Robert V. Camuto

The view from the vineyards of Le Tourtou-- Domaine de la Grange des Peres

In Aniane, there aren’t a lot of people moving about the narrow cracked streets in late morning in winter. I ducked into a café off the central square before noon and found about a dozen locals—mostly men—sitting around drinking beer. A faintly recognizable odor—was that cigarette smoke?—seemed to permeate everything. Couldn’t be smoke, I thought, France banned smoking in public places including bars and restaurants from February 2007 and I haven't seen anyone light up indoors since.

Gourmet bistros cater to the young and hungry

By Robert V. Camuto -Special to The Washington Post

Bertrand Bluy doesn't fit the image of a pastry chef. A towering man with a shiny shaved head and a frame as solid as a brick oven, he speaks with a guttural southwestern French accent that conjures a rugby forward rather than someone who has studied the art of mille-feuille.

 a shot taken at Etna's summit

This fall has been a truly incredible time: promoting one book in French, preparing another book for next year and – in between—visiting places and tasting wines with transformative powers. 

The French translation of Corkscrewed – entitled Un Américain dans les vignes: Une ode amoureuse a la France du bien-vivre—hit bookstores in September and has been very well received. Personally, the title makes me cringe, yet it has been heartening to see how open French people are to hearing a foreigner’s take on their terroirs. In general French society is so fatalistic these days and many seem surprised by the obvious: that France still has the greatest diversity of wine terroirs anywhere, that French wine regions are turning out more good wine than ever, and that it’s not too late to avoid France becoming one big international-style strip mall. 

 Fermentation is complete. To the wine press!

The wine explodes! (Home winemaking '09 Video #4)

In the shadows of Mount Etna, a restaurant scene is emerging hand in glove with the mountain's wine renaissance. Read Robert's article in the Oct. 31, 2009 Wine Spectator.

I am back from Burgundy and the mythic 12th century Chateau du Clos de Vougeot, where last Saturday the Prix Clos de Vougeot 2009 literary prize was awarded to the French translation of my book Corkscrewed aka  "Un Americain dans les vignes: Une ode amoureuse a la France du bien-vivre" (Editions Michel Lafon, 2009).