Author: lgsjr

Le Somail

On the eastern edge of the Minervois appellation in the southwest of France, there is a small village – a hamlet really – named Le Somail.  There are no vineyards immediately surrounding it, the nearest ones being only a few kilometers away.  When you are visiting wineries in the general area, leave yourself some time to visit this charming spot.

It has a certain Brigadoon quality, as though time had slowed down, if not stopped, in the 17th century.  That’s because Somail exists solely because it was at a convenient point between Toulouse and the Mediterranean Sea on the Canal du Midi.  It provided a stopping-off point for the boatmen and a harbor for their ships.

And so there were inns built, a bridge over the canal, a chapel, a few cafés.  They are all there today, some of them updated for the 21st century of course, with the enhancements done with a dash of French élan.  There are many boats, called péniches along the canal, and vacationers with rentals continue to steer their way (a bit shakily in some cases) under the ancient bridge.

The bridge is festooned with pots of flowers and offers a view of the hamlet and its boats.  One near to the bridge is quite a sight.  It’s a floating grocery store, good for a few provisions for the boaters and croissants for the locals in the morning.  It, too, hearkens back to another era.

The Epicerie Flottante, or the Floating Grocery Store

A good idea is to save your visit to Le Somail for lunchtime.  There is a row of outdoor cafés stretched along the southern bank of the canal, several of which have quite a reputation in the region.  Steve had one of the specialties, frog legs in a garlic cream sauce.  It was particularly delicious and would surely have been enough for two, except that Lucie doesn’t eat the little hopper sand could not even look at him eating them.

The southern bank also has all the requisite craft shops and galleries that seem to pop up wherever tourists gather.  They’re fine, but really no better than all the other sun dappled villages in the south of France.

On the other side of the bridge from the restaurants are several small hotel/guest houses and restaurants that offer fancier fare than the previously mentioned cafés.  The old chapel is worth a glance as well.  And there is a truly unique attraction: the Librairie Ancienne (the Old Bookstore) which claims to have 50,000 books, surely an undercount.  Of course, most of them are in French but there are plenty in all languages.  There are marvelous picture books to thumb, rare books to stare at under glass, comics, kids’ books, lithographs, engravings, antique maps and more.  If you are a bibliophile, you could get lost in there forever.

A partial view of the interior of the Librairie Ancienne

You can see all there is to see in Le Somail in an afternoon, lunch included, or you can stay for the night and really get the feel of the place.  It does come down to a choice, wine tasting or soaking up the atmosphere.  We chose the former, but not without a little twinge of regret as we pulled away.

Cantine Contucci

Vino Nobile de Montepulciano occupies an unusual place among the wines of Tuscany.  It is not as well known as Chianti, nor as esteemed as Brunello, as trendy as Maremma nor as expensive as Bolgheri.  But the Noble Wine is quite ancient, well respected and very delicious, in our opinion.  If you want to really learn about it, you have to visit the town of Montepulciano, the name of which causes considerable confusion.

There is also a grape called Montepulciano, best known in the form of a different wine, Montepulciano de Abruzzo, from the section of Italy east of Rome.  That wine is hearty, a bit rough and very widely available.  Quite often if you simply order a glass of red wine in an Italian restaurant in the US, you’ll get Montepulciano de Abruzzo.  The wine from Montepulciano is Vino Nobile.  If you visit the town, you’ll find many enotecas where you can try the local wines and also several tasting rooms from some of the better producers.

We recommend that you walk all the way up the hill to the Piazza Grande, home to the cathedral and the imposing city hall.  And tucked into a corner of the square is a stately palazzo where you can taste the wines of Contucci.  This was not our first encounter with these wines; we had ordered them in restaurants in both New York and Siena.  So the enjoyment we had in the elegant tasting room was in learning about the range of the wines that Contucci produces: notably several different Vino Nobiles, a Rosso de Montepulciano, and a Vin Santo dessert wine.  However…

The Contucci tasting room on the Piazza Grande in Montepulciano. Photo courtesy of Cantine Contucci.

If you go down the hill at the same corner of the piazza you will almost immediately see a door with a big sign above it announcing the Cantine Contucci.  No disrespect to the fine building on the piazza, but this is the place to visit.  Here you get a much more rustic and warmer welcome and you see the caves where the wines are aged in huge oak casks.

The other location to taste Contucci wines.  Photo courtesy of tripadvisor.it.

