Wine whine

It's a grey day today. And we're fresh out of wine. Drat. So into Megan we climb, our empty 5-liter jug in tow, to renew our supply.

Some weeks back we got ourselves the standard plastic wine jug, and it has served us well through many a refill. Really, buying bulk is the way to go. Bottle are just kids' stuff.

It's true we have indeed been drinking a lot of wine since we moved here. Partly because it's so good and easy here. The Herault is after all the #2 wine-producing region of the entire country. This is obvious from any glance at any countryside anywhere near. Vines and vines and vines. Beautiful terraced land, and vines and vines. I wake up, I look out my window, and what do I see? Vines. Is it any wonder we drink a lot of the stuff here?

So it's also cheap. Liter for liter, it costs less than mineral water. Unless you want the good stuff, of course. Then it costs the same as mineral water. And which would you rather drink?

Sorry. Dumb question. So into town we went, to the local cooperative distillery. Magnificent places, these, huge buildings where all the local viniculteurs bring their truckloads of grapes for mashing and fermenting. These places generally don't make and bottle the magnificent wines of France which you might find in shops elsewhere in the world. A bit of that maybe, but for the most part, these local coops make very good, very cheap table wine. "This year," as Steve Martin requested. It's local, it's delightfully drinkable, it's affordable, and it comes in a variety of flavors.

And they make a lot of the stuff. Last year, when we were living in Sommieres, we actually saw a full-size tanker truck parked outside the local caveau, filling up. Tens of thousands of gallons of wine.

Check out this wall. They're like petrol pumps, but for wine. The variety is written in marker on the wall above each hose.

I'll take five liters of number 6, please.

Sweet. A grey day made just a little brighter.

When we finally find a house, we're planning on getting one of those blub-blub machines with the 5-gallon carboys. That should do nicely. And that picture of a wine-glass full of wine? Don't be silly. We drink out of coffee mugs here. They hold more, and they don't tip over as easily. In fact, most of the time, we just fill a teapot from our jug, and serve ourselves from that.

More tea, vicar?