"Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience." Francis Bacon

The Stump Jump, Shiraz 2008

The Wine Spectator not only gave this McLaren Vale wine 90 points, but it also made it into the 2009 Top 100 Wines of the Year.

The label describes it as “gently crushed, fermented in open tanks, basket pressed and matured prior to bottling.”

The praise heaped upon this wine is richly deserved.  It has deep tastes of dark berries (blackberry and cherry).  An approachable wine, it displays some sweet fruit, relatively high alcohol (14.5%), and a nice mineral finish.  You may want to use a wine funnel with this wine as several bottles seem to have had lots of sediment.  The bottles have a screw top.  (I approve!)

So good that I bought a case of this wine, and I am off to buy a second one!  At only $10.99 a bottle, it is a terrific bargain.  It is going to be my “house wine” as long as it lasts.  Recommended.  A “must buy” wine if you can get your hands on it.

Readers in Columbia, Maryland can still get it at The Perfect Pour, where it is $10.99 before they have applied their case discount.  (Note that this post is written on March 9, 2009.  I doubt if it will be there for more than a few more weeks.)

Le Château Fort et son Musée Pyrénéan
Rue de Bourg
651 000
Lourdes

Tel: 0(033) 562 42 37 37

www.chateaufort-lourdes.fr

Prominently perched on the top of a high rock in the middle of Lourdes, the Château Fort (or stronghold) is virtually impossible for anyone to miss when they arrive in the city. It was certainly the first thing that caught my eye after I had made my way from the train station into the centre of town.

Attracted by this imposing yet fitting monument’s reign over the city, I navigated the streets below, and weaved my way towards the jutting outcrop of rock that is the castle’s base. Easily guided by a constant view of my destination, I found the entrance fairly quickly- a little wooden cabin on the north east side of the castle. I enquired about prices, and found that they were as follows:

Adults: 5 euros
Students: 3 euros
Children: 3 euros
Children under 6: free
Family (of 4): 12 euros

After paying the entrance fee, you have the choice of taking the lift or the stairs up to the castle. Not wanting to miss any views of either the city or the exterior of the castle, and rather liking the idea of the walk up anyway, I took the stairs. Seeing the castle slowly approach as you climb the stairs was a wonderful way of experiencing it for the first time, and I would advise everyone to do so, unless there’s a real reason you need the lift.

After you have reached the castle, you are guided around its interior by white arrows, sometimes formed of mosaic on the floor, other times just painted on the walls. You follow these through a variety of reconstructed rooms, taking you from an 18th century kitchen to a 19th Century bedroom. Some are even complete with models of appropriately dressed people.

Some of the rooms you’re guided through are more museum-like, with glass cabinets of numbered artefacts ranging from ploughs to candle-holders. Amongst the topics of the rooms are: wine-making, agriculture, funeral candles, weaving, Samadet porcelain and Pyrenean costumes. Each display has information boards which I found interesting, but would be of little use to anyone who doesn’t have a fairly good level of French, as they are not available in any other language. There are free 8 page paper leaflets available at the entrance in multiple European languages however, which give you basic information about most of the rooms you are led through.

A highlight of this tour is the view from the defensive platform at the south end of the castle, which gives you a 360 panorama of the city and the mountains. It is far more impressive than the disappointing keep, which, though higher, has no open roof and is therefore not nearly as good for views, as you have to peer out of the small, low windows.

The majority of the courtyard at the base of the keep has been turned into a pleasing botanic garden which works well against the stone of the cobbled floor and surrounding walls, and presents some species of Pyrenean fauna.

Dotted about the botanic garden are delightful little 1/10 scale models of Pyrenean (both French and Spanish) architecture, which kept me entertained for a good while.

I then descended the on the west side of the castle planning to exit on a different side. More wonderful views met me on the steep and sometimes cobbly way down.

I reached the Pyrenean cemetery at the bottom, had a quick glance at the tombstones and sarcophagi, and headed towards the big wooden gate. It was locked. I didn’t mind much as there had been lovely views on the way down, and, on reflection, I probably would have gone down and up again even if I had known I couldn’t get out that way. For anyone who doesn’t want an unnecessary descent and climb however, you have been warned! The real ways of getting back down from the castle are the same as those to get up: the stairs or lift on the east side of the castle.

