The Fifth Day: Sparkling Rosé, Galette des rois(King cake)
“I’m not going to Italy tomorrow.”
Bordighera, Italy, is just a 45-minute drive from Nice, France. Amarea Ristorante Romolo Mare, with its lengthy name, is a beachside restaurant where we arrived around noon. It was bustling with people savoring seafood and wine. On the way there, in the car, L and the in-laws engaged in a little debate about the world’s top exporter of wine, and surprisingly, it’s Italy. Until that day, I hadn’t even thought about it; there was a general assumption that it’s France (those with their French pride). However, L, because his blood is made of wine, knew it’s Italy. So, there you go, Italy is the biggest net exporter of wine, followed by Spain, France, Chile, and Australia. On the flip side, the biggest net importing country of wine is the United Kingdom, followed by Germany, Russia, the United States, and China. The more you know!
The weather on the day we visited was cloudy and windy. I can’t wait to go back in the summer or even spring. You might want to bring something heavy if you’re on the lighter side; I felt like I could’ve been blown away into the Mediterranean Sea.
Being the weakest drinker in the universe, I was recommended a sweet sparkling rosé, even with ice cubes, and it was de-li-cious. Not as much as the Vendanges Tardives Gewürztraminer, though. I was extra careful, taking small sips to avoid the same mistake as the previous day. While I had my sips, the in-laws started with orange wine. Contrary to what I thought, it’s not made of oranges; it’s a type of white wine made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the juice, resulting in a deep orange-hued finished product. [Reference: Orange Wine]
Anyway, I’m not at that level yet, so we can talk about the orange wine when I’m there. For now, I’m happy with sweet or/and fizzy wines on the menu.
Italian food seems more Korean-friendly (maybe it’s universally friendly since pasta and pizza are staples). Finally, we’re not having a 10-course meal, including a cheese board and chocolate, so I couldn’t be happier. I prefer seafood over veal and venison too, but most importantly, their dessert was the best among what I had in 7 days on the French Riviera. It’s pistachio-mascarpone cream with ice cream on top. After four hours of Italian wine and seafood, pasta, L had a negroni as a dessert with a double shot of espresso. I think researchers should study his liver when he dies; it’s almost supernatural, gifted.
On the way back, we took a coastal drive instead of the highway to see Monaco and the shoreline, but I found myself stuck between a 5-year-old boy on the left and L on the right, both sleeping with mouths open and emitting sleeping gas, so I fell asleep too. Lol Monaco, next time…
After returning to France, we visited Valbonne, a beautiful little old town with buildings dating back to the 17th century, all well-maintained. Of course, it called for a wine break (vin chaud or mulled wine). I finally could drink Coke (zero). We spontaneously bought galette des rois and pastries, returned to the in-laws to continue drinking and celebrating. L was the king of the day! Ended the second last day in France with L in a crown, and me learning the French idiom: water makes rust.
The Sixth Day: Nice, Nicorette
They say “water makes rust” because alcohol doesn’t, implying that it’s better to drink more wine than water.
On our last day, we woke up for a morning stroll in Antibes. Accomplished the final foie gras sandwich, the last visit to the Antibes market. We bought saucisson in pepper and truffle flavours from the market to enjoy while walking around.
Finally, we headed to Nice, France. For lunch, we had sandwiches at Robbi, and look at L, even wine for the sandwich, as if he wouldn’t be able to drink wine anymore once back in London.
We strolled around Nice, feeling more at home because it’s very touristy and had many Asians, including Koreans. I hoped they also explored Antibes and other areas rather than staying only in Nice because, while Nice is beautiful, it’s not the only stunning city on the French Riviera.
Anyways, onto the “new year, new me” project: I hadn’t been vaping since the morning, and I guess I was craving badly it. I asked L to buy me a pack of Nicorette and chose the highest dosage, thinking it would give me a better hit and reduce the craving faster. I chewed two 4mg gums in a very short time, making everyone concerned. Immediately, I experienced intense nausea, couldn’t even sit down still, and had to puke multiple times everything I had that day, including saucisson, sandwich, vanilla flan, locally made Coke, and more. I had to have a cocktail made of an orange pill and kids’ anti-nausea syrup; it tasted like a Negroni.
