Hump Day: What We’ve Been Drinking

With all the craziness going on, it's been a few weeks since I've done a Hump Day post and I'm excited to bring it back!  We've been having fun with the whole drinking-during-lunch-thing they have going on here in France, and I thought that instead of focusing on one specific drink, today I'd tell you about some of the wines we've been enjoying here in Montpellier. I've shared with you our struggles with French wine. I know, I know, they are so amazing, how could we not like them?  The truth is, we do like them, we just have a difficult time figuring out which are the kinds we like.  But we're learning, slowly and surely.  One thing we do know, is that we both love rosés.  Lucky for us, Montpellier happens to be in the Languedoc region of France, which is known for their rosés.  Score!  With the blazing sun and climbing temperatures (did I mention it's in the mid-70s around here?) we've been enjoying quite a few of these beautiful blush colored wines.  In fact, I took myself to lunch this afternoon and enjoyed a glass while sitting outside people watching.

A fast favorite of ours is the local rosé that we had at our Easter Indian Dinner last Sunday, Listel Grain de Gris.  It was dry, crisp, fruity and a perfect match to our spicy Indian food.

Even though we're still in our teeny, tiny, hotel room with a teeny, tiny fridge, we've already made room to start building our new wine collection.  We've got two more bottles of rosé chillin' in the fridge ready for us to try.  I will admit, I picked the one on the right because I thought the bottle was so cool!

Picking a good rosé is pretty error-proof, but picking a good French red can be a little trickier.  So far we've had a few good ones and few we did not like, but we're getting better at picking the good ones.  Our favorite so far is the wine we enjoyed at  Les Caves Jean Jaurés during our first dinner in Montpellier, a 2009 Mas Bruguiere from the Pic Saint-Loup region.

It is a local wine that was recommended by our server and it was fantastic!  The medium bodied blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache with notes of cherry and vanilla paired very well with our traditional French meal of Coq au Vin and Jeus de Porc.  After our crazy journey, we needed a friendly, sturdy red like this one to calm our nerves. Last night we grabbed some chinese take out from Le Wok (the name cracks me up!) and opened up a bottle of 2004 Cuvée La Marquise by Château Tour Blanche which is a Bordeaux from the Médoc region. The Médoc region of Bordeaux produces a flavor we usually like, so it's something we look for when picking a red.  When I first opened the bottle I found it to be way too sweet, but after it sat and breathed for about 30 minutes, some of the sweetness had worn off and it was much smoother. If anyone has any suggestions/advice as to what else to look for when picking a French red, I'd love to hear it!  In the meantime, we'll keep drinking until we find what we're looking for! À bientôt!

One Response to “Hump Day: What We’ve Been Drinking”

1. Emily McKeogh says:

   May 2, 2011 at 10:02 am

   Your little “tapas” lunch (not sure what the french word is haha) looks amazing! Thanks for sharing all the wine info – how fun to try them all! I think I would like Rose as well – still trying to get into red. Hope you are adjusting well and I look forward to more blog posts! :)

   Reply