Restful Ambience at O’Vineyards
A beautiful sunrise! The almond trees in bloom! Joe and I were happy to welcome Kristen & Russ Moorhead znd their colleagues and friends!
From TripAdvisor Senior Reviewer Grant Hughes who visited us with his wife Fiona. Thank you Grant!
“An unexpected surprise, but what a great evening!”
TripAvisor 5 of 5 stars. Reviewed July 22, 2013
“We are spending a few days near Carcasson in France and we got a little frustrated with driving into town, so we did a search of local places to eat……we found this just a mile or so from where we are staying and thought it was just a restaurant!!!
When we arrived we were greeted by a nice American chap(Joe) – our first surprise as when we called to book we spoke to a French lady (liz).
We were then introduced to the other 4 couples (surprise 2) and given a superb crisp white wine to try.
Then Joe gave us all a tour of his vines and his winery and told us all about how he makes his wonderful wines. More tastings ……. Moving on to some out of this world reds (OMG is a good name for it!).
Then we all sat down to a lovely meal (prepared by Liz, who had obviously spent hours in the kitchen and prepared all sorts of interesting and tasty things for us all to eat) the wine and the conversation flowed and we met a crowd of interesting and friendly people.
This was more like a dinner party for friends than a meal out and we had a fantastic time and, even though we are not particular wine buffs, we appreciated the very fine wines that our host gave us, which he obviously was very proud of and rightly so.
This family obviously love their work and have a passion for their art! If you like wine you should try all of them! You can buy them through Naked wines on the Internet . Look for ‘Domaine O’vineyards’
Then we sat on the terrace in the warm evening looking over the vineyards and ‘sampling’ more delicious wines with cheeses and a hand made desert! More conversation and laughter…….
We finally bade everyone goodbye at around midnight and back to the b+b.
The wines were so pure and unadulterated……. No hang over this morning (surprise no …. I lost count after about the third bottle!)
I thoroughly recommend this as a ‘ must do’ if you are in the area. One of the best holiday decisions we have ever made!
Thank you Joe and Liz for a wonderful dinner party, great wine, great company and great food!”
Tourism and Cinema in the heart of Aude
The Oenovideo film festival chose the Medieval Cite of Carcassonne and the Hotel de la Cite to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
The OenoVideo Festival was hosted by the Syndicat du Cru Minervois in the heart of it’s vineyards and in the walls of Carcassonne from 30 May to 2 June 2013. Oenovidéo found one of the best possible places to stage its international scope. For twenty years, Oenovidéo international showed that it is possible to unite the seventh art and wine.
It was four long days for the Grand Jury but the Minervois region treated the Jurors to many excursions hi-lighting the beauty of the Carcassonne area.
The Festival started by a meet and greet luncheon for the members of the jury at the restaurant Saskia. and that was only the beginning!
The gala was held at La Barbacane, the Hotel de la Cité Michelin starred restaurant located in the Midieval Cite of Carcassonne.
Œnovideo 2013 Grand Jury
Grand Jury Président
Christophe Barratier. Director – Writer – French Producer
Grand Jury Members
Fabrizio Bucella. Doctor of Science University of Brussels. Sommelier – Columnist
Corinne Destombes. Executive Producer – Studios Folimage
Pascal Frissant. Winemaker – Château Coupe-Roses
Daniel Hernandez. CNRS physicist. writer
Patrick Masbatin. Master Sommelier – film Buff
Bernard Nauer. Fiction and documentary filmmaker
Joe O’Connell. Vineyard owner-winemaker. Historian, University of Massachusetts. Domain O’Vineyards, Carcassonne
Marc Olivier. Journalist – Journalist – Honorary Director ANEV
2013 Awards
awards from the Festival Grand Jury chaired by Christophe Barratier
- Grand Jury Special prize to the full length film :
Pelican's watch. Greece. Lea Binzer production.
- Best full length Film is awarded to two films:
Red Obsession Australia. David Roach et Warwick production
À la poursuite de Mme Li France. Anne-Marie Avouac production.
- Best short film is awarded to :
Vendanges d'hiver France. Guilhem Connac production.
