Vacqueras' Christmas Market or "La grande Bouffe"

Mulled Wine helps fight the freezing Mistral  

So there was mulled wine (generously offered by the local winegrowers and much needed to fight the freezing gusts of Mistral) plus a few art and craft stalls but what this mornings Christmas Market in Vacqueras really showed was that come Christmas time what interests the true Provençal is "la grande bouffe" (politely translated: big dinners).

Shopping for oysters: Father Christmas

And this is what he bought

We met Father Christmas at the oyster stall, discussed the price of truffles - 980 Euros a kilo at a stall that advertised them as "washed and brushed" and 320 Euros at another stall where they didn't look all that dirty either. Selling truffles unwashed, i.e. adding expensive grams of caked dirt to the precious tuber is a well tried trick of Provençal truffle merchants.

Somewhat expensive but clean truffles

Christmas dinner suggestion: Stuffed duck legs

Santons

So instead of stocking up on truffles  - that will have to wait until after the holidays when the price goes down - we admired Santons, the typical Provençal figurines that populate the "crèche" - the nativity scene. I especially liked this truffle hunter:

Truffle Hunter

Guarding the Wine

Driving home we met yet another Father Christmas. This one was guarding the entrance to the Vacqueras winery, probably in preparation to a night shift of stuffing stockings. I sure wouldn't mind receiving one of those!

Vacqueras Wine - full of Character

Lucky me! My friend Jean-François Bertin, who runs the beautiful B&B “Bastide Saint Claude” invited me to accompany him to a wine tasting course to the aptly named wine cellar “Vignerons de Caractère” in Vacqueras.
I do not know who was the creative genius behind this reinvention of just another dusty old wine cellar into a gleaming high tech place, but since it was revamped about two years ago this must be one of the most interesting, stylish and creative wine cooperatives of the Côtes du Rhône wine growing area.
So there we were, listening to the explanations of our delightful, knowledgable and enthusiastic guide Valérie, learning to use our eyes, nose and palate to evaluate different wines: checking the color, sniffing perfumes, tasting aromas and guessing the vintage. Did you know that wine can have an aroma of fruits and berries, flowers, animals, truffels, tobacco, fresh butter, even beer? One thing is certain - as far as wines are concerned I still have a lot to learn! I am already booked for the next course which “Vignerons de Caractère” will be doing every Friday from June until the end of September: a two hour walking tour at sunset through the vineyards when a wine grower will explain the secrets of his craft.