Day 25 and 26 – Sometimes nothing is the best thing to do.

We woke up this morning, looked out of the windows and didn’t see much. We were surrounded by fog so thick that we couldn’t see the Grand Cru hill. That wasn’t what we were expecting.

We took our showers and got cleaned up, but the fog was still lingering. With gray skies it wouldn’t be burning off anytime soon. Bummer!

We ate our brunch and then decided not to take our planned ride today, as we had no idea if the whole area was covered in fog or if it was just localized. You would almost think that weather apps would tell you about the fog, but it didn’t.

By mid afternoon, the sun was peeking through, but it was breezy and chilly. Low 50’s chilly, but the real feel was 47 degrees. We just got comfy and watched a few Youtube videos to pass the time away. Honestly, without a definite destination I didn’t just want to drive around aimlessly.

When the time arrived, we cleaned up for dinner. Tonight we’ll be returning to Le Maufoux Restaurant, which is just around the corner from us.

Afterwards, just a quick walk home and back to comfy and warm clothes.

I’ve been asked a few questions, so I’ll try to answer them in tomorrow’s entry.

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Another foggy morning and a chilly one at that. It was just 48 degrees when we woke up. Besides a run to the bathroom, it was a good morning to just relax in bed for a while where it was warm. But there is action forthcoming today.

When we did get back out of bed, a warm shower was a must. We both took our showers and then got dressed. The sun was out now and the fog had burned off. We made our way over to the boulangerie to get a sandwich and pastry for brunch.

We were a little later than usual and she was pretty busy today. Mostly people stopping in for sandwiches or quiche for lunch. We ordered feuilletes and pastry then went back home to eat. This afternoon we are going to a wine tasting at Domaine Louis Michel. The guys at Brighton Liquors set it up for us and we’re looking forward to it.

We were looking over Google maps and the Waze app to decide the best way to get there. We decided to just walk. The inside joke here is that it is right across the street from our house.

Since the travel was easy, we arrived right on time. We were surprised to be greeted by the winemaker himself, Guillaume Michel. He was exceptionally friendly and welcoming. After introductions, we walked over to the main part of the domaine and headed down to the cellar tasting area. I really want that tasting area to be my wine cellar back home.

There was a great deal of friendly chatter about the winery and wines they produced. We learned that he is the sixth generation wine maker at the domaine. The family has owned the estate since 1850, but the domaine has been there going back before the French Revolution. The vineyards go back to the Cistercian monks in the 11th century. They currently manage 25 hectares or about 62 acres of vines, including Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Chablis and Petit Chablis.

One of the highlights of the Domaine is that they use no oak at all. Their wines only see stainless steel throughout the winemaking process. As Guillaume told us, you are tasting the true essence of the terroir from each climat. He claims to be the laziest winemaker in Chablis – he only has to watch over the wines, not mess with the natural process. His job is to be patient.

For our time with Guillaume, we tasted eight different wines. One village chablis, four premier crus and three grand crus all from the 2023 vintage, although the Les Clos was 2022. Without being a fanboy, they were all wonderful. Each was a great expression of the terroir and vintage that the grapes came from. I expressed that my favorite wine of theirs was the Premier Cru from Butteaux. When we completed the tasting, Guillaume gave us the remainder of the bottle of Butteaux to take home with us.

Overall, it was a marvelous afternoon. Guillaume was a superb host and the conversation was as good as the wine. I never expected to have a casual sit down tasting and conversation with such an esteemed winemaker – pinch me!

And in case you are wondering, so far the 2025 vintage looks to be a very good year.

After thanking him for his time and wonderful tasting of his wines, we crossed the street to go back home. As a tribute, we had a glass of the wine he gave us while we talked about how much we enjoyed the visit.

Our last event of the month of September is dinner. The walk over to the restaurant was quick and the town seemed extra quiet this evening. There was a goodly amount of activity this afternoon, but now it was peaceful.

Dinner tonight is our final visit to Kimm & Ridge Restaurant. Just two more visits on our “Dernière Bouchée Tour”. We were greeted like old friends and led to our table. The exciting news tonight was that there was a new fall menu.

We had a chance to look over the menu and then ordered our meal. I started with the escargot and then we both eyed the grilled guinea fowl with butternut squash and figs. For dessert, Sue had an apple crumble and I had the chocolate mousse with pear.

Seeing an available bottle, I ordered a 2015 François Raveneau Montmains Premier Cru Chablis to pair with our meal. I’ll just say it was awesome and paired perfectly.

It was another delicious meal that we can add to our list of delicious meals we’ve eaten in Chablis. In truth, we haven’t had a sub-par meal in our entire time here.

Two couples that are traveling around France to celebrate one of the women’s retirement were seated next to us and we had a chance to chat with them a little bit. While they have been constantly on the go, we explained that we just settled in to this one place. They were delightful to chat with and we encouraged them to continue celebrating her retirement.

We had a chance to chat with our hostess/server while we were paying. This was her last evening there too. She is heading off to Australia, where she originally was from. I got to wish her well in French while Sue got the hugs… sometimes life isn’t fair.

Back home, we got cozy and relaxed for a while before lights out.