vinathon 2014

Vinathon is another great Saturday wine event in the Geneva area. The temperature dropped out of the nineties to perfect seventies in time for the ten kilometer wine tasting tour. This year started at the lovely Château des Bois in Satigny and looped through forest and vineyards stopping at wineries along the way.

Here we go.

A sunny day, with a short burst of rain in the afternoon just before our parade of cycles and scooters and strollers and walkers reached the final stop.

caves ouvertes

After rainy, but still great, Caves Ouvertes the past two years, we were so excited for a  sun filled, perfect, blue sky, wine tasting day in the vineyards. We headed out early on foot to make a first stop in Essertines as the caves open at 10am.  

Maybe it was the generous pours, but waylaid by tasting in the garden at the first domaine, we had to hustle along the vineyard roads to the meet-up point to continue the day with friends and a parade of scooters and bicycles.

A few Choully stops, a feast of wild boar, classic cars and cameras, poor little Eliot's trip to the ER, bike swapping, tree climbing, more tasting, and finally sprawling on the grass in Peissy. We had  a bottle or two stocked for after the tastings finished, and held our position on the lawn longer into the evening. As the crowd disappeared, Derek and I still had the beautiful walk home in the vineyards ahead of us.  

portes ouvertes

It's a dreary day, but we managed to get ourselves out the door for wine tasting at the Domaine de Mucelle. We left just in time for the main downpour of the day, but waited in an old storage barn for the heavy rain to pass before continuing the short walk through town. The rain hadn't dampened the festivities, so we started sampling the wines, enjoyed deep-fried apple rings, and learned a bit about the process and machines for growing, making, and bottling the wine, all done at the domaine. We also tried le moût, the unfermented juice hand-pressed from the grapes this past week.

Walking home to restock the cave with wine as local as it gets - we've got organic chasselas, gamay, pinot gris and noir, and a bubbly one.

cerdon

Today I joined friends for a summery trip to the tiny wine-making village of Cerdon. Just an hour away, it made for a lovely day trip. We picnicked up on a vineyard slope overlooking the town, and the kids had a fun time racing, downhill, between the vine rows.

I noticed that I am missing any photos of our tastings- must have been distracted by the wine.  Cerdon (named for where it is made) is sweet and pink and bubbly. Served chilled, it is perfect for hot summer days. We wandered between small tasting rooms ringing doorbells for entry to the makers' caves or workshops. Time to stock up, Maura, since we haven't found it in America. 

Our last stop, after coffees and ice cream, was to the hilltop church for a view over the valley.

vin-a-thon

We are starting the summer fun with a ten kilometer vin-a-thon. Finally, some sun, green fields, and chilled wine. We started in Dardagny (where we were given wine glass-holder necklaces) along with several families, strollers, bicycles, and scooters to make the loop up and down steep vineyard trails with stops at four wineries throughout the afternoon. Move over, caves ouvert - I have a new favorite day.  

caves ouvertes

I look forward to Geneva caves ouvertes all year. As far as best-days-ever, it ranks up there with Christmas. This year, despite the unseasonal cold (39 F when we started) and my lingering sickness, was still pretty great. We weren't waiting for the doors to open at ten in the morning as we usually do, but wandered down to Dardagny after lunch for a few tastings. The rain didn't dampen our enthusiasm so we walked to the Essertines for sampling at two wineries we hadn't tried before. We took one final glass to accompany the walk home through the vineyards. 

Getting rain in my wine. Santé.