Velo Vineyard

Our Tour de France day began with bicycling ourselves. We rented bikes to ride through the vineyards; something lifted straight from a postcard.

Me and my hat. I tried repeatedly to get a picture of Shauna and me cycling side
by side, but of all my attempts she likes this shot the best.

Shauna was impressed by how straight the vineyard rows are; a result of them
being surveyed we later learned.

Being somewhat newbies in the world of wine prior to this trip, we learned quite a bit from our host, Darren, our friend from Zurich. He informed us that the vineyard rows are indeed surveyed; hence the straightness. Rows are legal property that in many cases have been passed down through families over generations, having been subdivided many times by inter-family marriages, the end result being that vineyard ownership can vary by single row.

The crew bicycling in Beaune.

Us with the prototypical French car, the Citroen 2CV. These cars seem ageless,
but I think this a newer one judging by the rectangular headlights.

Vineyards adjacent to Romanee near Nuite-Saint-Georges

Darren informed us that the vineyard behind the cross is owned by Romanee, and their top wine, Romanee Conti, can sell for as much as $10,000 per bottle! I'm even having trouble figuring out by how many multiples that is removed from our modest price range.

Us at the famed Romanee Conti vineyard. At the reported price per bottle
you'd think there'd be 24-hour security or a razor wire fence!

Just by chance I happened to see this (empty) box of Romanee Conti on a top shelf in the restaurant in Beaune where we had lunch after our cycling excursion.