Bocuse d'Or Winner pouring O'Vineyards

I read an article about the United States selecting their competitor for the upcoming Bocuse d'Or competition (not a small deal). The golden Bocuse is named after renowned French chef Paul Bocuse, and it is in fact the biggest deal. The article linked above mentions rather briefly that individual countries will budget over a million dollars to train their selected chef for the upcoming competition. We're dealing in a realm that is hard to access on a daily basis, but this is the sort of cuisine dreams are made of. I mean, Bocuse has served individual soups more famous than the combined life achievements of my direct family.

But in my little way, I'll be adding to the long culinary tradition! I'll be making regular deliveries of O'Vineyards wines to a restaurant étoilée. Franck Putelat, the 2003 winner of the Bocuse d'Or, has started his own restaurant at the foot of the historic walled city of Carcassonne. Within a single year, his Michelin star followed him to Le Parc, and he deserves it.

Thomas Brieu, the sommelier at Le Parc, will be personally introducing three O'Vineyards wines alongside the delectable menus that Chef Putelat arranges.

This is a good way to kick of what the French refer to as CHR sales (cafes, hotels, restaurants)!

I'm Franco-American again!

I usually tell people I'm an American making wine in the south of France but the truth is that I'm a dual citizen or at least I was born that way. It gets tricky because I let my French passport expire, and trying to convince the French government that I'm still French was a hoot and a holler (a phrase I'm afraid to teach anybody over here since they'd probably pronounce it:"Ay 'oot an' ay 'oh-lehr").

To get a new passport I had to show them a National ID. To get a National ID I had to show them a passport. You know the drill. Well now I can show them both! In the end I had to prove to them that I had NOT renounced my French citizenship after turning 18. As it turns out, it's rather hard to prove an absence of an act, but surrender isn't in the French dictionary. ...not when it comes to bureaucracy!

Somebody remind me when this is about to expire.

So, above is my mandatory sourire-sans-dents face. The photo booth encouraged me to look happy but reminded me that smiling is not allowed if the photo is to be used for an official government ID. And those joint stipulations were thought-provoking. I reflected quietly upon the true nature of happiness while the photo booth timer ticked away. First photo was a botch.

What was even more distressing was the second photo when the photo booth knew I was smiling. I guess the computer in there can tell the difference between my pearly whites and my wan face.

The third picture I tried keeping my eyes wide and my teeth hidden, while expressing some degree of joy. That sickly smirk is now my official identification in France. I got the best of it in the end I suppose... unless this is all a roundabout way of getting me to look exceptionally smug in my official French ID. Clever system, clever.

Guide Hachette selection Cabardes

We got reviewed in the guide Hachette. I'll add this to the media portion of the website eventually but it's pretty low priority since it's in French and in the middle of harvest. The 2009 Guide Hachette talked up our wine a good deal. We weren't quite the Coup de Coeur for the region, but nobody expects a wine called "Les Americains" to wine the favored spot in such a prestigious French review. It's an honor to be in the pages of this renowned wine publication.

Here's a link to the actual article for anybody who reads French:

Guide Hachette

As always, the rest of the media clippings can be found in the Press section of the website:Press