• Home
  • About
  • My Paris Flat
  • Purchase My Book
  • Wine Tastings
  • French Wine Tours
  • Contact

The Paris Experiment

Journal Entry… Saint Emilion, France

Le Petit Dejeuner

1 May

This was my journal entry on my last day at the Gaillard Chateau…

October 9th, 2015

It is a bittersweet day, and time for me to say good-bye to Saint Emilion, France.

Wow. What an incredible two weeks I have spent in the wine country. It was so much more than I imagined, and I am truly so blessed to have had this experience… Saint Emilion, France is an incredibly charming, fairytale-esque… and romantic town. This is a place perfect for any occasion… 

I will never get tired of these rooftops and shutters. So magical.

The Gaillard Vineyard has a very special place in my soul now. I stayed amongst these grapevines for four weeks. I learned an important and valuable lesson from adventuring to this vineyard. A lesson on humanity and connection. I arrived at the vineyard, and immediately realized practically no one there spoke more than a few words of English (other than Catherine, Cedric and of course, Cedric’s wife and friends that I met outside of the vineyard.) I was slightly intimidated the first night and couldn’t fathom not feeling totally alone through this experience as no one spoke my language. After living through this, I am pleasantly surprised at the amount of real connection I felt. Regardless if you speak the same language, we are all human and have a bond over life… I quickly could feel these people were kind, warm-hearted and absolutely hilarious with a great sense of humor. Whether it be a glance, eye-contact, a smile, a joke told in french and everyone bending over laughing…there is an understanding without words. This was a beautiful lesson for me and I truly got to know an entire new side of myself. I can analyze the fact that I am surprisingly comfortable… with the uncomfortable. The uncomfortable teaches me something. I gain knowledge on life. I feel ALIVE. Of course, I also attempted to speak french, and actually picked up much of what they were saying in conversation by the end of my stay. This experience sparked an even greater desire for me to become fluent in french…And it helps that I happen to love the wines they produce. Saint Emilion Grand Cru… very good terroir!

I learned so much about the initial stage of wine-making after the harvest. We only explored (in training me) the first two weeks after the grapes are picked from the vines. There is so much more that goes into the art of winemaking… making good wine usually takes around 18 months to two years, from harvest to bottle. This stay at Chateau Gaillard really taught me that wine making is a science and it takes “good winemakers” to understand how fragile grapes are, and how important the fermentation process is. Constant maintenance of the grape juice while it transforms to alcohol is key. This is the start, followed by ageing in barrels or not, and maintaining your vines all year so the grapes grow properly. What would we do without the pleasure of wine?

I am immensely grateful to the people who make wine, and make a living out of making it well. 

This is just the beginning… so much more to come with my wine school journey. 

 

2 Comments

« Excerpt Twenty Six
Excerpt Twenty Seven »

Comments

  1. Mom says

    May 2, 2021 at 7:10 am

    I know part of your soul will forever be in France ! These experiences of living on French vineyards will be part of your lifestyle always. What a true blessing for you to have lived this! I am grateful that I get to learn from you ❣️
    Love, Mom

    Reply
  2. Teri Perine says

    May 3, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    Krista you are so very fortunate to have been able to experience this incredible journey. I’m learning things I’ve never known.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Charles Heidsieck Visit – Reims, France + Small Excerpt
  • Le Cordon Bleu Paris Past – Professor Ramage
  • Excerpt Fifty One
  • 48 Hours ~ Lyon, France
  • Daily Life à Paris

the_parisian_wine_girl

View

Jan 11

Open
Goûter Paris Events 🥂

the_parisian_wine_girl

View

Sep 14

Open
It’s PUBLISHED 📚🙌
My book. 

Available NOW! Amazon, Barnes&Noble plus many other major retailers. 
Worldwide ✨JUST released! 
You can also order it through my website link in bio ⬆️ it will take you directly to the order button (preorder!) 
Kindle Version also available 

My favorite chapter is 20… Dad don’t read Chapter 16 ⚠️❗️ 

A long journey and more than worth it.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this project. 🙏 
a special shout out to:
my editor @jessicanhatch 
my literary manager @zoequinton_ 
& Amy Thomas @godiloveparis your knowledge and wisdom was the icing and inspired the final touches…
Never. Give. Up. #mydream 

I wrote this manuscript sitting in cafés in Paris (well and many mornings in my apartment candles burning at 6 am) and my hope is that it transports you there no matter where you are in this 🌎 

I took great pleasure in writing this, and have attempted to make it full of entertainment (real life in Paris) and hope you will find that you want to turn the page to see what happens next … highs and lows - it’s all in there. Intensity, passionate, thrilling. 
(plus very cool graphics throughout)

Let’s pull back the curtain shall we?! 

Sequel in the works 🇫🇷📚💛

#author #writer #paris #book #published #travelmemoirs #literary #france #inspiration #writing #cinematic #vision #passion #wine #love #travel #memoir #nonfiction #bookstagram #parisfrance #parisinspo #parisscenes #francophile #writers #firstbook 
#europe #expatlife #parislifestyle

the_parisian_wine_girl

View

Jul 17

Open
Bourgogne 🇫🇷 🍷

Aloxe-Corton 
I’m staring into the single vineyard producing the only Grand Cru terroir in Pinot Noir in all of Côte de Beaune

1,000 bottles a year produced only & also tasting this here 

“The plot around the castle” Le Clos du Château 

#grandcru #burgundy #bourgogne #wine #winetasting #winetours #france #frenchwine #pinotnoir #aloxecorton #vineyard #vigneron #vin #beaune #winetrips #ootd #burgundywine #summer

the_parisian_wine_girl

View

May 18

Open
Paris Perfect 🌷

#lematin #paris #parisfrance #france🇫🇷 #mornings #leweekend #piedaterre #petitdejeuner #peonies #spring #wildstrawberries #lavieenrose #chezmoi

the_parisian_wine_girl

View

Apr 12

Open
A flute or a coupe 🥂🖤

Last week I had the pleasure of a quintessential impressive French meal shared with the lovely Director of Maison Belle Époque Hèléne Caluch 
The food was exquisite and the perfect pairing for a vertical tasting of Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque Blanc de Blancs 2012,  Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque Brut 2013, and Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque Rosè 2012
 
The art and floral elements brought an undesirable beauty to this Maison that was captivating. Selecting my own champagne glass from the historic vintage collection of the House for “Aperitif Hour” well … 💕🥂

A huge Merci 🇫🇷

#private #exclusive #champagne #champagnelifestyle #perrierjouet #belleépoque #fizz #art #beauty #exquisite #france🇫🇷 #lifestyle #lunch #champagnetasting #champagnefrance 
#artnouveau #french #feminine #belle #inspired

the_parisian_wine_girl

View

Apr 10

Open
Champagne Week has begun 🥂

Printemps des Champagnes 

#tasting #business #importing #spring #growers #winemakers #vigneron #champagne #france #worklife #reimsfrance #meunier #wine #cheers #fizz #industry #printempsdeschampagnes #champagneweek
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Paris Flat
  • Wine Tastings
  • French Wine Tours
  • Purchase My Book

Copyright © Lilac and Fourth
Website Design | Autumn Lane Paperie