Blog
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Technical vocabulary explained – fermage & métayage
You may have heard the term fermage mentioned. What is fermage and what’s the difference between fermage and métayage
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What’s on the cheeseboard this week? Claousou
This is a cheese you’re unlikely to find outside France. Claousou is a brebis (sheep’s cheese) that comes from Occitanie.
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Loire vineyard update – 7th August 2022
One record after another is being broken this year. July 2022 was the driest July since records began in 1958/9.
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – an Italian inspired starter or light lunch
Inspired by our recent trip to Roanne, today, I recreated ‘a ma façon’ the very simple, yet delicious entrée (appetizer) we enjoyed.
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What’s on the cheeseboard this week? Comté
Probably France’s most famous hard cheese that comes from the Massif du Jura. It’s made from unpasteurised milk from Franche Comté in Eastern France.
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Loire vineyard update – high temperatures as we count down to harvest
This week has seen high temperatures again here in the Loire valley (and all over Europe).
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Wine education – all about Crémant
A crémant is a sparkling wine made in the Traditional Method (the one used in Champagne), in a specific geographic zone.
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – a savoury cake for your apéros
More used to a few crisps and a bowl of peanuts with a pre- dinner glass of wine, the French apéro takes things to a whole different level.
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The International Pepper Festival – Terre Exotique
If you’re a foodie then you’ll find it as hard as I do to drive past Terre Exotique in Rochecorbon, one of the Vouvray villages close to Tours.
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Record breaking temperatures in the Loire 18th June 2022
We were warned. It was going to be HOT yesterday. And, it was. 41°C to be precise. The hottest day recorded in June since records began.
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The Le Mans Gang returns!
It’s been three years since the trusty Le Mans Gang came down for their annual Loire Wine Discovery day and there was a lot to catch up on.
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Wine education – new disease resistent grape varieties
Like most growers in Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc makes up the majority of plantings but they’ve also planted a new variety called Floréal.