Wednesday was a big day for us. In addition to the Tour de France, we also went to a special wine dinner at Domaine Faverot.
Domaine Faverot is a small wine estate owned by Francois and Sally Faverot de Kerbrech. Despite François’ name (and an ancestry that is both French and German), he is extremely British… as is Sally. They have long had a dream to move to France, buy a vineyard, and make wine, and that dream became a reality a few years ago when they bought and restored this small wine estate at the foot of the Petit Luberon. The U-shaped building includes the winery, their own home, and four attractive rental apartments.
We spent several hours at Domaine Faverot with our Luberon Experience groups this May for a tour, tasting, and wonderful lunch in the courtyard. It was a highlight of our week, in large part because François and Sally are such welcoming hosts. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to get an inside look at a small, family-owned winery. François is a great storyteller and very funny. Before they moved to France, they owned a restaurant in England for many years, and Sally prepares a beautiful meal.
The vineyards at Domaine Faverot (photo taken May 2007)
When we visited in May, Sally suggested we might like to attend one of their Vignerons dinners in the summer. This summer they planned three dinners (one each in June, July and August), open to the general public for a price of 35 euro per person. And so there we were on this evening, prepared for another magical visit to Domaine Faverot.
There were about 30 people at the dinner. (I think Sally normally plans for 20, but she said the group always seems to expand.) The group included Sally and François, an older couple who were helping them with the meal, and their friend Faye from England who comes each fall for the vendange (grape harvest) and was there now to help with the “green harvest.” Some of the people seemed to be guests who at the rental apartments, including a few small children. The rest of the group was English-speaking... visitors and expatriates who live in this area year-round or part-time: British, American, Australian and even a former Belgian diplomat who now lives in Avignon with his American wife. Several of the expats seemed to know each other, but other than Sally and François, we didn’t know anyone.
The evening began with a tour. François took us down into the vineyard and talked about growing grapes. Domaine Faverot is an organic winery and they do a lot of work here by hand. The “green harvest” involves selectively-removing individual leaves from the vines to allow more sunlight to reach the grapes during these final weeks of growth. Because the weather can vary considerably each year in this area, winemakers must alter their strategy in order to produce the best possible grapes. This has been a difficult year weather-wise with periods of heavy rain and more recently drought. François showed us some damage caused by a major hailstorm this past May.
I learn something new everytime I tag along on one of François’ tours. This was the first time Kelly has toured a vineyard, and she was extremely interested. The winery itself is very small, and those of us who had been before stayed in the courtyard and chatted and got an early start on our tasting. Charley and I like the Faverot wine and have bought several cases in the years we’ve been coming to the Luberon.
At the dinner we sat with a British couple Michael and Jane, who have a house in Cabrières d’Avignon. They live half the year here and half the year in Grasmere in the Lake District of England. François, Faye (their houseguest), and the older French woman Silvetta were also at our table, and we had an active and fun group. I enjoyed talking with Faye and Jane, and François and Michael were extremely funny… both with that droll British wit.
Charley and Faye at our dinner table
Jane is a retired architect, which is Kelly’s career interest. (She just finished a three week summer camp in architecture.) They had a long, very adult conversation. The group was shocked when we mentioned that Kelly would be turning 14 this weekend. François thought she was eighteen!!!!! I think this is due to her physical appearance and also the maturity of her interactions and conversations. Tonight she was on quite a roll... even (to my dismay) discussing politics!!! Silvetta spoke no English, so this was an opportunity for both Kelly and I to practice our French. I think Kelly did much better than I did, and Silvetta really seemed to like her.
The meal was excellent, served outside in the courtyard, with free-flowing Faverot wine. To begin there was a variety of appetizers. The first course was a half melon with local ham. The main course was a cold buffet served uniquely on an old farm wagon. The buffet featured fresh local produce and included chicken and asparagus with a coriander sauce, a crespeau (a layered omelette almost like a stack cake… very good and very attractive), a couple of wonderful vegetable tarts, salade… and I’m sure I’ve forgotten something. For dessert there was very good cheese and fruit. Plenty of food!!!
The buffet table at the Vignerons dinner
We arrived at 7:00 pm and didn’t leave until after 11:00 pm. Kelly was bubbling with enthusiasm over the evening, although she had been reluctant at the beginning. I think she was very flattered to be taken for eighteen!