You will learn about the history of the Contucci family (over 1000 years in Montepulciano), their role in the development of Vino Nobile (attested in the 18th century), the popes who have visited and how Vino Nobile is made.  It has to be made with at least 70% Sangiovese (in Chianti it’s 80%) but then they mix in other local grapes such as Canaiolo Nero, Mammolo or Colorino.  Just to confuse matters further, in Montepulciano Sangiovese is called Prugnolo Gentile.

The wine casks in the cellars of Cantine Contucci.  Photo courtesy of Cantine Contucci.

We told the nice gentleman who was pouring wine that we had tasted his wines at the palazzo up the hill and he said we should just try them again.  We objected, he insisted and, oh well, why not.  If you want to combine good wine, good stories and some interesting history, a stop at the Cantine Contucci is just your thing.

 

 

Visiting Napa/Noma in July

Let’s face it: it’s hot in Napa/Noma in July.  Of course, it’s hot everywhere and if you like it that way then it’s no problem.  We are split on the matter, so while we have been there in the height of the summer, we don’t go at that time very often.  The afternoon temperatures are generally in the 90s and it’s scant consolation that in other grape growing areas further south the 100s are regularly reached.

There are other drawbacks as well.  July 4 weekend brings crowds and at this time of the year, the crowds often mean tourists with children.  The roads are jammed and in many cases so are the tasting rooms.  So why go in July?

Because the days are long.  Even though the wineries are closed by 5:00 or earlier, you still have time to laze by the pool at your hotel, visit a state park or just enjoy strolling in the pretty towns. Some wineries, especially those with a view, take advantage of the lengthy daylight and stay open later for special events.  We well remember evenings at William Hill Winery (https://www.williamhillestate.com/estate#our-winery), sitting in comfortable Adirondack chairs with a bottle of Chardonnay admiring the view in the approaching dusk.  (Of course, you have to buy their wine to take advantage of their grounds).

William Hill Estate Winery

There are some pleasures only available in the summer months.  For example, the Santa Rosa Wednesday Night Market is open from May to August and the fruits and vegetables reach their peak in July.  There’s music, barbecue and a chance to meet the locals.  July also brings music festivals in the parks in St. Helena, Calistoga and Santa Rosa. 

Santa Rosa’s Wednesday Night Market.  Photo courtesy of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

July can lay claim to being the month when the vineyards are at their most beautiful.  It is the month in which veraison begins, when the red wine grapes attain color.  It can be quite stunning to see the clusters of grapes – some green, some purple – giving promise of the harvest to come.  Each month has its own beauty, to be sure, but there is nothing quite like seeing the vines heavy with fruit.  Earlier in the year, there are only tiny berries.  Later, the fruit is dropped or picked.

If the temperatures are your bugaboo, take advantage in July to go wine tasting in the cooler, higher elevations.  A case can be made for the quality of mountain wines over those made from fruit grown in the valleys, so taste up there and avoid the highest temperatures.  We remember a summer tasting at Storybook Mountain Vineyards (https://www.storybookwines.com/), in the very north of Napa Valley, when we were positively shivering in their caves.

If you do visit Napa/Noma in July, you’ll enjoy wine tasting most if you go on weekdays and make appointments for tastings on the weekends.  You’ll also get a better price in some hotels on weekdays, but prices will still be high compared with those in winter months.  Heat notwithstanding, there are many pleasures to be had in Napa/Noma in July.

Duckhorn Vineyards

Napa Valley is Cabernet Sauvignon country, and has been since the 1970s and before.  Duckhorn Vineyards (https://www.duckhorn.com) goes back to those days and indeed makes some fine Cabs.  But from the beginning it has been Merlot for which Duckhorn is best known.  In the early years, Duckhorn was little more than a shed high up the Silverado Trail in St. Helena.  If you stopped by, you might have run into Dan Duckhorn himself filling orders.

The Duckhorn winery.  Photo courtesy of Gould Evans.

Some things about the “good old days” are best left to the past.  Today a wine taster visiting Duckhorn will find a graceful grey building, looking very much like a farmhouse as Norman Rockwell might have imagined it.  Surrounded by vines, the scene just invites you in for a warm welcome, some wine and relaxation.

There are a number of things that make the wine tasting experience at Duckhorn different than at other wineries.  First, you pay for your tasting on your way in.  Of course, you pay first at the movies or the theater and wine tasting is more like entertainment than bar-hopping.  Nonetheless, it does feel a bit commercial.

