For two nights in August, the centre of Saumur becomes the biggest restaurant in the world as thousands gather for the annual celebration of Saumur Champigny and its wines over a delightful open air dinner on the banks of the river Loire.
10,000 people are expected to attend and 2km of tables for dinner will be set up in front of the Hotel de Ville on the banks of the river. Visitors can enjoy a simple dinner sourced from local products and taste the classic Cabernet Franc wines of Saumur Champigny during the evening. As always there will be live music and much merriment.
Every year 100 growers in the Saumur Champigny appellation donate 15kg of grapes per hectare and these grapes are used to make a classic Saumur Champigny wine that reflects the previous vintage year. As always, visitors have the chance to taste the current vintage and also older wines from previous vintages.
You can buy tickets on-line from the Saumur Tourist Office website. It costs 5€ for a tasting glass (that gives you the chance to taste the different wines) or 13€ for the dinner and tasting glass included.
