When I run, I often see places I'd like to stop at -- buildings I'd like to enter, community gardens I'd like to explore, bizarre lawn art I'd like to photograph. But I'm always on the clock, which means no lingering for me, and these places and all their allure are forced to wait.
Tonnellerie Radoux is one such spot. My lunchtime runs take me past this cooperage, which makes French, American and Eastern European oak barrels, as well as staves, chips and oak inserts -- basically all types of wood "seasonings" that can be used in the winemaking process.
I finally got to check Radoux out this morning when my department toured the facility. They make the barrels on site, and we watched the process from start to finish. It was absolutely fascinating to see the coopers shape the seemingly stiff, rigid planks of wood into wine barrels. The act was almost like sculpting, with fire, hammers and metal hoops to guide the wood into the right form.
And the aroma -- wow. Toasted vanilla wafting through an entire warehouse. Someone needs to make this an aftershave.
CIM countdown: Five days. (And yes, the nerves are getting to me. Thank god for the distraction of wine barrels!)
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