On this third Thursday of November,

keen to do a winery tour at MONA

and raise a toast to the late Claudio Alcorso

I drive my connoisseurs friends –

all of us from Lyon –

along the busy Brooker Highway.

To impress them I decide to do a little circuit.

I turn to the left into Chardonnay Court

after the Strathglen Nursing Home.

See sniff swirl

light-bodied flavours of plum, apple and pear.

I enter Chablis Court.

See sniff swirl

less fruity than Chardonnay and goût de pierre.*

I return to Chardonnay Court.

Sip swish around

buttery feel and hint of hazelnut.

I turn left into Shiraz Court.

See sniff swirl and sip

the flavours of blackberries, mint

and black pepper from the Rhône valley

earthy scents of rich soil and oak-aged wines.

I spin left into Cabernet Drive.

Swirl sip and taste

expectorate, alert all your taste buds

to this full-bodied and jammy red

tinted with eucalyptus and mint.

Lost in Beaujolais Court we take time to meander.

Swirl sip and taste

fruity Easter flavours, banana, fig and peardrop –

examine the legs to assess the viscosity

of this light red, born north of Lyon.

I manage to find Pinot Court.

Swirl sip and taste

cherries, strawberries and raspberries.

Time to use the spittoons.

Noirs      blancs      gris

we finally find our way to the Museum of Old and Modern Art.

At 12, we – like thousands of connoisseurs from around the world –

swirl, sip and taste the anticipated glass of Beaujolais Nouveau.

*Goût de pierre taste of gunflint

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Christiane Conesa-Bostock was born in Lyon, France, and came to Australia in the early 1970s. She taught French, English and Spanish at Rosny College. She has written short stories and poems that have been published in Australia, Algeria, France and the US. Her latest publication is a bilingual book of poems about the painter Monet (Kol Sason Press).