France trip 2013 -- "Le Berceau," Blanquette de Limoux

Some months back when I was researching southern France looking for a place that might suit our ideas about what it was we wanted to see in that corner of the planet, I stumbled across the village of Limoux.

Located between Carcassonne to the north and the Pyrenees to the south, and smack in the heart of Cathar country it seemed ideal. The Cathar castless were at the top of my list of things to see, to feel, to experience in the Languedoc so I found a nice place outside of the village with two rooms (Richard and Pauline will be joining us for three days). And, according to the Rough Guide to France, Limoux was noted for production of blanquette, a particularly delicious sparkling wine.

Back to Providence.

For some months until it closed much against our wishes, Ama's on the west side poured a tasty little sparkling wine called Le Berceau. We would always buy it by the glass -- and if more than two of us by the bottle and it became a standard, a favorite of ours at Ama's. Well, I never paid close attention to the label until recently when I purchased a bottle at Campus Liquors, a short 10-minute walk from where I work.

While I was pouring it I looked closely and voila! the light bulb went off -- and here I thought it was pretty much extinguished:

Stay tuned sports fans -- I hope to be pouring lots more on location in May!