Michel Picard Wines

[arrowcapet]

In addition to the gazillion other things already thrown at me, I had a rep in my restaurant on Thursday from Michel Picard who said..."oh, ahnd, eef you oppen to be een Frawnce sometime, you should let me know, because I cahn arrange for you to bee in de chateau for ay eh veeseet and eh...a tasting if you would like..."

And so of course I said..."well...it just so happens that I will be in France like...um....next week...."

So he's arranged for me to be picked up at the train station, wined and dined at the chateau, overnight in one of their five 'sweets' and then taken back to the train station the next morning. So...for this entire trip, I have Badia a Coltibuono (Chianti) and Angelo Gaja (Barbaresco) in Italy, and then Veuve Cliquot and now Michel Picard in France.

Here's the link to the chateau...check out the pics of their rooms....

www.michelpicard.com/pages/index.php

[annettecinca]

Wow, Arrow! That will be a real treat! The place looks great!

[Jody]

WOW>>is right!

You'll be living like a king for a night!

[arrowcapet]

I am either lucky, or just blessed. Or maybe lucky to be blessed. I don't know. It will be an amazing trip...no question. Four big wineries, dinner at Les Etoiles in Rome, dinner on the Terrace at Hotel Splendido, dinner at Cipriani in Venice...but the gala at Versailles on my birthday is a no-go. No huge thing for me. I definitely wanted to go, but I'm not crushed...in the end I couldn't get everything together in time to get it all back and forth across the pond, and it really was a TON of money. There are other things to do. But I will also spend a lot of time in Paris doing "quiet" things after a very busy Italian tour. I do plan to head out to Vincennes to see the newly opened Donjon, and of course I'll spend some time at St. Denis, but otherwise I'll spend a lot of lazy time in Paris doing almost nothing.

[sistereurope]

well, I guess we won't feel TOO sorry for you for missing Versailles then...enjoy the chateau and all that delightful wining and dining!!

[Anne]

Arrow, I couldn't help laughing out loud while reading your transcription of French accent !!!

Now, I would love to hear you speaking French with your Yankee accent

[arrowcapet]

And yet I would love to hear you speak French with your French accent even more.....

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Fabulous trip plans! I can't believe these photos for someplace that you just "oppened" into. ;D And how did you manage the Veuve Cliquot angle? I'll promise not to be jealous, if you promise to have une coupe of La Grande Dame rose - my very favorite - for me!

[arrowcapet]

I am fortunate enough to buy about $120,000 of wine a year for my restaurant, so it gives me a little leverage and a definite advantage when it comes to special treatment from importers. In the last 12 months, I've purchased 76 cases from a single winery in Chianti, so they're rolling out the red carpet, and in March of this year, we did a special dinner featuring Angelo Gaja wines ($3200 for 21 bottles!!!), so Gaia Gaja (Angelo's daughter) is giving us a private tour of their Barbaresco winery on the 26th. Like I said...I'm blessed.