I got better, and with no break, we headed to our final destination: Cinq in Tourrettes sur loup. The chef is Northern European, Swedish or Norwegian? I forgot… There also was a very serious wine lady who took wine very seriously. We started at 8 pm and finished by 11 pm, with bottles of wine and 4 or 5 courses of a shared meal, including dessert and clementines.
Seriously though, at this point, I became French and wasn’t afraid to be opinionated. French people are opinionated, and they take wine very seriously. Choosing a bottle of wine or a block of cheese takes 20-30 minutes, and then another 30 minutes is spent discussing it, including describing the taste, comparisons to ones previously they had, and compatibility with dishes. It keeps going on and on until the bottle is empty. It was, firstly, shocking, and now I am more astonished at how many words can be used when describing wine. How would I even know what a ‘short’ flavour is? It’s like the taste remains on your palate only for a brief time. For me, most white wine tastes like an expensive vinegar, red wine like a pencil water with a touch of vinegar. Only the dessert, ice, sweet kind of dangerous wines satisfy my palate so far, after the bootcamp. I don’t know if it’s a bliss or a curse to know and learn about so many flavours like this. I asked L, “How many years should I practice wine to reach your level?” He said, “Maybe it will take forever, but we keep on trying.”
I remember women in laws having a debate on chocolate: LAC vs Alain Ducasse. You see, for me, all kinds of chocolate, including Reese’s and Caramello, taste like heaven. But if you know too many and have an opinion about them, you gotta fight for it.
The seventh: Leaving Nice
We were leaving separately; L went back to London, and I returned to Sydney. For breakfast, we enjoyed leftover saucisson with coffee and took a lot of selfies so I can use them when I describe French breakfast radish. The Nice airport lounge was nothing special. I had four mini foie gras sandwiches, some jambon. I think no other lounges can beat Dubai’s, and I’ve only been to Terminal A (L said Terminal B is different, including a Moet bar, etc., but do you think I care about Moet?).
BUT the Nice lounge had cup noodles, even in an Asian (alike) flavour!! It was enough to cure my French hangover. A very nice touch, well done Nice.
It took only 2 hours for L to get back to his place, but for me, it was a day plus 10 hours, including a 3-hour layover in Dubai. Ugh, I can’t wait to move to London already.
Brought another syrupy wine and couldn’t wait to try it as soon as I arrived at my place. I was told to put it in the freezer while I was having a shower so I could have nicely chilled wine, but L overestimated that I have a corkscrew. No I don’t. So, I had to wait until the vintage cellar opens at 10 am the next morning. I also didn’t move it to the fridge; I left it in the freezer because I was told to keep my gins in the freezer, and I thought all kinds of alcohol could be kept in the freezer. The next morning, when I finally bought a corkscrew and a wine mouthpiece(?), the cork was already 80% popped out. When I finally could have a sip, it was like a slurpee. I really loved it, with more complexity1 that I gave up on explaining because I don’t know if it’s really from the wine or if I ruined it by freezing and defrosting it. It took 10 days to finish the bottle, and over time, the flavour changed ever so slightly. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be like this, but who cares at the end of the day.
Comté and Truffle cheddar from Coles don’t taste the same anymore, and I miss France already. See? Ignorance is true bliss sometimes.
- The robe is golden yellow with light reflections, of medium intensity. The disk is bright, limpid and transparent. The wine shows youth.
The nose is marked, pleasant and intense. We perceive a dominant of exotic scents, starfruit, banana, mango, papaya and passion fruit. The airing enhances these scents and reveals flowers, violet, candied citrus fruits, citron, orange blossom and spices, Sichuan pepper. The fragrance profile is perfect, very exotic. It is still fresh and gives a lot of pleasure.
The onset in the mouth is dense and shows a beautiful silky and mellow touch. The alcohol support is well-balanced. The wine evolves on an incisive medium, marked by a sparkling note. We find the same aromas as on the nose, still dominated by banana, starfruit, papaya, mango, passion fruit, flowers, violet, citron, orange blossom, spices, candied ginger and Sichuan pepper. We perceive a fine tasty bitterness. The finish has a long length, 11-12 caudalies, as well as a light bitterness and a fine persistent liveliness.
The balance of this wine shows a beautifully digestible liqueur, compensated by a fantastic liveliness that purifies the tasting and the aromatic radiance of the grape variety. ↩︎
Leave a comment