Port Harcourt

Piet had the chance to visit another country in Africa: Nigeria. He was asked to support a few projects that are being evaluated in the office in Port Harcourt, an infamous location in the Shell world. Due to a number of security incidents in the past movements in this town are very restricted. The expat staff lives in a camp (RA, or residential area), which looks a lot like Miri, with large bungalows in green, tropical gardens. The biggest difference is the high wall around this camp, with barbed wire on top. Staff and partners are not allowed to leave the camp, and at 6.30 AM in the morning a bus, with an armed escort (military with machine guns), drives the employees to the office (IA, or industrial area). At 4 PM sharp the convoy goes in the opposite direction to put the ‘prisoners’ back in their golden cage. The non-working partners therefore see nothing else than the camp and the airport, on their way in or out. Despite these restrictions the people try to make the best of their stay by organising many social and sporting events. The weather was very hot and humid, and one of these events, the weekly Fun Run, a 6 km loop around the perimeter of the camp, proved to be quite a challenge!

As the busses have curtains and the windows are often fogged due to the high humidity it was difficult to get a good impression of Port Harcourt. The limited views showed a chaotic, dirty city, heaving with people, motorbikes and Nigerian tuk-tuks, making the camp a peaceful oasis.

After flying in from Paris Piet spend a whole week in the office, working mainly with Nigerian colleagues, and he also got a good feel for life in Port Harcourt. And it is indeed true what is said: there is oil and gas everywhere in the subsurface, a huge contrast with the other projects he has worked on the past 6 years! At the end of the week he flew back to The Netherlands, to adjust his body back to the coldest April week in history.

A typical bungalow in the Port Harcourt camp 

The outer perimeter of the camp looks like a prison wall

The bus to the office, with an armed escort in front

Street scene in Port Harcourt 

 Another view from the bus

 On the way back to the airport

Everybody is living on the street

Loire and Champagne

For the yearly trip of Piet's renowned wine society 'Het Derde Glas' the choice fell on the Loire, a region they hadn't visited before. People think this is mainly a white wine area, but a lot of red is actually produced. And this had to be tasted.

On Wednesday morning the fellowship of the wines left Utrecht for a long drive south, past the Paris Periferique for an initial stop at Belliviere, in the small Jasnieres and Cote du Loir (not Loire) wine region. It was quite cold and grey, which resulted in an efficient tasting in a chilly barn. This was followed by a drive through the countryside to the city of Chinon, on the Vienne river. In the evening, at dinner, the unexpected outcome of the referendum back home was discussed with the head waitress, who was Ukrainian and strongly opposed the treaty. The evening was completed with Champions League football in the local hangout. The next morning Piet had a nice sunrise walk; Chinon is a beautiful little town with a large castle overlooking the river.

But no time to waste, after breakfast it was straight to Bernard Baudry, who was enthusiastically telling about his terroir, and explaining why it didn't matter that part of the vines were planted in the Vienne floodplain, with regular floods in the winter. After showing his cellar cave we purchased mainly Cabernet Franc red wines. The following stop was on the other side of Chinon at Mabilau, in the village of St. Nicolas de Bourgueil, where an efficient businesswoman shipped us off with more red wine. We drove east, for lunch in Azay and a punctual appointment with Xavier Weisskopf, which he reconfirmed several times beforehand. In true French tradition we stood for a closed door, and Xavier didn't bother to answer his phone. The schedule was quickly rearranged and a visit to nearby Chenonceau, one of the most famous Loire castles (actually on the river Cher), was slotted in. The next stop was at Jacky Preys, a short drive further east. His son, who obviously liked to taste his own wine, hosted us. They are making a large variety of white and red wines and we were presented with all of them. The biggest surprise was the price, with bottles ranging from 4 to 7 EUR only. Obviously a large purchase was made, with significant uncertainty about the taste back home. The trip continued to the hilltop wine village of Sancerre, were we ended up in a run-down and smelly hotel, but the highlight of the day was the excellent dinner in restaurant La Tour.

The next day started with another sunrise walk, with stunning views over the Sancerre vineyards and the Loire valley, filled with low hanging clouds. We stocked up on Sancerre white and red wines and continued to Briare for another touristic stop: a famous canal-aquaduct across the Loire, build by Eifel. After a pleasant walk the trip continued further east to Chablis, were we stopped for lunch. Only Piet couldn't resist buying a few bottles of white (for Mary). The rest of the afternoon was spent in the Champagne with two old favourites: Pascal Leblond-Lenoir in Buxeuil and Didier Doue in Montgeux. The first sip of Champagne felt like some sort of homecoming! The day was completed with an appropriate dinner in a wine shop in Troyes.

On Saturday morning the last visit was at Dehours where owner Jerome passionately told us about his estate, the terroir, the many pieces of land and their orientation, the traditional pressing and many other aspects of the Champagne business. The Lotus car in his tasting area showed that he was doing quite well. The highlight was the Trio S Extra Brut, a mix of vintages starting in 1998, of which 1/3 is replaced every year with the new vintage, creating a special 'cuvee', now ranging 15 years. This clearly showed in the price per bottle!

After lunch in Laon Piet was dropped off at his sister in Belgium, where the bottles were sorted. He then joined the 18th birthday celebration of his godson, and started his detox program.

Sunrise in Chinon, on the Vienne river

Tasting red wine at Bernard Baudry, in Chinon 

 The castle of Chenonceau

 Sunrise over the Sancerre vineyards

Morning mist in the Loire valley 

 Old houses in the centre of Troyes


Tasting Champagne at Dehours

Distribution of the harvest in Turnhout