Once you’re inside, there’s something you notice right away: ducks.  There are murals of ducks, paintings of ducks, decoys, statuettes, paraphernalia of ducks, everything but live quackers.  There is no doubt that you are at DUCKhorn.

All tastings are seated, served affairs in a sun-filled, high-beamed tasting room.  You will have a selection of Duckhorn wineries and often those of some of their sister wineries such as Paraduxx and Decoy.   You will always have some of the signature Merlot, as well others of their wines, which include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.  The servers, for the most part, are well versed in the wines they pour and can explain a lot about what you sample.

Tasting on the veranda.  Photo courtesy of Duckhorn Vineyards.

Another option is to take your glasses out to the wrap-around veranda and sip while you take in the vines and the Napa Valley hills.  There is something about the ambience, the quality of the wines and the interaction with your server that just relaxes you.  A walk around the gardens in warm weather only amplifies the feeling.

A particularly pleasant time to visit Duckhorn is around Christmas.  They decorate the winery beautifully, which adds to the “coming to the country for a visit with friends” atmosphere.  You almost expect to see a present under the tree with your name on it.

We at Power Tasting are not in the business of reviewing wines.  However, we can say that Duckhorn has made some very fine wines for a long time.  We do write about the pleasures of wine tasting from the perspective of the visitor and we can recommend a visit to Duckhorn quite without reservation (although reservations are required).  In our opinion, it is one of the best overall wine tasting experiences one can have in Napa Valley.

Vinauberge

This is another entry in Power Tasting’s catalog of great wine bars around the world, places to visit whenever you are in the area.  In previous issues, we have highlighted wine bars in Quebec City, London, Paris and other cities.  In this case, the destination is not in a city at all, but in a tiny village in the Languedoc.

If you are in the southwest of France, whether in a boat on the Canal du Midi or just wine tasting in the Languedoc, make a stop in the village of Poilhes.  No matter how that’s spelled, it’s pronounced POOH-ya.  The hamlet is surrounded on all sides by grape vines, as far as the eye  can see.  And in the middle of it is Vinauberge (http://www.vinauberge.com).

It is many things: a boutique hotel, a restaurant, a meeting hall and certainly not least a wine bar.  It is situated in a long-defunct wine cooperative, the location in a French grape growing region where viticulturists (that’s fancy Latin for grape farmers) take their crops to be pressed and made into wine.  An international group of investors bought the disused building and renovated and repurposed it.

For many American wine lovers, Languedoc’s wines are a bit of a mystery.  Maybe you’ve heard of Languedoc-Rousillion, Corbières, Minervois, St, Chinian, Faugères or Pic St. Loup.  Maybe not, and if you have you probably don’t know much about them.  If you tasted any of them years ago, you probably found them rough and highly acidic.  Today, there are many fine wines to be had in the Languedoc region, but trying them all requires time, travel and a resilient liver, plus some ability to speak French.  That’s where Vinauberge comes in.

Vinaubege on the banks for the Canal du Midi.

You may have seen those dispensers that for a dollar or two pours you a taste of a specific wine.  Your local wine shop may have one with half a dozen wines on offer.  Vinauberge has them too, with forty wines to sample.  Of course, facing forty unknown wines presents its own dilemma.  You certainly don’t want to try forty wines at a sitting.

Romuald (“Romu”) Barreau and his friendly colleagues are there to help you.  He first asked us what we wanted to taste and we replied we’d like to get to know the red wines.  Then he asked what our tastes in reds are. Steve prefers bold wines and Lucie goes for more elegant ones, so that called for more than one glass.  “Well, if you like this Faugères,” Romu said, “compare it with this St. Chinian.  Oh, and try this rosé”.  And, and, and.  Before we knew it, we had six glasses in front of us and we’d sipped who-knows-how-many different wines from around the Languedoc.

Romuald Barreau introducing us to Languedoc wines.

Aside from his generosity, Romu told us tales of the wine makers, their families, the history of the winery and other lore that only a local son of the vineyards would know.  We learned a great deal about Languedoc wines from Romu.  Of course, we bought several bottles when we left and we returned often.

One particular event is worth mentioning.  We happened to be in Poilhes the night of the annual harvest celebration, held at Vinauberge.  We shared dinner with more than a hundred vignerons and their families.  There’s something very special about being among the good, honest folk who work so hard so that we might open bottles of what they produce and get the enjoyment of a full-bodied glass of wine.