I climbed back up the slope and, once back in the main courtyard, was spotted by a caretaker who had seen me go down and come up again. Clearly assuming that this a pointless excursion had bothered me, he kindly directed me into the lift on the other side of the castle, and, obviously thinking I was desperately thick too, pushed the down button for me before I had a chance to think up the kindest way to tell him I didn’t want his assistance as I would far rather take the steps back down. Alas.

I would definitely recommend a trip to the castle for anyone visiting Lourdes. At just 5 euros for marvellous views and a visit to a castle, museum and botanic garden all in one, it is well worth the price. I went around the castle in a very relaxed way, reading most information boards, and spent just under 2 hours there. You would be pretty hard pushed to try and spend more than 2 and a half hours I think, but trying to fit the castle into say an hour however, would be both stressful and wasteful in my opinion.

The bottle of Geyserville, 2007

If you think of Ridge Geyserville as a Zinfandel, look at this year’s label:  58% Zinfandel, 22% Carignane, 18% Petite Syrah, 2% Mataro (Mourvedre).

I am a great fan of Ridge, and this actually went way beyond my expectations.  At 14.4%, this wine had the best qualities of California Zinfandel-based wine with added complexity.  In addition to the deep blackberry fruit, there were added notes of chocolate, liquorice, and spiciness that created a marvelous sense of sophistication.   I suspect that this wonderful wine would have improved with age, but it was sensational when we drank it tonight.  Usually, you think of very drinkable wines as lacking in elegance and finesse.  This wine eloquently explains why that does not have to be true.

Our guest paid about $35 for this wine, which is more than our usual bottle price, but it was worth every penny of his money!  Highly recommended.

One thing I love about Ridge is the detail they provide for the consumers on the back of the bottle.  Click here to see the level of detail that they provide.  I think it is impressive.

Finally, I looked back at the last Geyserville I had written about when I had the 1999.  What a totally different wine!  It is interesting to see how differently the wine is made!  Click here for my tasting notes.

I had read a lot about Canadian Icewine for years, but I had never actually tried it until I flew in the First Class cabin of a British Airways flight from Washington to London in 2001.  The wine they served after dinner was a Riesling Icewine from Henry of Pelham.  I was hooked and resolved to try other Icewines and find out as much I could about them.  But I have never had an Icewine that is better than the ones from this little winery in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Icewines from Ontario are picked at temperatures from -8 to -13 degrees (centigrade).  The idea is that the grapes are frozen.  Then they are crushed enabling a separation of the water from the grape juice.  All grapes affected by botrytis cinerea (noble rot) are removed from the mix.  This results in age worthy, highly concentrated wine with a wonderful balance of sweetness and acidity.  I find they go nicely with rich pâté or blue cheese or fruit-based desserts.

I travel fairly often to Canada, and they sell Icewine at the duty free shops at the border.  Although I have tried many of them, I have never had better than those from Henry of Pelham, and, although they cost just a little bit more, I find that the Rieslings are much nicer than more commonly sold Vidals.

Tonight’s Riesling from Henry of Pelham was no disappointment.  Our guest wondered how Icewine fared with a little age on it.  My reply was that I did not know, but we would soon find out.  What a treat this was!

I had stored this wine in a wine refrigerator at 13 degrees Celsius since I bought it from the winery.  It was a little darker than I remember it when it was younger, but it had gained a nutty (hazelnuts?) complexity without losing any of its fruity acidity and freshness on the tip of the tongue as it enters your mouth.  It almost sparkled on the tip of the tongue.

To me, this is the gold standard in Canadian Icewine, and tonight’s experience showed that age only improves it.  If you are ever in the area, visit this winery.  The staff know their wines well and are honest in their assessment of the various vintages. I have been there twice and emerged on each occasion feeling more enlightened clutching my precious treasures.  By all means, try the Vidal, which is good.  But the few extra dollars for the Riesling are well spent.

I have had several years of the Icewine from Henry of Pelham, and I have never been disappointed.

