Fifteen BRA members, coming from as far afield as Evian and Zug, travelled to Môtiers in the Val de Travers on a sunny Friday morning on 31 March. Several of us came by train from Neuchâtel and enjoyed the views in the Gorges d’Areuse as we made our way up the valley to Môtiers. We met for lunch at the well know restaurant, Les Six Communes, in the village centre, for an excellent plat-de-jour accompanied by the well know Neuchâtel rosé wine, Oeil de Perdrix. We were delighted to welcome in our midst the BRA Chairman, Graham Robertson and his wife, Di. Following lively discussion and exchanges of view we strolled over to the Priory, the home of the Mauler Wine Cellars.
We enjoyed a guided tour of the cellars with an explanation of the seventeen steps required to produce our local Champagne, which has been produced by the Mauler family for more than 185 years. This was followed by a tasting and each of us found our favourite, whether brut, sec or demi-sec. We parted company after what had been an excellent visit and our faithful group took the local train back down the valley to Neuchâtel. Our thanks go to Joy Sandoz for having organized an extremely enjoyable day and we are now looking forward to the next expedition.
Helen Stoeckli-Evans