Le Tasting Room

Thank you both so much for making our wedding day even more special!

Everything was set and timed for this day, and visiting a wine tasting in the Anjou region was very appreciated by myself and our guests. The hospitality of Cathy and Nigel overthrew us, but ofcourse also the great and vast knowledge of wine. We had a tight schedule for the morning, and Cathy did everything she could to fit in as much information as possible into the few hours we had available. The surroundings, the winecellar, the fantastic home made lunch! Thank you so much! We'll be back to visit again the next time we're in the area.

Hi Cathy and Nigel,

I spent a wonderful one-day trip out of Paris with letastingroom together with a lovely group from New York. The morning's stay at letastingroom's delightfully rustic house in the country was much appreciated, especially the tea after the early morning train into Angers from Montparnasse. Your choice of wines to introduce us to the Loire was impeccable - a nice variety of blancs et rouges containing a few surprises among the lesser expensive wines. The small area where the Savennieres wines come from was a welcome discovery.

I cannot say more about lunch than it was one of the best I have had in France, anywhere- lots of fresh vegetables, goat cheese, quiche lorraine as I like it, and more fine wines for those who wanted some.

The afternoon trip to Baumard and the winery of Ch Pierre-Bise-I only know the wine I brought from it and it was surprisingly good and inexpensive - we all enjoyed very much. They offered a wide variety of whites and reds and a personal tour by the owner of  Pierre-Bise with his lovely grandchild.

We all came away, aware as never before of the wines of the Loire and of the individual  regions whence they came as Cathy gave us an excellent introduction to the valley from the Muscadet area near the mouth of the Loire inland to Touraine and Vouvray and more. For anyone who is not as knowledgeable of what the Loire has to offer as, say, Bordeaux or Burgundy, Cathy and Nigel bring knowledge and hospitality and such enjoyment to a great learning experience. I will do it again soon.  Peter Howden, Justice, Superior Court of Justice, Ontario, canada.

What a delightful and educational visit my husband and I enjoyed at Le Tasting Room! Fresh coffee and homemade biscuits kept us occupied as we awaited our fellow tasters. Nigel had arranged to pick them up in Angers. That service is a good one as one couple was traveling by train.

Two hours in the morning were devoted to tasting the wines of the Loire Valley, from whites through a rose and then some reds. We had been to many previous tastings elsewhere, but Cathy provided insights and details we hadn’t encountered before. We were able to purchase one of them, the Anjou Villages-Brissac (2006) Château la Varière from Le Tasting Room. All are available, I believe.

A rustic and generous lunch was served in the cave, accompanied by wines we had tasted earlier. Thus, the wine accompanied food, an excellent added dimension. White wine with soft cheeses is a marriage made in heaven!

In the afternoon, we were driven to Domaine la Juchepie where vintner Eddy hosted us for an extensive tour of the vineyards before we tasted his excellent wines. They were spectacular! This tasting of coteaux had been a special request of mine which Cathy accommodated.

I highly recommend Le Tasting Room for excellent information, inspired entertainment, hearty food, and truly lovely wine served by two equally lovely people.

Dear Cathy and Nigel-

Thank you so much for such a great weekend!  We absolutely loved the farmhouse and your hospitality was incredible.  Cathy- you're a great cook!  And the wine knowledge you were able to share was invaluable.  We feel like we know the Loire Valley so much better now- we had no idea we'd learn so much- I'm now a huge fan of Vouvray!

Thanks again for such a great weekend.  We hope we can come again soon!  For anyone looking at staying here, look no further - there's nothing better out there - Cathy and Nigel are great and so is the whole place, the lunches and the wine.

Cathy and Nigel:

Thank you for the fine day touring the two vineyards and the nice lunch in such a great setting. Helene, Stephanie, Mark and I enjoyed the visits and especially the second vineyard.

You can always notice when an individual is appreciative to display his organization's products. The second individual was so cordial and informative in entertaining us and I hope his vineyard remains a sucessful endeavor.

Thanks for a great day and we made our train. Thank God we left on Thursday and missed the volcanic cloud.

I will recommend your tour to any of our acquaintenances visiting France.

Don

We have had the most wonderful epicurean adventure at le tasting room. We were lucky enough to stay in the Barn accomodation which was excellent. Wonderfully comfortable and roomy. Breakfast was served to us and was the best that France can offer with fresh croissants and baguette with fruit and yoghurt. Lovely preserves or honey and a decent pot of tea too!

After arrival we enjoyed a light supper with excellent wine after some fizz to assist the unpacking. Supper was served in the family kitchen and relaxed us as we discussed the treats in store.

The next day we enjoyed a tasting and tutorial with Cathy on a number of local wines and our taste buds were ready for more to come. We lunched at  Le Pot de Lapin in Saumer and I chose what I thought was a light starter! Mushrooms stuffed with pancetta and vegetables in a very rich sauce. I could have shared this to leave room for the next excellent course of fish! Tasting followed that afternoon and after a brief rest we were taken to our supper venue at the local auberge. We had another great meal here.

Saturday followed and we had the choice of the local market in Saumer or joining visitors on a day trip from Paris to some excellent vineyards. We chose the tastings and had some free time in Saumer in the afternoon following lunch at Le Tasting room. That evening we ate at the most expensive restaurant in the locality and had their tasting menu. Words cannot fully desribe this experience. Epicurean it certainly was!

For all of the activity Cathy or Nigel ferried us to visits and restaurants. No problem enjoying the wines on offer for either of us!!

Sunday was our Ruby wedding anniversary and breakfast arrived with champagne to celebrate. We then went to explore the fizz producers and had an excellent tasting and visit in the cellars.