I had a special invitation today from The Secret Sherry Society, which represents wine’s best kept secret….Sherry.

In partnership with The Embassy of Spain and Maryland Institute College of Art, they are hosting a cocktail reception next Monday evening (March 8th, 2010) at MICA with a senior mixologist from Washington, D.C.’s Jaleo.

And, very graciously, they are extending this invitation to all readers of louisandlouisa.com!  How very,very nice!

Preview Spain Arts and Culture 2010

6PM-10PM

Maryland Institute College of Art

1300 Mount Royal Avenue

Baltimore, MD 21216

6PM Cocktail reception hosted by The Secret Sherry Society with senior mixologist from Washington, D.C.’s award-winning Jaleo Restaurant.

7PM Lecture with world renowned designers and architects, Toormix, Nacho Carbonell and Vicent Guallart.

Sherry is indeed one of wine’s best secrets!  And I will be writing about sherry in the next few weeks.

Jaleo is also one of the area’s most interesting restaurants.  It is owned by José Andrés, who trained under Ferran Adria, the person behind El Bulli, one of the world’s most famous restaurants.  I love his food, his restaurants, and his television programs!

I will definitely be going, and it might be a nice opportunity to say hello to people who follow louisandlouisa!  If you are coming, drop me a note (louis@louisandlouisa.com) or comment, and I’ll look out for you!

Rue du Pont d’Arras
Les Grands Thermes Bagnères de Bigorre
France

Tel: 0(033) 562 95 86 95

Aquensis, a luxury thermal spa in the French town of Bagnères de Bigorre, takes its name from ‘Vicus Aquensis’, the latin for the town. This name shows what the Romans valued the settlement for- they were attracted by its natural warm springs, and Aquensis has cashed in on the town’s history to create an expensive luxury health resort.

Architecturally bizarre, Aquensis combines an ornate 19th Century building with a modern glass and wood porch surrounded with palm trees. I found myself automatically and involuntarily mildly offended by this seemingly misjudged disparity, before worrying I might be being a bit too conservative and deciding to make an effort to give this odd combination a chance.

I entered and found myself in a grand marble entrance hall with a strange strip of wiggly blue down the centre of the room, leading to a screen of glass and wood at the end.

Inexplicably drawn to the strange blue wiggle, I followed it along to the glass screen and peered between the beams of wood into what was obviously the main chamber of the spa.

Looking in at this room, I found myself close to laughter: it was as though someone, in a gesture of the greatest blasphemy, had taken the floor out of a small but pleasantly formed church (for some reason made of wood), inserted various random shaped pools and irrevently dropped in a few swimsuit clad heretics to complete the peculiar picture.

Aquensis itself describes its pools as `splendidly highlighted by an original architecture which sets up the site as a real Cathedral of the Well-being.’

At 16 euros for a two hour pass, I decided to give the spa a miss… I didn’t have any particular urge to mooch about in warm water for 2 hours at any rate.

I would advise anyone going to Bagnères de Bigorre to pay a visit to Aquensis to see its bizarre architecture at least. Whether you then decide to pay 16 euros (or more) to sample its waters as well is up to you… and your budget.

My most recent journey was from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Frankfurt (FRA), and it was during the week that the Washington area had its heaviest snow in years.  As it seemed doubtful whether I would leave the ground at all, I decided to arrive early and resigned myself to leaving late as delays on that day seemed (and were) completely inevitable.

I have always had a thing about Dulles airport.  The worst thing is that there is almost nothing to do there.  If you are at a major international airport, whether we are talking about Heathrow (LHR) or Frankfurt (FRA), there are always shops, restaurants, and bars where you can amuse yourself.  With about 23.2 million passengers in 2009, Dulles is among the world’s top thirty airports in terms of passengers, but it really does not feel like a major airport in terms of the facilities that it offers to its passengers.

The most clunky thing at Dulles airport is what they call the mobile lounge.  These are huge buses that take you from terminal to terminal.  They are painfully slow, create extra congestion on the airfield,  and are usually crowded.

Fortunately, change is coming.  First, there seem to be lots more shops, bars, and restaurants.  An annoying thing is that you can’t actually buy your duty-free and carry it yourself to the plane — it has to be delivered.  But I think that is an “American” thing rather than something peculiar to Dulles Airport.

