Nicolas Joly at Château de la Roche aux Moines.

This was my second meeting with Nicolas Joly, the first being the Return to Terroir tasting in Los Angeles in 2006. Joly met us having just come in from the harvest and delivered, as is his reputation, an animated and highly informative lecture on biodynamics. We then rapidly traveled through the cellar, where he said "it's not much to look at," and then we hurried out the back door to set foot in la Roche aux Moines. Joly's enthusiasm might have been due to the picking that was taking place on the day of our visit, but I left with the feeling that this is just Joly being himself. Walking through Nicolas Joly's portion of la Roche aux Moines was really a pleasure, and Coulée de Serrant is nothing short of inspiring. The place simply surges with energy.

Dominique Roger of Domaine du Carrou.

Emanuel Mellot wasn't going to let us leave the area without visiting some of her favorite producers in Sancerre, so we jumped in her Mini one afternoon and set off for the village of Bué. I had never heard of Dominique Roger and I am dumbfounded as to why these wines are not better known. Dominique tells a great story about being mocked by the locals for planting the steep chalky hillside behind his winery with the old-timers even setting up chairs to while away the afternoons, chiding the determined Roger as he planted his vines. The wines are some of the purest and most vibrant Sancerres we've yet tasted. Emanuel agreed with us and asked to borrow a piece of chalk from one of Dominique's employees to write "ça déchire!!!" (that tears!!!) on one of Dominique's tanks.

The tasting room of Thomas-Labaille in Chavignol.

Elizabeth and I took advantage of a perfect autumn Sunday and walked to the AOC's most famous vineyard, the Monts Damnés in Chavignol. We arrived in the village after a four-kilometer walk from Sancerre and happily discovered the tasting room of Domaine Thomas-Labaille, which was not only open but staffed by Jean-Paul Labaille himself. A quondam postal worker, Jean-Paul is now an accomplished vigneron of some wonderful and classically-styled Sancerres, including the rich and opulent Monts Damnés bottling. Older barrique and well-used concrete vats hint at the more traditional approach of his father-in-law, Claude Thomas, alongside whom Jean-Paul worked for 10 vintages, timing his vacations to coincide with the harvest.

Les Demoiselles facing north on the hill of Sancerre.

Elizabeth and I have made our way to the Rheingau, passing through most of the Loire, Alsace and southern wine-growing regions of Germany, so a little catching up is in order. I'll begin with a brief three-part wrap-up of our stay in Sancerre.

First, though, a piece of advice: you should arrange for a ride from the Tracy-Sancerre station to the village of Sancerre if you plan to take the train from the Gare de Lyon in Paris. The train let us off on a deserted platform where I'm fairly certain I heard an Ennio Morricone score begin to play as some tumbleweed blew by. It's a good nine kilometers to the hilltop village of Sancerre, so we were grateful for a ride from two sympathizing locals. Our rolling suitcases barely fit into the trunk of their Citroën.

Philippa Sydney, François-Xavier Barc, and Charles Sydney at Charles Joguet in Chinon.

Elizabeth and I traveled from Anjou to the Touraine where met up with just a handful of producers before heading northeast for the German speaking segment of our tour. François-Xavier Barc graciously spent a couple of hours with us, even though Cabernet Franc was entering the Charles Joguet winery in Chinon. Their eighty-year-old vineyard, the Clos de la Dioterie, had yet to be picked and the cool temperatures that day left us wondering if the Cabernets were ever going to fully ripen in 2008.

St-Andelain's most famous address.

Benjamin Dagueneau is now in charge of his family's famous winery in the village of St-Andelain, meaning the wines known as Pur Sang, Buisson Renard, and Silex will continue. During our recent visit, Benjamin spoke only French, but he would often answer Elizabeth's questions before I had finished the translation. We moved quickly through the impeccably clean Dagueneau winery, tasting the yet-to-be bottled 2007's from tank, spitting them out, speedily moving from wine to wine.

Jo Pithon and Joseph Paillé at Fresnaye, October 2008

After a chance meeting during the harvest in Sancerre, Jo and Isabelle Pithon invited us to their home and winery, where Elizabeth and I had the pleasure of getting to know the Pithon family and their wines. It's hard not to appreciate the history of Domaine Jo Pithon, as well as the reputation that he's made for the quality of his wines in a relatively short period of time.

Spotty wi-fi and harvest work make for a difficult blogging environment so I have a lot of catching up to do. My apologies for this belated vintage report and about a month's worth of backlogged postings to come in the days ahead. Elizabeth and I have had a great month working in the cellars of the Domaine de La Moussière and have spent the last week visiting producers in the Anjou-Saumur. I have written a short piece for the Sommelier Journal on the nature of harvest work, an invaluable experience for enthusiasts and professionals alike. Look for it in an upcoming issue.

Discussing the food, wine philosophy, or hospitality practices of establishments other than your own is a ritual of the front-of-the-house pre-shift meeting at many restaurants. Charlie Trotter is famous for this exercise, and his meditations would often extend beyond the realm of other restaurants or food. For Chef Trotter, the quality of your commute on the "L" that morning might have been fair game for that evening's pre-shift discussion. Of course, that evening's game plan was always first and foremost, but chatting about the excellence achieved by Nick Peyton in the Bay Area or Julian Niccolini in New York have been reoccurring themes in my many years of service pre-shifts.

Maître d' Paul Grieco's name began to come up in our pre-shifts at Frasca shortly after an excellent article appeared last year in the New York Times Food Section. A great maître d' is someone who makes you feel welcome, who anticipates your needs, and has thought about your experience in their restaurant long before you did. Paul has certainly earned his status as one of America's great maître d's.

Yesterday I recieved three (out of seven) books that I ordered from Amazon. I am so excited! One can, in my opinion, not have enough wine and food books. What arrived: