Vinisud - The Prologue (and how to get lost in Montpellier)

So..... Where was I, before I was so rudely interrupted by the need to taste those wonderful Burgundies I told you about the other night? Oh yes - we were on our way south, heading for a 3-day jaunt in Montpellier, for the bi-annual Vinisud.

As usually happens with us, it wasn't an entirely uneventful journey - a 10pm ferry was followed by a good few hours driving through the night before my body (and my tired eyes) could go no further. We stopped in a lay-by near Chartres, to grab a couple of hours of fitful sleep, before waking to a beatiful, cold, clear morning with a view across open fields of the Cathedral in the distance.

Chartres Cathedral by dawn's early light

A quick dash to the autoroute and a stop for a wash and brush-up at the nearest service station was followed by the rather uninteresting drive towards Clermont Ferrand, before the much prettier ascent of the Massif Central (preceded by a quick stop for a cup of coffee and steak frites at my favourite service station just south of Clermont). This ompressive stretch of motorway winds its way uphill and down dale for a good 150 miles, rarely falling below 800 metres above sea level and often climbing as high as 1100 metres. The weather can be changeable at the best of times - even in summer - but in winter, the combination of cold temperatures and precipitation often equals snow. Which is just what we got, and at times there were blizzard conditions, making for some rather difficult driving.

From blizzard conditions crossing the Massif Central on the A75..................

By the time we approached Millau (we have "done" the viaduct several times, so a quick detour through the town lost us 15 minutes on the journey but saved us 7 Euros) the weather was beginning to pick up. An hour later and we were descending the the hills and tunnels of the Espinouse under cloudless skies and the temperature gradually rose to an almost balmy 14c(!)

........to glorious sunshine over the hills of the Haut Languedoc

We were headed for Montpellier, where we would be staying for 3 nights in an apartment provided courtesy of our hosts Jon Hesford and Rachel Treloar. Just as we were approaching the intersection for the autoroute into central Montpellier, Rachel called on the mobile and I instinctively answered it (most unlike me, as I am well aware that is avery naughty thing to do whilst driving!). We were still talking as I drove straight past my exit without a word from TLD (wives tend to be terrible navigators at the best of times.....). The result was a further 20 kilometres in the wrong direction, before a long trek across country. Why go the direct route, when you can drive in a big triangle and make yourself very late for a rendezvous?!

By the time we reached Montpellier it was getting dark and we seemed to be driving around in circles for ages before I stopped the car on a narrow thoroughfare (making it rather difficult for the hooting locals to get by). After a drive of 1,000 miles, being completely lost in the middle of a big city, with a maze of narrow streets (many of which are not navigable by car) is an immensely frustrating experience and I wasn't a happy bunny. So I phoned Jon to tell him that I wasn't moving until someone came to find us and escort us to the nearest car park to the apartment. I don't very often have a hissy fit, but this was a big one. ;-) Eventually, Jon, Rachel and our good friend Stewart Travers from Cambridge Wines eventually tracked us down and led us to a car park, helped us carry our luggage to the apartment and left us to unpack. Our apartment was located about 10 minutes' walk from their apartment, so it took further phone calls to Jon in order for us to navigate our way through the maze (mercifully this time on foot) to where they were. By this time, it was too late for Rachel to be bothered with preparing a meal, so we all descended on an Italian restaurant for some rather good food and a few glasses of local wine, before returning to our respective apartments for a well-earned night's sleep in comfy beds - though not before Diane and I got thoroughly lost again, this time traipsing around the (by now deserted) streets of the old city for almost half an hour before finding our apartment! Laugh? We nearly did...... It certainly wasn't the last time we got lost (if I lived in Montpellier for a year, I probably still wouldn't know my way around) but - as is usually the case with these things - we already look back with much amusement on that night. And Jon's mirth at my inabilty to navigate my way out of a paper bag (which he didn't attempt to conceal at the time) came back to haunt him a few days later - but that's another story.........

The following morning, it was off to Vinisud and a hectic day of tasting. I'll tell you all about Day 1 (or at least part of it) in my next post, which will - for reasons that will soon become clear - follow in double quick time..........