The Vintner’s Cellar World Wine Adventure
Meet James, Brian, Doug and Leah. They arrived 12 hours after we did and will be traveling with us to Paris where we’re all sharing an apartment. They are friends from Redding who just happened to be planning trips around the same time – we decided why not share the fun!
While wandering through the streets of Amsterdam we decided to grab some dinner out on a patio to enjoy the beautiful weather and the lively atmosphere. We found a table and enough chairs for the six of us, so we grabbed it. We were right outside a Thai restaurant that we thought looked good. It turns out they didn’t offer patio service and the bar whose table it was didn’t serve food. So what do you do? Order take out Thai and eat on the patio. Jana and I enjoyed excellent cashew chicken and shared a bottle of wine with Leah. Here is the view from where we sat.
Leah bought this bottle during our Thai dinner. It was the house wine at the restaurant and they let us taste it while we were ordering. We can now start learning about French labels. You can see on this label that it says Saint Julien which is the winery, Vin Non Filtre tells you it is un-filtered, and Coteaux du Languedoc tells you that the wine was made in the Coteaux du Languedoc AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée). We will be visiting this area later on in our trip when we drive from Perpignan to Avignon. Some of the main varieties in this area are Carignan, Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah. This is most similar to our Vieux Chateau du Roi at Vintner’s Cellar, often abbreviated as VCR; it is one of the most popular wines among many of the franchises. The wine we had for dinner was exactly what you would expect for that region. The wine was a lighter red with soft fruit notes. It was nice and smooth, and slightly sweet which was perfect with our Thai food. It was a very drinkable wine, and was ready to enjoy. The age was perfect.
The best snack of the day! (Good Call Jim & JoDee!)
When Jana was in High School she studied abroad in Rotterdam. She stayed with Marijella and her family for 6 weeks. Today we met up with Marijella & her boyfriend Oskar. They live in Rotterdam and are both engineers. Jana was really excited to catch up with an old friend. They took us to a local cafe and treated us to a sandwich and a beer, and then showed us around the city a bit as they walked us toward the Anne Frank House. It was great to talk to locals and find out more about their culture and traditions. Oskar answered a lot of my questions about the celebration, and local customs. We also talked a little about the European view of the U.S. and how their economy is being affected right now. They were very gracious hosts and I hope they are able to visit us in California sometime soon!
Okay, so here’s what we found out. Queen’s Day is a day when anyone and everyone can sell stuff on the streets (no permits required). So what you see is like a giant flea market/garage sale/fair down every street and alley. People just walk around and shop, drink and eat. Some of the people just put out old clothes and other items like a garage sale, but others are more creative and setup activities, or play music. Jana threw an egg at a guy for 1 euro… she missed, but the next contestant nailed the poor guy right in the face! So as you can see, it’s anything to make a buck. This made for a very interesting atmosphere, especially when you consider everyone is wearing ORANGE. So as the day went on we worked our way over to the Anne Frank House. That was a very interesting experience. It is amazing to think that 8 people lived in that environment without going outside for so long… and then to be caught after all of that. It really reminds you how lucky we all are to live in a free world. It was also strange to visit on a day of such celebration right outside the same doors that kept the family locked in.
The day was filled with LOUD MUSIC, lots of ORANGE, PARTIES EVERYWHERE, and very ENTERTAINING PEOPLE.
Today we explore Amsterdam and the Queens Day celebration. We’ve been told that it is a huge street festival all day and that the center of town becomes a giant flea market. People have traveled here from around the world to celebrate, and supposedly there are over a million visitors to Amsterdam. Last night the city was howling with activity, but this morning the city lies still. I think everyone just went to sleep… it’s 9:45am. While we’re here we have plans to visit the Anne Frank House as well as the Van Gogh Museum, and maybe the Heineken Museum as well. Now it’s time to find a traditional Dutch breakfast.
Here are 2 pictures looking out the window of our hotel.
Atfer 13 hours on planes, we arrived in Amsterdam. We wound our way on the metro to our hotel, checked in, dropped bags and took off! Queens day is one if the largest celebrations in the Netherlands, it starts today and we’re at the heart of it. First things first, an Italian restaurant caught our eyes in the square. After a Margarita Pizza, an anti-pasta platter and a 1/2 liter of French Merlot, we were off to wander the streets and enjoy the festivities. Tomorrow we will be meeting an old friend of Jana’s from Holland, and exploring the sights.
The feel here is amazing…it’s like Marti Gras meets Disneyland in Vegas!
But now it’s time for a full night’s sleep.
Thanks for everyone’s support on the site, it’s gonna be a great adventure!
There’s nothing like leaving for an international flight from the Redding airport! Just don’t plan on arriving 2 hours in advance like the airline mandates.
So we’re off on our trip. All loose ends tied up and time to enjoy!
Our first wine of our trip…kinda. As we spend our last night at home we decided to open a birthday gift from Robert & Linda; a Baco Noir from Southern Oregon. Baco Noir is a hybrid grape developed from a French varietal (Folle Blanche) and an unknown North American varietal. It is grown in several regions producing different styles depending on the climate. The wine we are enjoying as we finish packing and planning has a fruity and slightly smokey nose. The wine is medium bodied and has hints of blackberry. The wine is a 2007 and is great today, but it would also benefit from a couple of years aging. The finish is not as complete as it will be once the tannins have fully developed.
This wine is exactly what we wanted for tonight, but don’t let the name fool you, it’s very different than a Pinot Noir.
Thanks Robert…excellent choice!
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