Oh dear. Basti here at last- it's an absolute age since I managed to get Grandpa (GP) off his backside and write my blog. He even allowed my sister to write the last one- I ask you.
Quick update- I'm now 3 and three-quarters and Tessa is 9 months. I'm at school in the mornings and can count up to well over 20 in both languages and can read some words with encouragement and a fair wind. I am beginning to realise quite how bad GP's French is and am continually having to tell him how to pronounce the words in the stories he reads me from the library in Arbois. He's quite hopelesss at rolling his Rs, but apparently it's a Hughes trait from their days in Wales. And on the subject of Wales, GP was ecstatic when the "boys" taught England how to play Rugby a few weeks ago. Today we celebrated and went to see Arbois thrash the opposition 29-3. Not quite as comprehensive as Wales but pretty d.. close. Not sure what d.. means, but I have temporarily to rely on GP who pretends he knows what he is doing.
Currently GP is here in Mesnay with Granny, Auntie Vicky and Uncle Tee. Daddy is in Clermont Ferrand at (another) wine fair and comes back tonight. Next week he's off to Belgium and is increasingly concentrating on marketing. Most of the vines have been tied and he is very pleased with his apprentice, Juliette, who has been a greta help in the vines and has settled in well. She also reads me stories when she comes for lunch. Daddy now has 6 plots of vines, one more than last year, and so is probably up to 3 hectares.
The success this year has been the "special" wines, which are called Coup de Plous (no idea), a pink liqueur consisting of grape juice and Marc, the Jura brandy; Straw Berry, a pun on Paille, meaning straw, on which the raisins are dried, vin de paille being the generic term for this type of wine- rather like sherry; Macvin is a chardonnay-based liqueur where the marc is oaked as is the macvin.
In the meantime the various wines have also been selling well, with the Michelin- restaurants regularly re-ordering and new restaurants and wine merchants coming on board.
I'll get this online now, but will write again after Daddy and GP go to London for a Jura Wine Tasting with 26 other vignerons. Will also publish some recent pics.
Lots of love
Basti xx
