An Orchard With 100+ Varieties of Apples

It’s true, I am mostly going to tell you about book-related news. But I am also going to tell you about a nearby apple orchard that has over a hundred varieties of apple. It’s a type of heritage orchard. From what I can tell, the apples aren’t sold, or packaged, or harvested at all — the trees are allowed to go through their yearly life cycle and are simply preserved and protected so that these amazing apple varieties don’t disappear.

The orchard is on the property at Chateau Carrouges. It’s a castle with a moat and a memorable gatehouse about 20 minutes from our house. It was privately owned until the 1930s, and now it’s a state monument. The grounds of the property are usually open, even when the castle itself is not open, so it’s a reliable place to take visitors. And this month, we’ve had 3 weeks of houseguests — which means we’ve visited 3 times. This has been ideal for me, because October is my favorite time to visit Chateau Carrouges. Why? Because the orchard is full of apples!

There’s a map at the beginning of the orchard, naming the type of apple on each tree, and visitors can walk through the trees freely. Apple trees in France are grown on a tall trunk, so that cows can graze below them without hitting the branches. I’ve never seen cows under the trees at Chateau Carrouges, but the trees are certainly tall enough to accommodate them. When the apples are in season, they are allowed to drop on their own, and eventually the ground beneath the trees is carpeted with apples. Some trees drop their apples before others. Some trees drop their leaves before they drop their apples.

As we walk through the trees, we sample the recently fallen apples, or sometimes reach up and pick something if the branches are low enough. We don’t collect the apples, and we don’t bring them home — I have no idea if that’s even allowed — we just sample a few while we’re there and see if we can find a favorite variety.

And the varieties! I’ve never heard of a single one. It’s fascinating to me. It would be fun to gather 10 different kinds and do a taste test.

Have you ever heard of an orchard like this? Or have you encountered unusual varieties of apple?

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My book, Ejaculate Responsibly, came out a week ago Tuesday. And the response has been so exciting — and kind of intense too. I find myself really exhausted by like 8pm every evening. My publicity team wanted to focus on the book last week, and suggested I hold off sharing merch links until this week. But now it’s this week! For those who have been asking:

You can find tote bags, trucker hats, pencil sets, and postcard sets on the Workman site.

You can find tees, hoodies, mugs, and phone covers over at Tee Spring.

The merch features the designs of Bonnie Siegler — the same amazing woman who designed the book. Aren’t they great?

I’ve had a few requests for an oversize sticker, so I’m working on that. If there are other items you’d like to see, please let me know!

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There have been 12 major media mentions of Ejaculate Responsibly so far. Here’s a handy list:

USA Today
Vogue|
CBS Mornings
Washington Post
Yahoo! Unmuted
MSNBC
The View
Ms. Magazine
NPR
Katie Couric Media
Publishers Weekly
The Boston Globe (this one is just a little mention at the end, not a big feature, but I’ll take it!)

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Thank you for joining in on the celebrations. I appreciate your comments and posts and encouragement so much. And your reviews! They have started to come in and oh my — they are so meaningful to me. For anyone who has taken a moment to rate the book, or review the book, I can’t thank you enough. And if you haven’t had a chance yet, it’s not too late! Leaving a review is a significant and impactful way to support the book.

That’s all for now. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind.

kisses,
Gabrielle