The wine shop had a great selection of local and nearby wines. They had a 2005 Nuit St. George for $46 euros so that plus a Rully (fourteen euros) went in the backpack. And of course, a bit of tasting on the Santenay wines.
We wandered a little more and found the local pharmacie and were able to buy Advil. Good to have (helps with the back spasms I was experiencing) and right next door was another tasting room. Found more 2005 for “reasonable” prices but waited to explore some more options.
The town center had a sign/map of a 5K loop and an 11K loop outside of town. We chose the 5K with a “moulin a vent” (wind mill). Off we went on paths through vineyards, snapping pictures of church steeples, Burgundian tiled roofs and vineyards and grapes (still tiny and green). When the trail ended we headed back.
Now the town was pretty much shut down for lunch so we went back to the boat for snacks and libations. While enjoying the ham and cheese bread with a Rully and a Petit Chablis we saw Tim and Debbie cycling by. They stopped to chat, admired our parking spot (they had stopped back at Chagny amidst the rather active train station) and decided to move up near us.
After lunch it was off to visit Cheilly les Maranges. A beautiful walking/cycling path through more vineyards and then under a bridge to the old town. We arrived just as school was letting out but other than that activity the town was silent. We knocked at a winery but there was no answer. So, we looped the town and then turned to walk back to Santenay but discovered another winery. This one had a nice lady who opened their warehouse and led us into their cave for tasting. She offered to pour whites as the reds were “too cold” (storage temperature) so we sampled their Bourgogne Blanc and the Maranges Blanc. Lynn preferred the older and softer Bourgogne Blanc while I preferred the more acidic Maranges Blanc. We decided to get a bottle of each plus their Cremant Rose (total of 26 euros) and then the wine mistress poured us each a taste of their 2012 Maranges Rouge from their ten liter box. Very nice.
We get back to the boat and saw Tim and Deb’s boat just behind us. We prepared a little tray of cheese, meat and pate and invited them over to visit. They gave us a bottle of Cremant Blanc for sharing our taxi and helping them through the locks and agreed to join us after “freshening up”. A few minutes later with another bottle and a plate in hand and we were all sitting on our aft deck sharing a beautiful afternoon discussing wine and travel. This is how life should be lived.
After our visit we headed back down to Santenay to have escargot but the lady at the restaurant told us “all full, two hour wait”. They were not full and according to their sign were closing in fifteen minutes (it was 9:15 p.m.) but whatever so back to the boat for yogurt, muesli and warmed up risotto. Still a fine day so off to bed.