From here to you

You might have planned a visit to France and to Saint-Chinian which may have had to be cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions placed on travel.  If you can’t come to Saint-Chinian in the immediate future, then perhaps Saint-Chinian can come to you??  There are a number of ways to bring some of the essentials from this part of southern France to your home, wherever you may be right now.

With the music festival in July having had to be postponed until next year, the organisers are planning a virtual festival.  In the meantime, you can watch some clip of past concerts on the youtube channel – please subscribe to the channel and comment/like on the individual videos!!

If your local wine merchant does not stock your favourite Saint-Chinian wine, they may be able to order it in for you.  If they are not able to order it for you then don’t despair, help may be at hand!!  Espace Vin and Maison des Vins in Saint-Chinian both offer shipping and all the wines are sold at producer’s prices.  Espace Vin is set up for a variety of different overseas destination in their online shop, for the Maison des Vins you may have to ask.

Veronique Etienne at Chateau La Dournie has set up her own online shop – you can visit it here.

If you are interested in the wines of Saint-Chinian but don’t need to re-stock your cellar right now, you might enjoy this book:

It is available from the Maison des Vins and it is a great read.  Written in French and English, it presents a wealth of information about the Saint-Chinian wine region, its wines, and its winemakers! The book is beautifully illustrated with photographs taken by the Maison des Vins’ Gaylord Burguiere!!

Paul Lappin is a very talented artist who has spent lots of time in Saint-Chinian.  His drawings are available as prints in a variety of formats.  You could also commission Paul to draw your favourite view for you!  More information can be found on Paul’s Instagram feed or on his own website.  Below are a few of Paul’s pictures:

The olive cooperative L’Oulibo in Bize Minervois has an on-line shop, and they will ship abroad.  If your country of residence is not showing in the delivery options, just send them an e-mail with your requirements.

Fabrics are something that’s very easy to ship!  I stopped at the shop of Les Toiles de la Montagne Noire in Mazamet back in February.  It’s a bit of an Aladdin’s cave, piled high with all kinds of wonderful goodies, all of them made locally!  I bought some linen material to make napkins with.  I fell in love with their fabrics when I saw their stand at the Fete du Fil in Labastide Rouairoux a good many years ago.  You can read my post about that fete here.

So there you have it – a bit of retail therapy or something to add to your “to do” list for your next visit!  Feel free to share your favourite Saint-Chinian shopping experience in the comments section!