This is just a brief outline of our visit and I can fully recommend it to everyone. Did I mention the visit which had us driving a kilometre underground?

We had a wonderful time on the "Escape from Paris" tour!

Such a fun, education and interesting day. Cathy and Nigel are great company! Our first vertical tasting ever and the winemaker, Mme Laroche herself did the pouring! It was a great wine tasting experience. Lunch was wonderful (Cathy you are a great cook!), and the visit with Maryse followed by tasting and tour of her Chateau de Pimpean was just wonderful! 

We hope to return and would recommend this tour to any fellow wine lovers looking for a day trip from Paris!

Cheers from Texas,

Raina and Jason Willick

If you love wine and want a great day out, this is it!

Cathy and Nigel gave us a lovely day, full of interest with their knowledge of wine  and of tasting same.  We had a superb leisurely meal in the delightful surroundings of their open cellar.

The whole day was very friendly and easy-going and I would really recommend it.

Thank you Cathy and Nigel

We had a fantastic day in le tasting room. Learned loads in the morning tasting and this was enhanced by the fabulous lunch in the old wine cellar.

The trip to the vineyards was great fun and lead to our purchase of all of the wine for our upcoming nuptials.

Couldn't recommend the place highly enough, thanks to Cathy and Nigel!

What a super couple, knowledgable, fun, engaging. We took our whole family and their kids entertained ours whilst we got to know the local wines.

We made a detour on our travels through France to take in this visit and it was so worth it. A great experience to be treasured and remembered.  Thanks to Nigel, Cathy and their kids, I would highly recommend them to you.

Polly, Colin, Sarah and I enjoyed a brilliant 2 hours introduction to wine tasting last week at le tasting room. Cathy's knowledge and passion for wine is incredible. We all learnt a great deal in a short time, and we will be back for more education that's for sure!

IF YOU ARE VISITNG THIS WEBSITE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND CONSIDERING MAKING A BOOKING WITH CATHY AND NIGEL, THEN DO NOT HESITATE - GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM, TELL THEM WHAT WOULD SUIT YOU BEST AND GO FOR IT, YOU WILL ENJOY EVERY MINUTE, GUARANTEED!

Thank you Cathy and Nigel for this perfect day, your incredible cooking, hospitality and for sharing a little of your vast and very impressive knowledge of wine with us - a really perfect introduction to wine and wine making, and a fantastic discovery of not only the Loire valley wines but also German, Portuguese and Californian wines.

We really enjoyed meeting you, Charlie, Rosie and Sybil and hope that we find another opportunity to repeat this fantastic day - thank you so much for making our fifth wedding anniversary so memorable.  Best regards Laura and Laurent.

Cathy and Nigel are very knowledgable and set up a tour based on our personal interests.  We had a unique opportunity to spend a lot of time with passionate winemakers discussing the characteristics of terroir, biodynamic 'philosophy', vineyards etc... The wine and food pairing was incredible!!  We learned a lot and had an incredible time.  Looking forward to another tour with them!

Francis and Cristina - California

Thanks to Cathy, Nigel, Rosie, Charlie and Sybil (the lab) for a wonderful tasting and picnic.

Cathy and Nigel gave us a great intro to Loire wines. Very educational and fun too.

Rosie and Charlie provided the entertainment for our two small children (ages 4 and 2) while we did the tasting and ate the fabulous 6 course picnic with even more wine. Lovely kids... You should be very proud of them.

This really was one of the highlights of our holiday.  

Thanks

Paul, Cheryl, Hannah and Eddie

Hi Cathy and Nigel

Thanks for a great day; without a doubt one of the best tasting and tours we've done anywhere. We enjoyed a unique selection of local wines, a delicious lunch in your underground cave and the afternoon visits to the vinyards in the nearby towns. And to anyone reading this, Nigel and Cathy really made this a fun and informative experience. Thanks again for one of the highlights of our stay in the Loire Valley.

Amos & Nikki

Nous sommes allés en séjour en Mai dernier près de Saumur!

 C'est là que nous avons découvert le "TASTING ROOM" Nous ne pouvons que vous recommander cette adresse où vous ferez la connaissance de Cathy et Nigel . Ce sont de fins connaisseurs de La Frace qu'ils aiment énormément!! De plus, au regard de leur CV, ils sont devenus amoureux du Maine et Loire et de ses vins! Ils vous feront découvrir ces vins , comment les appécier, les accomoder avec un plat, vous proposerons des dégustations et des tas d'autres activités! Si vous désirez quelquechose qui n'apparait pas sur leur site, n'hésitez pas à leur demander ce que vous aimeriez, ils seront toujours prêts à vous satisfaire!! De plus, ils sont réellement charmants, respectueux de La France et des Français dont ils connaissent parfaitement la gastronomie! Autre point non négligeable, ils pourront vous indiquer des lieux à visiter que nous n'avons pas manquer de faire! Nous remercions Cathy et Nigel pour avoir fait de cette journée passée avec eux un moment inoubliable. Depuis, nous avons invité des amis à diner et leur ont fait déguster les vins que nous avaient recommandés Cathy et Nigel avec les plats appropriés! Ces derniers ont été "bluffés" par notre "expérience et connaissance "de ces vins savoureux!!! Nous avons fait des émules qui vont aller faire un petit séjoir dans le Maine et Loire et prendre contact avec le TASTING ROOM"!!! N'hésitez pas à aller faire un détour par Cumeray ( charmant village), vous en sortirez RAVIS!!!

We had a brilliant time on our Vineyards a Velo stopping on route for informative discussions in the vineyards, great picnic and of course wine tasting. Cathy the dinner you cooked was brilliant too. We both had a great day with both of you - informative, relaxed and great company.

All the best.