The vignerons and their families gather at Vinauberge for the harvest festival.

[Oh, by the way, it’s pronounced VIN-oh-berzh.]

What to Ask Your Server

People go wine tasting for a variety of reasons.  For some it’s to have a pleasant day in the country; for others it’s to celebrate a birthday or impending nuptials.  Unfortunately, there are still some who go just to get a little tipsy.  For us, the primary reason is to be educated about the vast range of wines and the techniques for making them.  Moreover, we love the experience of wine tasting, which is what Power Tasting is all about.

The educational aspect of wine tasting begins, of course, with what is poured into your glass.  We long ago learned to swirl the wine, smell it, admire the color and consider the expansion of the taste sensations as we sip and swallow it.  More than that, if one is really intent on learning, it is important in any endeavor to ask questions and reflect on the answers.

In discussing the kinds of questions to ask, let us make some assumptions.  First, there is no reason to be intimidated.  The server is there to aid you in the enjoyment of each winery’s products (and maybe to sell you a little) so all but the most harried or uninterested is going to be friendly and attempt to be helpful.  Let us also assume that the server has a basic understanding of the wines he or she is pouring and is able to answer reasonable questions. While it would be valuable if the server were a true educator with deep wine knowledge, that’s not necessary.  Finally, lets assume that the tasting room is not packed, with numerous visitors calling for the server’s attention.

Here are some recommendations for the kinds of questions a relatively inexperienced wine taster (or even some more experienced ones) might reasonably ask:

  • “Which wines are you best known for?”  It is probably easy to tell which are considered the winery’s best wines; they are the ones that are most expensive. But those might not be the ones they sell the most of or for which they have gained their reputation.  There’s a winery in Dry Creek that we return to often for their Zinfandels and Cabernet Sauvignons, but when we asked this question we were told that they sell far more Sauvignon Blanc than anything else.  This grape is not a particular favorite of ours but we then paid more attention to it at this winery and found we liked it quite a bit.
  • “How long until this wine reaches its peak?”  Almost every winery will tell you that their wines are ready to drink when they are released and, unless you are tasting in Bordeaux, this is generally true nowadays.  But drinkable is not the same as ideal, so this is a reasonable question, especially if you are considering buying some.  (You might want to invest in a Clef du Vin – also known as a Wine Key – to get an answer.)
  • “What foods would go well with this wine?”  Sometimes the answer is written on the back label.  You might also get a canned answer: white wines with fish and chicken, reds with meats and cheeses.  But perceptive wineries will often make specific recommendations about which wines are ideal for fine dining, barbecues or causal dinners.  You might get tips for not over – or underpowering – the food with which you open a particular bottle.  This also gives you an idea of how the wine maker positions his or her products.
  • “How does this vintage compare with the best in recent years?”  No one will tell you that any specific harvest produced substandard wines.  But 2014 was spectacular in Napanoma; so was 2010 in Bordeaux and Chianti.  So by giving the serve a benchmark, you might get some valuable information.  You won’t be told that the wine in your glass is inferior, but you may be told that it is lighter, more fruity or more elegant.  And if you’re lucky, the server might open one of the older bottles and let you judge for yourself.

Great Experience; So-So Wine

It is Power Tasting’s policy not to give bad reviews of any wineries.  We feel that there are so many wonderful wines and so many owners who do their best to make their visitors feel welcome that there is no need for negativism.  If we feel that a particular winery makes poor wine, the less said the better.  But Power Tasting is about the experience of wine tasting as a whole: the architecture, ambiance, scenery and décor as well as the wines themselves.

We are not arrogant enough to think that we have the last word on the quality of wines; if a winery is in business, someone must like what they sell.  There are some wineries where we are not crazy about the wines but find the overall experience to be pleasurable.

If we had all the time in the world to go wine tasting and an infinite capacity to imbibe alcohol, we could just visit tasting room after tasting room without a care.  But our time in Wine Country is limited and precious and, as with everyone, we need to be cautious about how much we drink, even if we are only sipping.  So it becomes a question of how we treat those establishments where we don’t appreciate the wines but do enjoy all the rest.

Certain places come to mind, although we will not mention names.  There is one in Napa Valley decorated with fine antiques, with a large fireplace and comfortable sofas and chairs.  It would be the library of our dreams, the kind of place where we would sit with a vin de méditation and read great literature.  But we don’t like the wine.