But perhaps the best improvement is the arrival of the AeroTrain, which opened to the public on January 26th, 2009.

Now you can simply go to a modern well appointed station and in two minutes, you can get to your terminal.  There are still mobile lounges serving Terminal C and to take international passengers to immigration and customs inspection, but what an improvement!

People often press me for my favorite wine.  For a wine lover, this is a complicated question.  It raises so many questions.  Are we talking red or white?  What food is going to go with?  And are you talking about a specific wine, or are you talking about an area?

But if we want to keep the discussion really short.  Generally, I take reds more seriously than whites.  (I cannot justify that very well!)  And, if I am going to treat myself extra well, I head for Bordeaux.  And, I prefer Bordeaux reds that predominantly use Cabernet Sauvignon.  Finally, the area within Bordeaux that  I usually prefer is Pauillac.  Perhaps this is because it was a Pauillac wine, Chateau Batailley 1966, that got me started on this life long pursuit of good wine!

I am including this background because, for the wine we had on this occasion, I think my expectations were too high.  After all Grand Puy Ducasse has a reliable reputation and 2000 was a stellar year in Bordeaux. (Grand Puy Ducasse was classified as a fifth growth in the classification of 1855.) We also thought it would be completely ready to drink as Decanter described it as “Earthy, savoury, appealing, round, ripe, elegant. Some complexity, developing quite fast. Extremely drinkable. Drink up to 2009.”  Puy Ducasse also occupies a prime location with some land next to Lafite and Mouton, and another parcel adjacent to Chateau Batailley.

Prélude à Grand Puy Ducasse is one of the two second labels of this producer.  (The other is Chateau Artigues-Arnaud.)  A second label is often an excellent way of getting to taste wine from the greatest producers at a lower price that you pay for their flagship brand.

But something was wrong despite the fact that it had been stored impeccably.  There was no sign of cork damage either.  To me it certainly earthy but in a crude and unrefined way.  If you looked for it, you could find some good Cabernet fruit, but I found this wine rather unappealing and lacking in elegance.  There were the nice cedary bits that you look for in a Pauillac, but the finish was thin and even somewhat vegetal.  No more than an OK wine.  I hoped it would mark a rather special occasion, and it was a disappointment.

P F Chang’s China Bistro

10300 Little Patuxent Parkway, Suite 302

Columbia, MD 21044

Click here for a Google map

Strong branding, fresh tasty Asian-influenced food, moderate prices, and a stylish look combine to make sure that these “Chinese” restaurants are always full.  They are found all over the United States usually in upscale malls like the one in Columbia, Maryland, where we went.  P F Chang’s also has an imaginatively compiled wine list with interesting wine that you would not expect to find in a chain.  Offerings include Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc (2008), Cakebread Chardonnay (2007), Seghesio “Old Vine” Zinfandel (2007), and Dry Creek Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (2005).

More recently they have gone international with branches in Kuwait and Mexico City.

We decided to go today to check out their happy hour, which is from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm every day.  They offer a short menu with some of their favorite dishes at the bar with reduced prices for both drinks and food.

We had crispy green beans ($4.00), Sichuan Chicken Flatbread, a quesadilla with an Asian accent ($4.00), Shrimp Dumplings ($5.00), and Seared Ahi Tuna ($6.00).  For drinks, I had a soda water ($2.25), and my wife had a Stella Artois draft beer ($3.00).

We didn’t have their chicken lettuce wraps ($4.00), which I always enjoy, but they are on the “happy hour” menu too.  If you have not tried these before, make sure you do!

The food was delicious except that the beans were really greasy.  I especially liked the dumplings, which were stuffed with good fat succulent shrimps.  The Ahi Tuna was tasty, juicy, and nicely seasoned.  We were both completely full after the meal.

The service was excellent, and my soda water was refilled all the time.  The total including tax was $25.71.  A real bargain for good food in a stylish place.  Highly recommended.

My only complaint about P F Chang’s is that there always seems to be a long wait if you want to eat at a table.  The happy hour at the bar where we were seated immediately is a great solution.

