DLCI 2021 Magazines - November
November
2021
Apres La vendange!
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT
I must begin by thanking Yannick Astarie for his generosity in taking two groups of DLCI members and guests to St Emilion in October. I trust Florence will pass this message on! Yannick is an excellent guide and we all learned so much from his informative and personal approach. He is clearly passionate about the area and its wine, and we were extremely lucky to be able to benefit from his expertise. If this sort of event is what members are looking for, please let us know!
Our main event for November is the Autumn Fair. We are not organising a lunch this month and instead, hope that you will come and meet up at the Orangerie in Bergerac and help us raise funds for next year’s charities. All details of the Fair are in the poster attached and we have also sent you emails about making cakes, donating for the tombola and general helping out. We need your support!
Following the AGM the three recipients of the 2021 charity donations have been informed and have expressed their sincere gratitude. To remind you, they are France Alzheimer Dordogne, Phoenix and the children’s therapy garden at Bergerac hospital. After the annus horribilis that was 2020 many charities have found it difficult to raise funds so our donations to these local causes really do make a big difference to them. Let’s make the 2021 Autumn Fair a real success!
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at our Christmas lunch at the prestigious Château Les Merles. It really is the perfect venue in these still uncertain times and the food is superb, so we make no apologies for returning there so soon. It will be fun to put on a posh frock for a change - book early to avoid disappointment!
The DLCI Book Club is going from strength to strength, ably led by Coordinator Sue Morrison who does a fantastic job. As you may know, there are three groups (Monpazier, Bergerac and Ste Foy) each of which approach choosing and discussing books in a slightly different way. Members communicate via email and Facebook, as well as face-to-face meetings, but you are most welcome to join us whichever style of participation suits you best. For more information please get in touch with Sue at sue.morrison.france@gmail.com.
The committee is working very hard to plan events now, and we have a draft programme well into next year. It is very varied and we hope that members will support it. We rely on you to let us know what you want!
My daughter has just returned to London after spending a few days here and we have been very busy progressing the arrangements for her wedding, which will take place in France next August. As she left, she said to me, ‘isn’t it wonderful to be able to be reasonably certain that things will happen as we have planned?’ Indeed it is.
Committee news
Pat Machado has resigned from the committee as from the end of October and she is returning to the UK for personal and family reasons. We will miss her energy and commitment hugely and would like to thank her for everything she has done for the DLCI. She has re-launched the website which is now a major source of recruitment for new members as well as an interesting and entertaining read for us all. We look forward to the Member of the Month feature – another Pat innovation! Pat was also instrumental in setting up our DLCI Facebook page and the DLCI Book Club, of which membership is increasing every month, and which has its own Facebook page.
Pat’s ‘techie’ knowledge has been invaluable in revising our data protection procedures and our statutes in line with current legal requirements. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate that Pat chose to involve her professionalism, good humour and excellent ideas with the DLCI and would like to pass on every good wish to her and her husband, Helder (also a staunch supporter of DLCI), for their forthcoming move.
As you will imagine, Pat’s expertise will be difficult to replace so we are grateful that Chris Green (Lin’s husband) has offered to take over the website and associated technical functions in the interim. Thank you very much, Chris. However, if you are a member with these specific talents please don’t hide your light under the proverbial bushel – step forward and let us know!
Finally there are two changes to our DLCI emails.
Firstly the Secretary is: DLCISecretary@gmail.com
And secondly the Events gmail has been changed to be closer in format to our existing email addresses: DLCIEvents100@gmail.com
Take care Kathy
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON
35€ per person
Thursday 2nd December
Chateau Les Merles,
3 Chem.des Merles
24520
Mouleydier
As Kathy has previously mentioned we visited this chateau earlier in the year and had a wonderful lunch. We are ,therefore, looking forward to dressing up and celebrating the start of the Christmas festivities at Les Merles!
N.B.
‘No shows’ will be charged the full price in their absence.
Additional purchases of wine, soft drinks (other than those indicated on the menu) will be at members own expense.
DLCI CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON CHATEAU LES MERLES
THURSDAY 2nd DECEMBER at 12 NOON
THE MENU
Amuse bouche with a glass of Fizz
*
Cream of cauliflower with smoked salmon, Quail’s egg and parmesan
*
Chicken cooked in a salt crust, chicory poached in brown beer, pureed potatoes and morel cream sauce
*
BABA A L’EAU DE VIE DE POIRE WITH POACHED PEAR
*
COFFEE
in addition A glass of wine (cost covered by the DLCI) will be offered to each guest
GARDENING IN FRANCE
BY CHRIS LEES
Autumn colour
There are some beautiful sights in our gardens and countryside at the moment, although sometimes very fleeting. I have 5 Lagerstroemia trees and one multi-stemmed shrub, and they are 3 different varieties and 3 different colours at the moment. The multi-stemmed one was a glorious pinky-orange and I meant to take a photo but forgot, and the next day most of the leaves had dropped. The field maple in my front garden will turn bright yellow, and I also have a Liquidambar tree which is a glorious purple.
During this season, you can also have colour in your garden from berries, late flowers and bulbs. All varieties of Berberis have eye catching berries, from orange, pink, red and yellow to blue-black and purple, often combined with beautiful autumn leaf colour. The different varieties of Cotoneaster have a lot of berries, mainly red or orange. The spindle tree Euonymus has spectacular multi-coloured fruits, Euonymus alatus has purple/red fruits which split to show orange seeds, and scarlet leaves in autumn, and Euonymus europaeus 'Red Cascade' has pinky-red fruits, orange seeds and scarlet foliage.