There is another in the southwest of France, high up on a hill with a grand castle and magnificent views over the valley.  It is out of the way and hard to find, so it is never busy.  We could easily fantasize that it was ours, where we would host grand dinners in the garden, overlooking the vines.  But we don’t like the wine.

Another example is a fine old Long Island mansion with “good bones” as the realtors would have it.  It is quite historic in the North Fork’s brief history.  There seem to be concerts and weddings there every weekend.  But we don’t like the wine.

So what to say about these places?  We know about them because we visited them without having any idea of what we would find.  Even though we were disappointed in the wines we tasted, we took some enjoyment from our visits.  We often urge visitors in a section of Wine Country they have never visited to do their homework and learn about the better wineries before they go, but it’s not a bad idea to take a chance every once in a while.  We have made some great discoveries that way.

Even if you are not enjoying the wine you’re being served, take advantage of the aspects of the building and the tasting room that you do like.  Carry your glass with you and look around and soak up the pleasures that that winery offers you.  There’s a great chance you’ll never pass this way again, so enjoy it while you’re there.

How Not to Get Lost in the Languedoc

We Americans like our driving to be easy.  We like highways and when we go wine tasting, we like there to be a few main roads that take us to all the wineries.  In Napa Valley it’s Route 29 and the Silverado Trail.  In Sonoma County it’s Route 101.  In some parts of Europe they feel the same way.  The main roads are the D2 in the Médoc and the Route des Grands Crus in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or.

The Languedoc is much older than these regions, wilder, more spread out and frankly, poorer.  Each appellation is somewhat self-contained covering a wide swath without much of a center point.  The vineyards and wineries are often on small, single-lane roads quite removed from the major roads.  These “major roads” are themselves two lanes wide and often twist through villages and turn around precipices.

The village of Minerve, for which the Minervois is named

Of course, you can use a GPS, as we did.  We named the voice of our guide Fifi and in fairness she always seemed to know the shortest route.  But the shortest is often (in fact, usually) not the best and we spent way too much time in a car that was narrower by two inches on either side than the paved road, following a tractor that was going ten miles an hour.  Passing was out of the question.

So if you’re going to go wine tasting in the Languedoc – and we hope you do – here are a few tips for getting around.

  • Don’t just rely on Fifi.  Check out the roads on the Internet before you set out.  If Google Maps says you should go the D11 to the D612 to the D909 and Fifi tries to take you on some tiny road, ignore her.  If despite that you do get lost, she can bail you out…eventually.
  • Get a good map.  Presumably, the French know where they’re going but you don’t.  So when you’re driving, say, to the Minervois, you want to go in the direction of Narbonne, until you don’t.  The map will let you pick off the names of towns and villages that are along your route so you can tell the difference between making headway and getting lost.  Particularly in the Languedoc, the names of towns can be confusing.  Murveil-les-Beziers is not the same place as Beziers, nor is Cazouls-les-Beziers.  You’ll get to Poilhes before you can learn to pronounce it.

The view from the walls of Beziers

  • Watch the signs closely.  The French are quite good at marking their roads.  If you keep a sharp eye, you’ll see the major destination on a green field at the top of road signs with several of the next villages listed below.  In the major winemaking areas, you will see signs pointing to châteaux and domaines with just barely enough time to take the indicated exit.  Then just keep going; eventually there will be another sign telling you where the winery is.

This sort of advice is useful in the Languedoc, but it’s also applicable in other less traveled areas of Wine Country.  So if you blunder about a bit, don’t worry.  Just enjoy the scenery.  You will get somewhere, if not always where you expected to go.

Château Grézan

There are so many French wines called Château This and Château That that it’s a surprise to find out, when you visit, that the chateau is little more than a farm house, if that.  Château is the French word for a castle and you would expect that the building on the premises of the vineyard would be at least a great house, if not a palace.

In California, the desire for such grandeur is reflected in some of the wineries’ names, such as Chateau Saint Jean and Chateau Montelena.  (To be fair, the winery at Chateau Montelena is quite grand.)  You can visit Castello Amoroso in Calistoga and see a recreated Tuscan castle, but remember this is the Disney version and all of it is fake.