This post is really intended mostly for US residents who want to travel overseas, although some of the principles apply globally.

Some readers may feel cheated because they’ve been away and they come back home to find huge mobile phone bills waiting for them.  Most carriers have international calling plans that allow customers to phone home at a discounted rate, but it is still not exactly cheap.  For example, AT&T offers an international calling plan for an extra $5.00 per month.  Then you can use your cell phone abroad.   If you have that plan and you’re in England, you can then phone back to the United States for $0.20 per minute, which is not too bad, but you also have to pay that rate if you want to make a call to an English number.  Worse, when your English friends call you, they have to pay international charges because they are calling an American number.

My usual solution to this problem is to get a local “pay-as-you-go” plan in the country you are visiting.  I have done this in Spain, Italy, Greece, Thailand, and England, and it works quite well.  This is what you need to do.

1.  First make sure that your phone uses GSM technology.  This is the most popular standard for cellular phones internationally.  (In the United States, AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM, but Verizon doesn’t.)  If you are Verizon subscriber, you can usually get a quad band phone for a reasonable price on eBay.

2.  Make sure that your phone is a quad-band phone.  This basically means that it will work on pretty much all the frequencies that are used around the world.  (Dual band phones bought in the United States won’t work at all, and tri-band results are somewhat unpredictable.)

3.  Make sure that your phone is “unlocked.”  When you buy a phone in the United States, a phone company typically sells it to you for just a fraction of its real cost.  They recover the cost of the phone through your monthly charges, and they lock the phone to the carrier so that you can’t get a cheap phone and then switch to another carrier.  AT&T and T-Mobile are both willing to give you the unlock code and they tell you how to unlock the phone after you have paid your bill for a few months.  You can also buy unlocked phones on eBay.

4.  Go to a mobile phone shop in the country you are visiting, and ask for a SIM card.  This is the subscriber identity module, and it is a little chip that looks a bit like the SD cards used in cameras.  You can usually get one for a very low price or sometimes they are free, and this establishes your account with the local phone company, and it comes with a local mobile number.  You can then top up your account with money whenever it is running short.

I use O2, when I am in the UK.  My rates are 25 pence a minutes for the first three minutes on any a particular day and 3 pence a minute for the rest of the day.  I also have a “bolt on” that cost me a one-time charge of five pounds.  This allows me to call the United States on evenings and weekends for 10 pence a minute.  Text messaging is free and unlimited to UK numbers on this plan and 10 pence to send a text to the US.

There is a trend to move towards plans that have a monthly cost, but those are probably suitable only for the very frequent visitor or a person who is staying for a few moths.

A few tips:

1.  Remember that in most countries it is relatively expensive to call a mobile phone.  So, you can run up that large bill at home if your family calls you on your mobile.  It is better to call them.  You can always call back based on the caller ID.

2.  Don’t put too much money in the phone.  O-2 cancels accounts if they have not been used for six months.  (I sometimes make a short call from the United States to stop that from happening.)

3.  In many countries (Italy, Spain, and Thailand, for example), you need to have identification with you to get a SIM card.  Make sure you have your passport with you when you go shopping.

4.  Plans are frequently changing.  Go to the vendor and tell them what you want to do.  They will frequently give you good advice about the optimal plan.

5.  Most phones have dual voltage chargers.  Make sure that the charger can be used anywhere in the world.  It’s a real bore if you need to carry two of them.

6.  There is a good case for using the same phone as you usually use.  (I use a Blackberry.  It is convenient to have my address book on the phone, but I also don’t have to figure out how to use a different phone.)

7.  Calling from cruise ships can be painfully expensive.  My best advice is simply not to do it!  Also, if a ship is in or near a port, make sure that you are connected to the local phone company rather than the cruise ship’s connection.

8. “Pay as you go” plans are quite common in Europe, and you can usually top up your phone almost anywhere (banks, grocery stores, post offices, and so on).  Mine comes with a card.  You hand over the money and the vendor swipes the card.  You almost instantly get a text confirming that your payment has been credited to your account.

I’ll put more information in a future post about how I stay in touch while abroad at relatively low cost.