Letter from John

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="0c0fd5a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Gites at La Vergne News</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gites at La Vergne News"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="filming.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Filming at La Vergne and we missed it!">Filming at La Vergne and we missed it!</A>   |   <A HREF="carnival.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St. Laurent de Ceris Carnival">St. Laurent  de Ceris Carnival</A>   |   <A HREF="pranzac.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pranzac 2005 Foire du Vin du Fromage et ">Pranzac 2005 Foire du Vin du Fromage et des produits Artisanaux</A>   |   <A HREF="events_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Forth Coming Events April">Forth Coming Events April</A>   |   <A HREF="flowers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wild Flowers">Wild Flowers</A>   |   <A HREF="snakeshead_fritillary.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Snakeshead Fritillary">Snakeshead Fritillary</A>   |   <A HREF="spring_has_sprung.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spring has Sprung">Spring has Sprung</A>   |   <B>Letter from John</B>   |   <A HREF="la__rochelle_birmingham.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="La Rochelle Birmingham">La  Rochelle Birmingham</A>   |   <A HREF="musiques_au_chateau.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Musiques au Chateau">Musiques au Chateau</A>   |   <A HREF="scarce_swallowtail_butterfly.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Scarce Swallowtail Butterfly">Scarce Swallowtail Butterfly</A>   |   <A HREF="christmas_2005_newsletter.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Christmas 2005 Newsletter">Christmas 2005 Newsletter</A>   |   <A HREF="id201.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Snowed in at La Vergne">Snowed in at La Vergne</A>   |   <A HREF="name_this_bird.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Name This Bird">Name This Bird</A>   |   <A HREF="more_wildlife.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More Wildlife">More Wildlife</A>   |   <A HREF="the_marshes_in_the_daily_tel.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Marshes in The Daily Telegraph">The Marshes in The Daily Telegraph</A>   |   <A HREF="spring_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spring 2006">Spring 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="spring_2006_has_officailly_a.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spring 2006 has Officially Arrived">Spring 2006 has Officially Arrived</A>   |   <A HREF="the_famous_marshes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Famous Marshes">The Famous Marshes</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=247 style="border-right: 3px solid #000000;" BGCOLOR="#FFFF66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="mailto:gites@amarsh.com.fr" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:gites@amarsh.com.fr"><IMG SRC="114cd890.jpg" border=0 width="205" height="137" ALT="Gites at La Vergne Logo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> Click Photo to contact us</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="216" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#FFCC33" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 130 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="http://www.amarsh.com.fr/la_commanderie.htm" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.amarsh.com.fr/la_commanderie."><IMG SRC="29dcd7c0.jpg" border=0 width="205" height="124" ALT="La Commanderie gite" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 160 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="http://www.amarsh.com.fr/la_petite_maison.htm" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.amarsh.com.fr/la_petite_maiso"><IMG SRC="29ecd9a0.jpg" border=0 width="205" height="154" ALT="La Petite Maison gite" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 160 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="http://www.amarsh.com.fr/chambre_d_hotes.htm" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.amarsh.com.fr/chambre_d_hotes"><IMG SRC="29fcd9a0.jpg" border=0 width="205" height="154" ALT="Chambres d'Hotes bed & breakfast" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=310 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Letter from John</I></div> <div> Dear Friends and Francophile's,</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="600" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 142 WIDTH="405"><div> For many years I have been made very welcome by Andrew & Hilary, staying  in either one of the gites or in their very comfortable Chambre D'Hotes. I find La Vergne a good  base for exploring many wine regions in the south west corner of France.  </div> <div> After  a recent wine buying trip  I thought that I would share some of my exploits with you.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="31ab5880.jpg" border=0 width="181" height="136" ALT="Cows on farm la vergne gite" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="592"><div>  I made a leisurely way to one of my favourite haunts along the Tarn, where I met  Katy from the Musee de Vin in Gaillac. </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 137 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="318bc830.jpg" border=0 width="444" height="131" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="184"><div> She told me  that the  ambitions of the new generation of wine producers are adding  to their fathers' passion by taking a high-standard of training. </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 115 WIDTH="592"><div> One local wine producer  had been so alarmed by the popularity of "New World Wines" that he had decided that if he could not beat them, then he must join them. He spent an eighteen month apprenticeship in Australia.The Gaillac wine producers have a formidable heritage,  the diversity of the Gaillac vineyard means that it can produce a great variety of elaborate wines, a wide range of dry, sweet and "perlé" white wines, red and rose wines as well as sparkling wines. </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 256 WIDTH="405"><div> Back home now he told me of his efforts to produce a truly French Wine, but leaning towards the "New World" type. Part of the method uses oak barrels, new each year. I was surprised to learn that there are about 130 varieties of oak trees and each variety gives a different subtle flavour to the wine . He still has much experimenting to do, to get the correct balance of tastes in his wine but the wines I tasted are heading in a most pleasant direction. Needless to say I bought some home to try over the next few months.</div> <div> Kind Regards</div> <div> John Mason</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="31d98fa0.jpg" border=0 width="152" height="250" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0b7fa591dkelyh.jpg"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>