What Münzer Could Never Have Seen
Modern Perpignan is, of course far bigger than its original walled entity, and its surrounding walls long demolished. Münzer stayed outside the walls at a noble's estate. This is probably now engulfed by the Perpignan expanded urban area.
Today, since Perpignan is part of France and, by extension the European Union, produce comes from all members of the union and beyond, and the cloth manufacturing trade has long been outsourced to less expensive places. On the other hand, local wine is still produced, though the sweet, heavy muscats have largely given way to local dry wines of the Roussillon region, such as the red grenache blend we enjoyed this evening at an al fresco restaurant.
One other note: street signs and tourist markers are bilingual: French and Catalan, in tribute to Perpignan's Catalan past, but very few people here speak Catalan! French rules, and so, rightly does France.
Pictures: (1) Red wine in an outdoor restaurant; (2-3) a contemporary wine-bar and its "produce;" (4) European Community produce in a supermarket.
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