Food and Drink

The Vineyard Guys

Is it me or is it HOT!

by Rob Brimfield and Steve McMahon

July has been a funny month with a very wet start followed by plenty of heat, for me personally too much heat, but the vines seemed happy and the couple of thundery nights with a little rain to dampen everything down, no complaints here. Our commiserations go out to those areas that experienced the hail that caused so much damage that we were lucky to avoid.

As we move into August the heat continues, not that I’m complaining (well actually I am because getting up to start work at 6am to avoid the heat is not good for me). It feels better after a glass or two in the evening, because you do have to be sociable don't you. There are also the “Marche Gourmandes”, attendance at which is of course compulsory, and on top of that the wine tasting events that we get involved with that extend into the night…… are you starting to feel sorry for us yet? As you may have now gathered, it is a hard life for a vigneron. It is not all wine drinking, entertaining, partying all the time, life in the vines it is hard work, the hardest part is making it look easy. We have been giving tours and tastings almost daily throughout the past few months and are always pleased when people talk about how they, for the first time, see every part of how much goes into making a bottle of artisan wine and that we still, even though we are old and worn out, manage to talk about our property and the wine with true enthusiasm and passion.

As difficult as the physical side is, especially with the heat that I just must mention again, you need to have your heart in it if you want to produce the best you can make. That is why, with a genuine enthusiasm, we carry on working the land and welcoming guests and visitors alike.

With August here comes the anticipation of September's harvest. Will we have enough sun to give us the sugars we need to turn into alcohol? Will we have enough rain to make the grapes plump and full of quality juice? As the month progresses the grapes are now truly changing

plump grapes

colour, by the end they will be completely dark purple and almost good enough to eat/drink. The physical work in the vineyard does ease off a little except for walking every row and removing leaves, by hand, that cover the grapes. This helps the air flow and allows the sunshine in as at this time of year humidity is our enemy and we wouldn’t want to let all our hard work be spoilt by too much moisture. I do like the fact that working out in the vines brings us in touch with nature and I like to think, as we continue our journey towards Organic/Bio certification, that we respect it more than ever and want to nourish and protect it. I do wish someone would tell the bugs that bite us that we are trying to create a better environment and we are not part of the menu - they do seem to be out in force this season. All this

lovely summer evenings

work in the sunshine means the farmers tan is now well and truly set for the rest of the year and when the shirt comes off it looks like I am wearing a white T-Shirt so basically, the shirt does not come off and the illusion of a healthy all over tan is not spoilt.

You Can’t Drink Red Wine in The Summer!

Red wines do often get left on the shelf at this time of year, the soaring temperatures mean the whites and especially the rosés are the wines of choice or in this part of France a rather peachy mix of rosé that is not on my shopping list and should be banned because of the sugar content alone, other fruit versions are slightly more palatable, like the pink grapefruit, but in all honesty you can’t beat a good rosé on a summers day. So what about these forgotten reds? Should they be banned from the table until the days cool?

the tours continue ...

No of course not, if you store and serve your red at the right temperature there is a place for a good red whatever the time of year. We talked about temperatures and storage last month and that serving temperature of 17-18 degrees means that when the temperature outside is 30 degrees plus, a red wine can be very refreshing. We are not talking about those very big, heavy wines but the lighter, easy drinking, more social reds like ours sit perfectly with a meal on a summers evening and can easily continue to be drank after too.

So I dare you to go out and experiment, break a habit or two and become a little more adventurous with your wine. Put frozen fruit in your white or rosé to help keep it cool, NOT ICE CUBES. Go for a nice light red for a change or start off your evening or summer soirée with an easy summer champagne cocktail. We hope you enjoy a glass or two this August and soak up the sun and fun on offer and we hope to see you at the vineyard soon, until next time, Sante!

For more information on Rob & Steve, their wine, vineyard tours and accommodation ... www.closvieuxrochers.com

Saugé Vintage Tea Room

Château de Saugé

79400 Saivres 06 29 15 36 55 Info@chateaudesauge.com

Delicious Triple Chocolate Cookies that everyone will LOVE Ingredients

125 g Unsalted Butter 100 g Light Brown Sugar 75 g White Granulated Sugar 1 Large Egg 1 tsp Vanilla 250 g Plain Flour 35 g Cocoa Powder 1 + 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda 1/2 tsp Sea Salt 100 g White Chocolate Chips (or chopped chocolate) 100 g Milk Chocolate Chips (or chopped chocolate) 100 g Dark Chocolate Chips (or chopped chocolate)

The Schools are out for Summer and the Weather is getting HOT How about Cookies and Milkshakes

Milkshakes for everyone….

How about Strawberry Milkshakes for the kids and White Russian Milkshakes for the adults….

Instructions

Add butter and sugars to a bowl and beat till creamy –Add in the egg and the vanilla and beat again. Add in the plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt and beat till a cookie dough is formed! Add in your Chocolate Chips and beat till they're distributed well! Weigh your cookies out into eight cookie dough balls they're about 115-120g each! Once they're rolled into balls, put your cookie dough in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, or in the fridge for an hour or so! Whilst the cookie dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 180C Fan, or 200C regular! Take your cookies out of the freezer/fridge and put onto a lined baking tray. Bake the cookies in the oven for 12-14 minutes. I don't personally flatten the cookies, as they flatten enough during baking. Once baked, leave them to cool on the tray for at least 30 minutes, as they will continue to bake whilst cooling! Enjoy

Strawberry Milkshake

1+1/2 cups diced strawberries 2 teaspoons of sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1+1/2 cups vanilla ice cream 1/3 cup of milk Whipped cream and extra strawberries for topping

Instructions

Add all ingredients to your blender and whisk until smooth. Pour into your glass and finish with Whipped cream and Strawberries

White Russian Alcohol Milkshake

500 grams Vanilla Ice Cream (approximately 6 large scoops) 3 Ounces Vodka 3 Ounces Kahlua ¼ cup milk Whipped Cream Cherry

Instructions

Add all ingredients to your blender and whisk until smooth. Pour into your glass and finish with Whipped cream and a Cherry.

Open Every Saturday & Sunday and other times on request Buy all your UK Food locally @ Château de Saugé

Château de Saugé 2 Saugé 79400 Saivres 06 29 15 36 55 Info@chateaudesauge.com Siret: 84890418100015 Chambres d'hôtes – Gites – Business/Event Centre – Vintage Tearoom – Trading Post Shop Please like us on Social Media: chateaudesauge.com facebook.com/ChateauDeSauge/ instagram.com/chateaudesauge/