Wine, women, sun and sausages

I collected new guests from the airport last Thursday and then more guests and Debrah on Friday - roof down in the glorious Autumn sunshine that has since lasted all weekend - a perfect Languedoc Autumn weekend in fact.

Not only did the sun shine but the wine flowed. The 3rd 'Fête du Vin' kicked off on Thursday evening with a good dose of rock/dance music and local wine producers and restaurants teamed up together to bring, well, wine and food to the crowds gathered in the square, followed by a bangin' street party with DJ outside 'Le Conti' club on the rue Aigle D'or (Golden Eagle Street) just behind the main square. Much wine was consumed and many inhibitions shed, not by me of course - I'm far too sensible, but Lesa was dancing on a table in true uninhibited Aussie style and Brigitte was just dancing, with anyone and everyone, male and female - "I am a leetle bit drunk", she confided. 'Bien sûr', Madame La Presidente.

Chris had finished the work on Denis' apartment late on Monday night just before he left to go and shoot some wild animals in the USA. I hadn't had a chance to go in and clear up and so we went up on Friday afternoon because Denis' cousin was coming out the following day for the weekend. There was quite a bit of clearing up to do, which I expected, but I was disappointed to find one skirting board unpainted and one bathroom shelf without mastic - the result of Chris leaving it all until the last minute and running out of time. I shall have to explain to Denis when he comes out next Sunday.

Debrah and I went back into the fray of the Fête early on Friday evening and ate some deliciously sweet oysters and sampled more of the wines on offer before returning to chat to our new guests over canapes and cocktails. Bizzarely, both sets of guests come from Suffolk and live about 20 miles apart from each other - a couple of weeks ago it was Americans and Australians, this week all very close to home.

The Saturday market was a bit disjointed, what with all the wine tents and the music stage, but all the more fun for it too, with bandas playing their unique style of French brass band jollyness (not quite in time and not always the same tune but very evocative of a French town en fête). The lovely Autumn sunshine and the music and the wine seemed to bring out the warmth in everyone - it really couldn't have been a better advert for a weekend away in Carcassonne and I wish I could capture it's essence somehow to use in our own marketing and on our website.

Instead of my usual Saturday rendez-vous at Saillan, Debrah and I went out for a little drive up into the Minervois. I know I am over-playing the mellow Autumnness theme a bit, but it couldn't have been more perfect - there was virtually no breeze, the sun shone with deceptive warmth out of an azure sky, there was virtually nobody else on the road, the vines and trees were a patchwork of beautiful shades of yellow and red and brown and orange, there was the occasional whiff of woodsmoke in the air and the distinctive 'caw' of birds of prey circling above us in search of a kill.

We were on a mission to find, what Debrah had assumed, was an abandoned farm that we had passed about two months earlier on a previous drive through the area, because she wanted to take some photographs of the old iron gates. We found the farm and it's new owner, who, very kindly, not only let Debrah wander around taking photos but also showed her the old stables with the old horse names still above each stall and told us about the chateau next to the farm which was being renovated and was up for sale. Whilst Debrah was off doing her designer thing, he told me he was waiting for the local hunt to arrive for lunch - he had a fire going and everything ready for some serious butchery. He told me that last week the hunt had taken 8 wild boars and that they made sausages and stews and grills from the catch. I am actually quite sorry they didn't turn up whilst I was there - they might well have asked us to join them if their hospitality was anything like as lovely as his.

Saturday evening was a guest dinner and a bit of last minute stress about food because we were doing something untried and so timing was all a bit of guesswork. I'm the first to admit that I don't like 'winging it' when paying guests are involved and I would always like to be ready ahead of time and have everything totally planned and under control, whereas Debrah is much more a last minute sort of person, or even "I'll do it tomorrow", which of course wouldn't be any good for clients waiting for their dinner. There was a small falling out and a few harsh/cross words and a bit of a rush but as ever what was put in front of our guests was both delicious and beautiful and this morning both couples thanked us for a lovely dinner and very entertaining evening.

So we missed the last night of the Fête, but not to worry because today was the second day of the 'Ronde de Malepere', a two day wine festival in the wine region of that name to the south and west of Carcassonne, which this year was held in the village of Alairac. At the airport last week they had been handing out invitations including a voucher for a free glass (usually €5) which then entitled one to free tasting at all the producer stands. One hour and ten producers later we were a bit confused by the tastes and aromas we had sampled and desperately needed the plate of 'saucisse and frites' that we found at the grill run by local ladies, who fussed around us cleaning the table and bringing us bread and mustard and telling us about the duck fat that the chips were cooked in - bless them for their lovely hospitality.

We sat under the plane trees and sobered up with the protein and carbs before stroking the noses of the two horses that were tethered just outside and then heading back to Carca for an airport run and new guest check-in and an afternoon lie down.

We had forgotten that we were having sausage and potatoes for supper as well - but that didn't stop us wolfing them down too - sometimes it's just right.