….and chose not to do today’s suggested walk. ‘No, thank you, to another 11k of hills and valleys. Let’s do alcohol instead’.
Last night, we tasted the local walnut oil and a chilled walnut aperitif. Our hotel is run by owners of an organic walnut farm and old processing mill. Cars were rescued from their holiday adjacent to the motorhomes and we drove 15 minutes along lovely empty, twisting roads to Moulin a huile Castagne.
The mill owner stopped milling to explain the process from harvest to oil and flour production. It was surprising how labour intensive it is. Walnuts are harvested in late autumn and dried. A machine cracks the outer shells and kernels are removed by hand. Kernels are crushed using a rotating millstone then roasted over a fire fuelled by walnut wood and shells, before being pressed for oil. Any waste products are turned into flour for baking or used as a sheep feed. The aroma was amazing and tasting of oil and walnuts followed.
Next stop was the Chemin de Fer Touristique du Haut Quercy or Le Truffadou, a train that runs from Martel along to the viaduct we walked under yesterday. Originally, the line ran from Bordeaux and Aurillac and its primary function was export of Martel’s famous truffles to Paris. We weren’t expecting the station to be open but, in our constant quest for a cuppa, thought it worth a try. Luckily for us it was open, we had tea and coffee at bargain prices and were treated to a steam train pulling in to the station.
Our afternoon was spent at a local wine cooperative for a walk around the vineyard followed by the obligatory tasting. We managed half of the 6km walk through vineyards, walnut and truffle oak groves, then headed back for our tasting. Did you know that young oak trees are impregnated with truffle spores before planting? Each tree takes about seven years to produce truffles and will then continue to do so for up to 40 years.
It’s a very bad year for wine in this region, late frosts in April killed off the young shoots and since then, warm weather and continuous heavy rain have been perfect for mildew growth. Vines have plenty of new shoots but far fewer grapes, yields are expected to be down by 80%. Don’t worry, we panic bought and both car boots are full.
We tasted six different wines and do you have any idea how difficult it was to throw the remains of our tasting away?
braysabroad 