Yunding Ranch

Chapter 255
From Paris to Dijon, this is a short distance, nearly [-] kilometers, plus the winding roads in the suburbs, and it is the first time for them to drive in Europe, the speed is not fast at all, full After driving for nearly four hours, we entered the Burgundy region.

After Tony drove for an hour and a half, Brandon drove for another two hours, and about 10 minutes ago, it was replaced by Lu Li.

The tires of the car can clearly feel the stumbling stones on the sandy soil, the curling yellow smoke is floating in front of the car, and the green and raindrop grape trellises on both sides extend up the gentle slope of the hill. It is spectacular, covering the steeple-shaped church during the period, the dark brown stones piled up to hide the history and vicissitudes of centuries ago, and the residential houses with white walls and red roofs gather around the steeple.

This is a typical European rural scene, which is absolutely impossible to see in the United States.

"Brandon, were the vineyards on the ranch like this before?" Lu Li couldn't help but open his mouth. This was the first time he had seen a picture of vineyards all over the mountains.In comparison, Yunding Ranch is not worth mentioning at all.

Although before that, Lu Li knew that Texas was not a famous place for producing wine, and it was very rare for Yunding Ranch to own that piece of vineyard, and the output and quality would not be too high; That kind of shock hit his face, which made Lu Li deeply feel the huge difference——

Burgundy's vineyard area is the smallest among the four major wine regions in France.

Looking at the lush grape branches and leaves outside the window, Brandon couldn't help but marvel, "No, it's not. It's just the one in front of me... I don't know, one-twentieth?" Brandon followed the continuous ups and downs. He kept looking over the hills and tried to find the end of the vineyard, but he failed. Although the vineyards of the ranch were also very vast, it was only at this time that he knew what it means to be insignificant.

"Is our vineyard too small?" As a Texan, Brandon has stubbornness rooted in his blood, but today, seeing is believing, he couldn't help but marvel.

"Golden Hill!" Tony saw a signboard in French in front of him, and shouted excitedly, "We are now within the range of Golden Hill." Lu Li and Brandon both looked blank and didn't respond, only Tony A man was cheering and celebrating, he was really lonely and had to explain urgently.

"The Côte d'Or is the golden region for Burgundy grapes. The climate and soil here are the best, and they can always produce intoxicating Pinot Noir. Now you look east, the whole hill , has bred countless great Burgundy wines, although I have not checked the information, but at least half of the most expensive Burgundy wines in history are produced here."

Such a simple and clear explanation immediately made Lu Li and Brandon understand: it is worth money, this is the simplest and crudest understanding, and it is also the source of Jinqiu's name.

Just in this area, along the foot of the mountain, you can see the famous "Famous Village Road". There are many top red wine estates along the way. Red and white wines from the Côte Ronne, and whites from the Magon.These diverse wine varieties are also counted in Burgundy, but there is no doubt that most of the most famous, best and most classic Pinot Noirs are produced in the Côte d'Or.

"So you're saying that the vineyards we see now belong to different wineries?" Brandon asked, but at the same time, Lu Li was also extremely curious. He always thought that each winery had its own winery. They belong to their own vineyards, and then hire professional winemakers to complete the brewing, but obviously, Burgundy's operating model is different.

Tony nodded, "Burgundy has always been a scattered wine-producing region, and the average permanent vineyard area of ​​each grape grower is only about fifteen acres."

"What? Then the vineyards of our ranch can accommodate more than [-] grape growers?" Brandon thought just now that the area of ​​the ranch's vineyards was too small, but he didn't expect it, and then his idea was overturned.

"Yes." Tony answered in the affirmative, "Burgundy's trivial vineyards are one of their characteristics, which is the biggest disadvantage for winemaking, because the human factor is magnified to a Height. In other wine regions, it might be clear which year and which village a particular vineyard a bottle of wine came from; but here, a small vineyard might belong to seven or eight winegrowers at the same time. , and then handed over to seven or eight different wineries to complete the brewing."

