I met Bernard Fayolle, the winemaker, at a wine fair in Caen. The fair was a first for me; routine for him. I was staying at the hotel and and paying a high price (actually, if I think about the astronomical prices and amounts I have paid so far on hotels, motels, rents, pensions and so on, I would say not only is France a land of geographic and gastronomic surprises but also a land of super prices!), so, as I said, I was at the hotel and Bernardovici-the-resourceful already had several customers in previous years and, of course, was staying at one of them for free.

“You live and learn” …

He approached shyly  to our stand:

-Bonjour, my name is Bernard, where did you stop?

– At the hotel!

– Aaa, I stay at a customer’s, can I taste your wine?

– Yes sir … Red, white?

-Is it from Moldova?

– No, sir, from the moon!

-I would not be surprised, you were there after all!

-No Berny, the Americans were there, we were the first in space, with Yuri Gagarin who, among other things, was a great lover of wine (here I said to myself „I got you! You will leave my stand with at least 12 bottles of wine and a lighter wallet!) when we were still part of the Soviet Union …. Ah! … Bernardo, you have no idea what times were those, the times were where you could spend 3 roubles on a dazzling afternoon with friends, and you will still be left with 15 kopeks; to bring them into piggy banks … With free medicine and no mobile phones! .. By the way, have you heard of Cricova? No? You have not lived then!

… Will you taste anything else, Bernardazzi?

-It’s a very good wine, I will buy a few cartons … For my collection … (tells you !?). Necessarily come to my stand and taste some of my wine.

– Okay, but what do you make?

-Coteaux-du-Lyonnais!

-Oops, what is that?

Been a while since then, but we kept in touch, so in June 2015, Bernuccio came to Moldova as part of my first French group… For a short wine tour.

We visited Vartely, Purcari, Etcetera, Cricova, ate and drank his fill, he felt “in the bosom of God” and whenever he could, talked to everyone. Moreover, he has lost his head to a beautiful Moldovan… He wanted  to take the  trolleybus…There he met a pretty girl who also spoke some French … Everything happened so quickly that, the poor guy, forgot to ask the phone number, leaving only her name: OLGA-AAA!Pre-med…

He will return to Chisinau to find her …. In August.

To be continued …

P.S. For Bernard, it was the first time he left France and the first time he got on the plane …

Who do you think did this? The 12 bottles!

They were good! Maybe I have sold them too cheap?!

Radu Nichita Macovei, July 28, 2015, Nantes