Well, diner at Nicholas’ was again over the top. Our Australian guest was not prepared for the mind-blowing array of wines that were brought out. We started with Moscato d’Asti, which Nicholas prefers to champagne to begin with because it has less alcohol so you can survive the meal. Then we had about three vintages of Puligny-Montrachet, then drank a few of his Burgundies with dinner. Then the most mind-blowing wine: a Premier Cru Beaune from 1919!!! It smelled incredible and still had a lot left to it. Unbelievable his generosity. Then we went to a great party in Beaune—his friend turning 40. There was a range of people from children to grandparents, loud music, everybody dancing. Everyone was very friendly and funny and could speak a surprising amount of English. Nico and I and Joseph stayed until 7:30am, then he dropped us off at a winemaker-friend of his who let us crash at his place in Mersault. Joseph and I got a ride back to Beaune and stopped by Max’s, a guy who is also working for Nicholas. We sat around with him and his girlfriend, Dominique, had coffee and cake, then drank some wine, and had some snacks. It was very pleasant and generous. He then gave us a ride back to Nuits St. George and we passed out for 12 hours.

I am sitting in the kitchen after work with four French guys, chilling, drinking wine. Today was the first day the cook started. Right now he is making a soup with tons o’ tripe. We had a 1 1/2 hour lunch at a huge communal table in the tasting room. Started with two salads of shredded carrot and celery root. And a couple bottles of white wine. Then during the main course we had chicken stewed in a red sauce and spaghetti. Nicholas passed around four bottles with the label covered and we played “guess that wine.” Then we had some cheese—he bought about a 50 pound wheel of a semi-hard cheese from Jura (Comté)—he said we will be eating it for breakfast every day in the vineyards. Sweet.