- Price for best picture goes to feature film :
Boom Varietal - The rise of Argentine Malbec USA. Sky Pinnick production
- Award for best screenplay and staging is presented in short film:
Le vin, culture universelle Spain. Jorge Mazo production
- Best Picture “Promotion” is given to the short film:
Do Rias Baixas - A year of wine. Spain. Ramses Rivera production
- Best film for professionals in feature film :
La vente en primeur des vins grands crus classés bordelais. France. Production Hervé Remaud, Mylène Jaillette, Christophe Villain.
Special Mention
- Special Mention of the Grand Jury for the feature film :
Like the old vine. Croatia. Milka Barisic procduction
Audience Award
A year in Burgundy. USA. David Kennard production. Lafleur. Germany. Mathieu Charrière production.
Partners awards
- Landscape and Environment Prize awarded by Bayer CropScience :
Do Rias Baixas - A year of wine Spain. Ramses Rivera production
- Imaginarium Prize awarded by Imaginarium :
Le vin, culture universelle Spain. Jorge Mazo production
- Best work of general interest Prize awarded by ANEV :
UJVR, Union des jeunes viticulteurs récoltants France Florent et rémy Gaillard production
- Revue des Œnologues Prize awarded by la Revue des Œnologues :
Zucco, le vin du fils du Roi des Français Italy. Lidia Rizzo production
- Wine – Health – Pleasure of Life Prize awarded from VSPV :
No wine left behind USA. Kevin Gordon production
This receipe is for Donna VanAlstine and Chris Rud, our visitors from Toronto Canada.
Use preferably a roll of “pâte sablée” (kind of shortbread dough). Could be replaced by another pastry such as the puff pastry and adding some honey over the goat cheese.
cut the dough in 12 round portions
Lay a slice of goat cheese on each portion of dough
spray on top some dried rosemary mixed with fresh rosemary. add honey if you did not use the “pâte sablée”
Lay another smaller round slice of dough
fold and seal both slices of dough
Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes in 210° oven
Liz’s Salmon Rillettes
At the request of our World Travelers Sabine Bessey and her husband Ebaheart, here is the receipe of Liz’s Salmon Rillettes:
Get from the fish market about 200g of fresh salmon
heat your oven at 200°
Few drop of lemon, salt and pepper, roll your salmon inside of an aluminium sheet
cook in the oven for 10 minutes
Cool the salmon in the refrigerator
smash it with a fork
put in the ginger and garlic sauce
back in the refrigerator until the serving time
prepare the ginger-garlic sauce:
3 table spoon of mustard
about 20g of garlic. 20g of ginger
mix with about 3 table spoon of olive oil
put the sauce to the refrigerator.
Before serving, mix the salmon and the sauce.
Burbot in butter sauce
I like the small fresh burbots! Have to wake up early to get those at the fish market!
Very fast and easy receipe! Saute the fishes in a small amount of butter. add the garlic and parsley. When the garlic is golden, add some more butter, add the chopped parsley. Cook only one minute. Serve immediately!
I like to serve dishes, French or fusion, that our World Visitors can discover and appreciate. Travelers from Japan love sea food but I knew enough not to feed them shrimp tempura. I treated them to a Liz’s bouillabaisse.
Here is the receipe:
As for all my ingredients, the fish need to be very fresh! Then add onions, carrots, tomatoes and potatoes, salt and pepper.
I use the carrots for the color and the potatoes to thicken the broth and give it more of a “bisk” look and taste.
Sauté the fish before in a little amount of colza oil.
Sauté oinions, carrots, tomatoes and potatoes.
Put all ingredients together in a steamer and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove the bones, keeping only the meat of the fish.
blend fish and vegetables with some fresh dill. Serve hot. You can add on top a grilled toast covered with ementhal or gruyère cheese. or a grilled garlic toast!
At O’Vineyards our visitors from around the World are fascinating and unique!
The power of word of mouth: halfway around the World, in a Brisbane beauty salon, Jacinta was recommended to visit us by someone she just met, Barbara who was with us in January for her honeymoon!
Adorable truth from Babe’s mouth: Piper 13, traveling with her parents from the US, told us she will be back when she will be 21!