Pyracantha 'Orange Glow' forms a dense but spiky hedge, with masses of white flowers in spring turning to orange red berries in autumn. Callicarpa bodinieri has pure purple berries. All these berries are good for wildlife and provide food for birds and small mammals well into winter.
Some shrubs and herbaceous plants are still flowering in the autumn, including Dahlias, Rudbeckias and Sedum (now known as Hylotelephium). Autumn flowering bulbs include Colchicum, Colchicum speciosum 'Album' has large white flowers similar to Crocus flowers, autumn flowering Crocus in purples, pinks and white, Cyclamen hederifolium, and Nerines in bright pink and white.
At this time of year you can also mulch your flowerbeds and potagers with compost and leaf mould, and prepare for future years by raking up leaves from lawns and storing in wire enclosures or re-usable plastic sacks pierced with holes for 1-2 years to make leaf mould. If leaves have fallen on borders or beds, leave them there, the worms will drag them into the soil over winter.
N.B.
Carelle Sherwood is getting her garden ready for winter and has a lot of plants that need to be divided. If anyone is interested in some plants can they please contact Carelle on: Carellesherwood@aol.com
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
Caroline Denholm
Joan Fenton
Charlotte Halsby
Sue Hugo
Sheila McPhee
POETRY CORNER
Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 – 1894
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped and A Child's Garden of Verses.
Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life, but continued to write prolifically and travel widely in defiance of his poor health. In 1890, he settled in Samoa where, alarmed at increasing European and American influence in the South Sea islands, his writing turned away from romance and adventure fiction toward a darker realism. He died in his island home in 1894.
Besides being a celebrity in his lifetime, in 2018 he was ranked as the 26th-most-translated author in the world (just behind Charles Dickens).
AUTUMN FIRES
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
ST.ÉMILION WALK, WINE TASTING AND LUNCH
BY LIN GREEN
On the 14th and 20th October (we had a choice of two dates) we visited the stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site of St Émilion. We were indeed fortunate that our day was organised by the town’s most passionate advocate Yannick Astarie.
Our walk took us around the outskirts of the town and through the vineyards (tasting a cheeky grape or two on the way!) with Yannick explaining - using his vast knowledge, humorous asides and snippets of interest - the history of St. Émilion from the 1st Century to the present day. Here we go:-
The monk Émilion settled in Ascumbas ( the early medieval name for St. Émilion) where he carved a place of worship into the rock. After his death the famous Monolithic Church ( the bell tower of which can be seen from every view ) was built above the sanctuary and the town was given a new name.
The Jurade of St Émilion was formed in 1199 by the English King John.
Due to the ease of shipping taking place in the 14th century, with only a few vines scattered in the Medoc, St. Emilion wine was already being shipped to England.
This date coincides with the founding of the city of Libourne by the British. The city of Libourne has another connection with England, it was named after Sir Roger de Leybourne.
In 1954 a new classification system was created for the regions wines and is reviewed every 10 years.
Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the dominant grapes that make St. Émilion wine. However, other grape varieties are also used including, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
Due to rising temperatures and other climate changes, more growers have been adding Cabernet Franc vines. A few vignerons have been experimenting with adding Cabernet Sauvignon, as it ripens later than Merlot.
The best vintages of St.Émilion wines are: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2001, 2000, 1998, 1990, 1989, 1985, 1964, 1961, 1959, 1955, 1953, 1950, 1949, 1947 and 1945.
More daughters are taking over the running of the chateaux Chateau Auson has the ruins of its original Roman villa and first appears in archives in 1529. Only three families have lived there in the last 500 years and today it is run by Pauline Vauthier who is twelfth generation and is co owner with her father. They produce one of the most sought after and expensive wines in the world and their land is valued in excess of 8,000,000 per hectare.
There are four levels in the St. Émilion classification of its wines, Premier Cru Classe A, Premier Grand Cru Classe B, The Grand Cru Classe Wines from St. Emilion and Grand Cru.
The Petrus name became internationally known when Queen Elizabeth 11 insisted on the wine being served at her wedding and , not to be outdone, John F Kennedy insisting on Petrus for his wedding.
What a fantastic morning we had! Off for some tasting at Les Caves du Manoir where we tried a young wine and a mature one (the second was appreciated more). Here we learned the optimum temperature for storage is 14C with 80% humidity and the choice of barrel – French or American oak – which in most cases is only used once ( St Émilion has a lot of coopers!)
Lastly lunch at L’Antre which everyone enjoyed- I had the scallops and Prawns which were yummy and my husband had the Foie Gras (homemade) and Duck which he said was delicious. We had a lot of laughs, met new people and old friends we hadn’t seen since before lockdown. It was a very enjoyable day. Thank you Yannick.
MEMBER’S PHOTOS
Morning views of St Emilion
Sent in by Yveline Ulrich
PETS CORNER
Phoebe surveying the garden to check it is to her satisfaction!
Sent in Maggie Fitzgerald
A little orphan who needed some care
Sent in by Chris Lees
PHOTO REQUEST
We would love to include more of your photos including those for Pets Corner in the next Newsletter. Simply email me at DLCIMagazine@gmail.com (no later than 27th of the month) with the photo and where it is. They will be published in the next months newsletter
LASTLY
A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS NEWSLETTER.
PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO CURRENT DATA PROTECTION LAWS THIS DOCUMENT MUST NOT BE SHARED
WITH ANYONE WHO IS NOT A CURRENT DLCI MEMBER