Dimanche à Domancy (Sunday in Domancy)

For those who think our tiny town of Domancy, population 1956, doesn't have any fun spring activities, here are some ideas. First, especially for fellow Americans who rarely see homemade wooden artisanal products, the Vide Greniers, or Attic Sales, are the best. Usually held on Sundays, you can find anything from turn-of-the-century skis, to vintage mountain climbing gear or handmade wooden furniture. Here's a calendar of upcoming flea markets.

Our plans also included the Domancy equivalent of the Boston Wine Expo, called the Salon des Vins et Gastronomie. In Europe, you can buy wine directly from the producers at these shows, so we headed to the Domancy town square. Held annually the last weekend of March, Domancy's 11th annual event brought together wine producers from all over France, including Alsace, Languedoc, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Cote du Rhone and Haute Savoie, just to name a few. With 24 booths showcasing the Haute Savoie Region's best specialty foods and wine, I knew I wouldn't leave either hungry or thirsty.

On arrival, we stopped to taste wine from two organic producers from southern France, noticing the green bio, i. e., organic, label displayed next to their signage. I love the southern French attitude and accent--they remind me of my California days with their easy-going attitude and slow lackadaisical speech. I was very impressed with the quality of their wine, reminding me of Chateau de Beaucastel, a similar Chateauneuf du Pape wine.

Called Domaine Coste Chabrier, Pierre's favorite wine was the L'arbousier, made from 100% Syrah. Named after the strawberry tree, or arbutus unedo, this wine was undoubtedly named because of the fresh berry taste of the wine. Organic producers are having a challenging time in France, some wine industry associations are not allowing them distinctions like AOC because they are refusing to use pesticides in their wine-making. Also, the weather plays a much larger role because the grapes are more prone to disease or rot, so a larger percentage of the annual crop can be lost.

With a purple-lipped smile, I headed to the next booth that caught my eye, Vin des Glaces. Hmmm, ice cream wine? Actually, it's quite an impressive story, as I happened upon the Randall Grahm of Savoie, Guy Perceval. Just as Randall Grahm from Bonny Doon caused a revolution in the making of California ice wine by picking grapes and then freezing them, Perceval decided to freeze his wine by air-lifting it to the top of Mont Blanc, storing it in the sub-zero year-round temperatures next to the world-renowned Mont Blanc refuge called Les Cosmiques . He couldn't call it ice wine, or vin de glace, so he called his version vin des glaces, or wine from ice, literally translated. Not only this, but he is also submerging his wine in Lac Leman in Geneva this week, another innovation on his part.

As I left the Salon des Vins et Gastronomie, I marvelled at the quality of the event given the size of Domancy. Since we don't even have a movie theatre or shopping mall, and only one restaurant, social activities are handled by the local town. It's a great way to reconnect in this impersonal digital age!