Or you could go to the Languedoc, in Faugères region, and visit Château Grézan.  From the main road you will see a sign pointing towards the winery and if you look quickly, you’ll see the tops of a few towers.  You’ll drive up a long lane and then, suddenly, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are just before you.  This is the real deal, a castle.  You’ll drive through the large stone gate and park and someone will come to welcome you to taste the wines of Château Grézan (http://chateaugrezan-famillecrospujol.com/).

You’ll have a chance for what the French call a degustation and we call a wine tasting, of which more later.  But first a few words about the chateau.  There has been an edifice here since the 14th century.  In fact, the Cros-Pujol family, owners of the chateau and the vineyards, say that this has been a crossroads since Roman times.  It was a stopping place for pilgrims going to Compostela and it was an important regional base for the Knights Templar during the Crusades.  However, the castle fell into disrepair.  What you see now was reconstructed in 1824, inspired by the romantic vision of the Middle Ages that was rampant at the time.  Okay, Château Grézan is not an 800 year old chateau, but nearly 200 years is good enough for us.

You can sip Château Grézan’s wines in a stone-walled tasting room that is somewhat reminiscent of those in Napa Valley or Sonoma County.  There’s a bar and a table featuring giftware and there’s a rack of t-shirts.  The wines you can taste are red, white and rosé and they come in four categories: Les Icones (icons), La Collection, Les Appellations and Les Secrets de Famille.

The soil of Faugères is rather poor and stony, with schist being the predominant factor.  It gives the wines a spicy finish and they tend to be big round wines in this region.  Château Grézan’s top wine in the Faugères appellation (at least in price) is Les Schistes Dorés.  Oddly enough, we preferred their least expensive wine, the Grezan Rouge, which is a bit softer and more approachable.

There is one wine in the Family Secrets category, called Seculaire, that is 100% Carignan.  It is an unquestionable power hitter and should be aged for eight to ten years before drinking.  It cannot be marketed as a Faugères, since the appellation requires all wines to be blends.

The prices are a shock to Americans.  The Les Schistes Dorés is 25 euros ($29.50) and our favorite, the Grezan Rouge, is only nine euros ($10.60).  All that and a castle too!  How can you pass it by?

The Canal du Midi

Back in 1666, when Louis XIV was 28 years old and not yet the Sun King, he and his ministers decided to actualize a long-held dream: to connect Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea via a canal running through the Midi, a familiar name for the Southwest of France.  The engineering work fell to Pierre-Paul Riquet, who is still celebrated in that region, and it was completed by 1681.  All of which is mildly interesting history, except for the fact that you can boat, live and walk or bike along the Canal du Midi today.  If you are visiting Languedoc for wine tasting, leave yourself some time to enjoy the canal as well.

For the most part, the canal wends its way through shady glades and lovely little villages.  Life does not go very fast along the Canal du Midi.  It is 240 km. long but only 10 meters wide, just enough for two rather narrow boats to pass by.  You couldn’t go fast if you wanted to, unless you wanted to smash your boat against one that is anchored on the side, drown in a lock or take your head off passing under a low stone bridge.  So you are forced to slow down your inner clock, take it easy and enjoy the scenery.

Sometimes the best part of that scenery is the willows and reeds along the banks.  On others, it’s the pretty small villages along the canal and also the glimpse of castles and cathedrals off in the distance.  And if you’re walking or biking along the banks rather than boating, there are pleasant pathways that give way to breathtaking vistas especially, so we have found, as sunset approaches.  Both the boaters and the walkers seem to enjoy a friendly wave as they pass one another.

Our personal experience has been to take a tour from just outside Toulouse to a turning point half way to Carcassonne.  It’s only 30 or so kilometers and can be driven in a half an hour, but it took us all day.  There are other, similar tours all up and down the canal.  Make sure you find one that goes further than just around the sections that are in urban areas.  Nothing against cities, but the joy of the canal is the French countryside as you glide by. We have also spent time in a house along the canal, which was wonderful.

Another idea is to make the Canal du Midi the vacation itself.  We haven’t done it ourselves, but we know that you can rent a boat (called a péniche) and pilot yourself along the canal.  There are dinky little boats available as well as large cruisers that sleep up to 10 people, although we mostly have seen parties of six or fewer.  From what we can see from the banks, the most popular rental agency is the unimaginatively named company, Le Boat (www.leboat.com).

There are numerous places along the canal where you can pull up and spend the night or a few days.  If you are next to a village, you can pick up groceries or have your meals in cafés or serious French restaurants that line the shores.  It’s the best fun you’ll ever have in the 17th century.