"This is also specific to Burgundy wines. There are many top wineries and many top vineyards. The average quality is still the top among the top, but the quality difference between different years is quite obvious. Maybe this year a small winery suddenly It became popular, but fell silent in the second year. In addition to weather factors, the influence of human factors is also huge.” Tony further explained, “This is why I am full of hope for our pasture vineyard. Although we The weather conditions and soil conditions in Burgundy cannot be replicated, but the human factor is indeed reduced to a minimum."

"To put it simply, if you succeed, you succeed together; if you fail, you end up together." Lu Li's conclusion stunned Tony, and then he burst out laughing.

Lu Li parked the car beside him, and Tony stood by the side of the road, studying the soil structure and the growth of the grapes.It is now August, and the time for grape picking is getting closer and closer, and the quality of the grapes in Yunding Ranch will also be decided.

Lu Li and Brandon watched from the sidelines for a while, but they were separated from each other like a mountain. Neither of them could understand the significance of Tony's actions. Even if they wanted to help, they couldn't help.

However, only when you are really on the scene can you feel the mystery.The vineyard planning of Yunding Ranch is very neat, which is all thanks to Tony; but the Burgundy vineyard is really too vast, extending along the hills and stretching all the way to the horizon, as if there is no end in sight. The whole world is surrounded by grapes, which is not comparable to Yunding Ranch.

Lu Li couldn't help being a little curious. The grapes grown on the same piece of land were handed over to different wineries by different grape growers to make different wines. So, what is the difference between them? ?

Of course, Lu Li was just thinking about it. The knowledge of wine tasting is vast and difficult to understand. It is definitely not an easy task to reach a certain level.What's more, the question he was curious about just now is so subtle that it is even more difficult.

After leaving the Côte d'Or, they drove to Dijon in less than half an hour.

This is a small town with a rustic style, there are no tourists, and there are no turbulent crowds. The tranquility isolated from the world has a taste of paradise.It has the stability and vicissitudes of history. Even if it is famous all over the world for its wine, it is still not as famous as Provence and Arles, and there are not even many tourists. Let people taste the real romance and comfort.

The town is only the size of a palm, and you can explore it slowly with your feet, and you can circle the town in less than 10 minutes.

Tony just wanted to try French food - food related to wine, Burgundy red wine stew; for Lu Li and Brandon, the famous French escargot in Dijon was a must-try food .

Next to the square in the center of the town, I found a random restaurant and sat down.At this time, the night has not completely fallen, the sky is glowing with rays of light, a group of teenagers aged eleven or two are playing football happily, and a bald old man is sitting on the bench next to him, watching the laughing and laughing people in front of him intently. children:

The youngest thin child successfully kicked the football into the goal, and a group of children screamed excitedly; while the goalkeeper became the object of complaints from his companions, he argued stubbornly. The scene was so lively, as if this Not a game, but a World Cup final.

Some scattered rain fell from the sky, but the people in the square didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, no one ran at all, they were still focused on the matter at hand, and were not affected by the light rain at all.

A woman in a dark blue long dress opened the big red umbrella she carried with her, and continued to move forward slowly. Her curly steps made the corners of her skirt flutter, and the thick color fainted in the rain like cow hair , elegant and calm.

Following her figure, two men could be seen standing by the pillars beside the square. The French man with long curly hair lit a cigarette in his hand. He and his friend next to him were chatting babblingly, and the babbling French could be vaguely heard in the wind.

Beside them, a couple left another restaurant and walked quickly.The lady's big red skirt flew up because of her fast footsteps. The two walked out of the square and found their car on the trail outside. The man trotted all the way to the passenger seat, opened the door for the lady, and waited for her. After getting in the car, he ran back to the driver's seat and drove away slowly.

At this moment, two figures cut off Lu Li's line of sight, and they stopped at the entrance of the restaurant. The menu of the restaurant was placed next to them, and the two of them were looking through it carefully.The woman's body leaned back slightly, snuggling into the man's arms. The man held the woman's waist with one hand, whispered something in his ear, and the smiles on the corners of both of their mouths rose.

Everything is so life-like, but so quiet, romantic and beautiful, which makes people intoxicated.

"Hello, this is Burgundy red wine stewed beef." The wafting aroma drifted over amidst the rain.This is France.

(End of this chapter)