Domaine la Begude my Husband's old home in Provence

 http://www.maisondesvins-bandol.com/domaine.php?id=2
http://www.domainedelabegude.fr/index.php?langue=fr

This was Domaine la Begude in the early 1940's

If you click on the links above you will be transported to the site of Domaine la Begude in Provence.  This Domaine belonged to my husband's family until 1996.  My husband was born at la Begude in 1944 shortly after the Nazis (who took it over during their occupation)  left France.  The German's ruined the domaine whilst occupying the place and it took my husband's cousin and his uncles over 40 years to bring it back as it was in the 1940's.

When the family had the Domaine they grew grapes, made wine, and also grew almond and olive trees.

They grow and make a very good Bandol  at la Begude.   The word la Begude means "water spot" in the ancient Provencial language which pre-dates the Roman occupation of Gaul and  is sometimes still spoken but has nothing to do with the French language as we know it to be today.  (this is according to my husband, who was a great historian).

I have been to la Begude shortly after our marriage.  It is a hauntingly lovely place with breathtaking views of the Mediterranean and it's built from an old cloister church type edifice that was present for at least a thousand years and may go back to the 7th century.  (not sure).

My husband's family lost so much of their holdings in France and in Morocco and Algeria.  Now we have nothing to show but memories and the spoken word history of the family.  There is a written history of the family, a book,  but the book was written in 1880 and does not encompass the trials and tribulations of the modern members of the family.

It seems unfair to let you have a crumb of our family history and not tell you more about la Begude even if this is a really lousy translation:

"At the foot of the Sainte Baume (1150 m), overlooking the bay of La Ciotat, between Pointe Grenier and the Bec de l'Aigle, the vast forest estate has a vineyard 1a Bégude old and famous, but also the testimony of human history.  Located on the highest culmination of the road from Toulon to Marseille, the aging cellars are in fact the former chapel of the Merovingian seventh century of the manor of Cosnil, but now extinct village mentioned in the year 966 of the cartulary of St. Victor.  Wine, olive oil products to the field from 1543-1545 is not mentioned. Only the testimony, recently updated, vats of wine from the XIVth inclines us to think that perhaps the wine was already "good" because the people who consumed the Turks massacred more than was usual , to the point of justice to move ... then it must be said that the place was a popular destination for pilgrims during the Middle Ages. People came to venerate the relics of St. Anthony of Padua sent by Cardinal Guy de Monfort Rome in appreciation of care provided by residents' Cosnil "and Cuges, as he lay ill in Relay Bégude. Since then and until the 18th century, Our Lady of Mercy live more pilgrims and lovers of wine than the Turks.  In the late 18th century the family BENET, owner of La Ciotat shipyard, has sufficient financial resources to develop the vineyard, olive grove and winery. In early 2OemesiècIe, the field is taken up by the Racine family that maintains a very solid reputation in the wine Bégude.  William and Louis Tari last generation of a family winemaking tradition, (Chateau Margaux to GISCOURS) in search of a land with a strong personality, discover the Bégude. They then attach themselves to make the vineyard and olive grove size of yesteryear, by the systematic re-cultivation of the terraces (the highest in the Bandol appellation) in which nature had reasserted itself. Meanwhile, programs to restore ancient buildings and construction of the winery are in progress. This renaissance is inconceivable without making the most of hunting and forestry in this area of ​​500 hectares wildlife reserve and aromatic essences of Mediterranean flora.  With the vaulted ceilings of the chapel and the furnaces of the 16th century 12emeet, existing buildings jealously guard the testimony of the past. But the field of LA BEGUDE remained alive today. In this spirit, the two brothers Tari focus in respect of traditions, to create for modern times, a wine capable of expressing all the aging characteristics of the great terroir of Bandol. " Area 500 hectares including 13.5 hectares of vineyard. Location Geology Marl and clay soils on limestone subsoil. Features Vines planted: 65% Mourvedre, Grenache 20% Cinsault 10%, 5% Carignan. Ugni Blanc 40% Clairette 40%, 20% Rolle.  Spacing: 4500/5000 feet per acre.  Average age of vines: 20 years.  Tillage including the four traditional ways. No use of herbicide, pesticide, fertilizer or chemical products or chemical synthesis. Mixed organic fertilizer (plant and animals).  Stainless steel tanks thermoregulation.  Bottling the domain.  Production of about 20 000 bottles of pink and red 15 000.  1600 olive trees are planted on terraces of the domain (Aglandau varieties, Bouteillan brown pardiguiet and Picholine). Performance 30 hectoliters per hectare. In pictures ...