photograph above from Domaine de la Tournelle website

Dear Friends,

If you came by to see us last week you may have noticed that someone's missing - that's right y'all, Murph Willcott actually took a vacation.

The day before he left, as I packed up a box (okay, two boxes) of wine for him to bring along, Murph reminded me that his last proper vacation was over three years ago, when he went to France for a writer's retreat. He was sort of wide-eyed, disbelieving, as if the notion that he could actually leave town again for a while was a surreal proposition. I reminded him, it's only a few weeks. He's on the road now, headed up to meet his family on the East coast with Tessa in tow, stopping off at adorable farm-to-table restaurants with interesting wine lists and dog friendly patios (... sounds familiar) along the way.

To ease our current woe in missing the big guy, we're eagerly anticipating the return of our beloved manager/handyman/barista/grill cook Josh, who's been wining and dining in Jura and cycling through the forests of Alsace for a couple of weeks now. He's sent us jealousy-inducing pics of Pope wine (as in the now abdicated Pope of Arbois, Jacques Puffeney) and gorgeous French scenes, including an afternoon at Le Bistrot de la Tournelle in Arbois.

The bistro was opened in 2006 by Evelyne and Pascal Clairet, the vignerons of Domaine de la Tournelle. I encourage you to visit their website, a charming expression of this unique and inspiring couple. We currently offer one of their quirkier creations, L'uva Arbosiana, a perfect summer wine.

L'uva Arbosiana comes from an obscure region, made from a grape most people haven't heard of because it hardly exists outside of that tiny part of France, and it might be the lightest red wine you've ever seen or tasted. Everything about this wine is unfamiliar; all the more reason to get acquainted. I think of it as an aperitif red, almost more like a rosé, fresh and lively, the most ideal picnic wine of all time, and my latest oeno-obsession.

With Murph on vacation and Josh yet to return, we're all feeling terribly lonely around here. So, if you're in town, or returning soon from your own summer travels, come visit us! We'll open up a bottle of wine and make you dinner. And it would sure cheer us up.

Cheers,

Betty