“A unique and lovely experience”
Reviewed April 22, 2013. by Jacinta McMahon. Melbourne, Australia
TripAdvisor. Senior Reviewer
This photo of O’Vineyards Bed & Breakfast – Carcassonne is courtesy of TripAdvisor
We recently stayed at this gorgeous setting whilst travelling through southern France. We deliberately looked for a bed and breakfast away from the hustle-bustle of the city, Carcassonne, but close enough to allow us to visit, see the sights and then return to some peace and serenity. O’Vineyards certainly provided us with that!
On arrival we were greeted by both Joe and Liz, and of course, Muse. Located at the end of a quiet road the house is literally surrounded by vineyards in every direction. We sat for a while, sipping on a lovely glass of their wine, chatting about the area, our travels and plans. Liz and Joe are both so friendly and interesting, without being too familiar or intrusive.
One point I must mention is the effort Liz went to in getting us connected to the internet- for some reason we were having trouble with the wifi and our macbook and iPad. Liz did not give up until we were connected, even contacting the internet provider and working through things systematically to ensure we had access. Also whilst we were staying with Liz and Joe we needed to do some printing, scanning and faxing- again, Liz went out of her way yo help us with this, and charged no extra for her time and efforts.
Following some ‘down time’ we met Joe and Muse out in the vineyard to learn more about the wines they produce. It was so informative and interesting and included many tastings and some very funny discussions. There was no wine snobbery here! Just genuine interest in sharing his knowledge and expertise. More tastings followed!
Then came dinner- what a gastronomical delight! It was so enjoyable to sit and feast upon such a beautiful meal. Liz is certainly a very talented chef and it was delightful sharing the table with Joe and Liz and sharing our stories. Conversation flowed so easily and the night flew by, with Joe promising us that we would not have a headache the following morning!
Breakfast was enjoyed out on the deck, overlooking the vineyards, with Muse sitting at our feet.
The whole experience at O’vineyards is first-class. So lovely to share some time with genuine people, in a beautiful setting, with great food and great wine. And no headache the next day!
Room Tip: All rooms are beautiful and overlook the vineyards
Memories:
This is for you, our International Visitors who appreciate the Foods served and Wines that accomodate them! Good foods start with very good ingredients! Receipes posting soon!
This photo of Domaine O’Vineyards is courtesy of TripAdvisor
Here are two Tripadvisor recent reviews about O’Vineyards Getaways! Thanks to Judi, Debbie, Denise & Terri, our visitors from Wisconsin! We love to be the highlight of your trip. We also enjoyed having you with us! Cheers!
“The Highlight of Our Trip!”
“What a great evening! Four women visiting from Wisconsin — we couldn’t have been better fed or entertained! From the start, the setting of this vineyard is lovely. The rolling hills of grapevines and this beautiful building were only the beginning. Muse — the sweet wine dog — greeted us and showed us around the place. Liz and Joe were amazing hosts. We felt as if we had been long-lost friends — it was that comfortable and easy. The meal was fabulous — one delicious dish after another, after another, after another… One bottle of wine after another, after another, after another… You get the picture. Wish we could have stayed another night to see what Liz was cooking for the next day!
“Great Wines – Lots of fun!”
“Four women from Wisconsin. We stayed overnight – and really enjoyed all that this place has to offer. The wine tour started with wine (that’s a good sign). We sat near a fireplace in a fabulous living room and learned about Liz and Joe and their vineyard. We were sorry we didn’t get to meet Ryan! Joe took us outside and into the wine-making facility. It was great to taste the wines and see the operation. We especially loved the very personal nature of our visit — felt like we were Liz and Joe’s friends from the State just in to say “hello.” They immediately made us feel welcome and at home. Their pride in winemaking is evident — we were impressed with the products and the hard work that goes into producing them.”
Reviewed April 11, 2013
by Judi Walsh
Waunakee, Wisconsin
This photo of O’Vineyards Table d’Hote is courtesy of TripAdvisor
This photo of Domaine O’Vineyards is courtesy of TripAdvisor
This photo of Domaine O’Vineyards is courtesy of TripAdvisor
This photo of O’Vineyards Table d’Hote is courtesy of TripAdvisor
Reviewed April 22, 2013. by 
