Blog

Many of you will have tasted Peter Hahn’s lovely Vouvrays while you have been with us at le tasting room. I’m happy to say that he has launched an on-line facility and his wines are now available on-line in Europe and France for delivery. 

We had a lovely lunch with great friend Maryse Tugendhat at the weekend. Many of you will remember her, the energetic and enigmatic lady winemaker of Chateau de Pimpéan in Grezillé. (Members only article).

Made in the region around Loches, the pretty town in the Touraine region of the Loire valley, La Couronne Lochoise is a raw whole milk goat’s cheese in the form of a crown (couronne).

A couple of pics taken first thing this morning in the garden where we have 6 Cabernet Franc and 6 Chenin Blanc vines.

Often in France we hear the expression ‘lutte raisonnée’ and for the non-French speaker this can be a bit of a mystery. What is ‘lutte raisonnée’?
The expression applies to an approach in the vineyard. The literal translation is ‘reasoned struggle’ or’ reasoned battle’

At home, in a relaxed dining situation or an informal bistro/restaurant you will not be given a plate upon which to put your bread.  Bread goes on the table. 

Bread and butter pudding. A very English pudding made with bread. A firm favourite of ours and very easy to make, here I have added a French and a British twist. I have used buttery brioche instead of bread and as you can see from the photo I snuck in some gooseberries, that quintessentially tangy British fruit.

Out and about in the hills of the Layon yesterday we saw that the vineyards now have budburst. As you can see from the pictures, they are still at the woolly bud stage ie there is little or no green to see quite yet.

I had to repost this little video taken recently at Prowein. It shows a variety of people from different countries trying to pronounce ‘Bourgueil’. Bourgueil is one of the Loire’s best known red wine appellations but it takes some pronouncing, especially if you are not familiar with the French language.

Anjou, the winemaking region around Angers and stretching as far east as Saumur, has been famous for its Chenin Blanc wines since the 9th Century. There are many appellations that fall under the Anjou umbrella

Things are a bit chilly here in the Loire and today it’s raining outside so I thought I’d share the recipe for a long slow cooked beef cheek (joue de boeuf) that will brighten up even the most miserable day.

No wonder that the Loire has a vast range of wine styles and grape varieties and this doesn’t take into account the multitude of small satellite regions that are also gathered under the Loire valley umbrella when it comes to wine.