his boot.

I guess we'll see him back on day. To talk more about good food, good wine and the joy of spending an afternoon around the table.

Today is just another monday. Maybe I could do the Blanc de Blancs trick again. How will you enjoy this day?

Dagens bobler

Når smagsfolket er færdig med dagens diskussioner, kommer der færdige flasker på bordet.

Nogen gange husets egen produktion, andre gange andres.

For nogen bliver det snart den årlige anledning for at sælge lyserød champagne.

Den slags er vi holdt op med. Come rain, come shine, lyserød champagne smager godt året rundt.

Men det er altid godt at sikre sine referencer, og det kan man for eksempel gøre ved at sammenligne med nogen af de andre. Huset her sælger en af Champagnes mest kendte roséer.

Alene af den grund ville jeg da godt have smagt med i dag. Men jeg er altså bare hende, der smækker billeder på bloggen.

Omkring bordet gælder diskussionerne stadig assemblagen.

Med champagne i glasset kan weekenden kun blive bedre, og der er ikke noget i pipeline udover en syv-års fødselsdag, så jeg må hellere for en sikkerheds skyld køle en flaske på egen hånd. Du kan jo overveje at gøre det samme. Hvad for en flaske skal det så være for at blive en rigtig, god weekend?

 

Fashionweek in the vine

AW14-SS15.

We both go for black balaclava. Farmershop style.

Stay warm out there, lovelies.

More fasion: London, Copenhagen or Champagnes.

Baby, it's white outside

So far the winter has been very mild and gentle.

This weekend is no exception.

As we woke up saturday, the world was white. Or blue.


And we had to stay inside.

Go build a snowman.



Or prepare some champagne. It was too difficult to work in the vines when their feet are covered with snow.



Already in the afternoon most of the snow had melted and it was nice to prune. Not even cold. It depends more on the wind than anything else.

Saturday evening. Sunday morning. More snow.

But not the type that hangs out for long. Enough snow to build a snowman, but not enough to sleigh down a slope.


Today is Chandeleur in France. Kyndelmisse in Denmark. In France it is the day to eat pancakes. In Denmark the day where the weather is supposed to decide for the rest of the winter: If it is cold this day, expect a February that bites.

Let's see about that.

For a start, we have had more snow in the weekend than any other time this winter so far.


Andre Kyndelmisser: Den bundne jord, Hvidpudret kyndelmisse plus en og Kyndelmisses knude.