Vin de pays: A country's worth of wine

On the weekend I took my friend Jane shopping for wine. I love shopping for wine and Jane wanted to take advantage of a "save on six" sale at the liquor store. She ended up getting 12 bottles so the extra hands helped in carrying the wine home.

When we got there with her haul I had to snap a few pictures. Without planning it, we had collected a case worth of French vin de pays, four of which were the outstanding 2004 Domaine de Gournier Vin de pays des Cévennes, a red blend. These "country wines" are mostly produced within the Midi and are very affordable (Jane's total bill translated to $9 CDN per bottle). But they also represent a gamut of different varietals as well as blended varietals. Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah, Grenache, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Marsanne, and that's without beginning to mention those grape varieties that aren't international. It's no wonder we picked up so many vin de pays.

Today it's Jane's birthday so we will be enjoying some special wine and dining out at a BYOW resaurant. We likely won't be opening any of the bottles we bought, but that's okay. French country wine may be more simple than special. They still seem to elevate your everyday midweek dinner like no other.

So stylish and so affordable are these wines that we should've warned Jane's friendly neighbourhood bon vivant to pace himself:










Happy birthday Jane! Hope you are not too too much of a bon vivant tonight.