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Not keen on overly formal dining and dining experiences we had no idea what to expect at Disfrutar in Barcelona last week.

It was a great opportunity to discover some non-French wines and one or two of them really made an impression on us such as this one, Ekam from Raül Bobet.

Definitely in our top 10 favourite cheeses. Reblochon is a washed rind, raw cow’s milk cheese made in the Savoie area of France.

A beautiful bunch of Chenin Blanc still hanging on the vine at Chateau de Fesles in the heart of the Bonnezeaux appellation taken on Saturday. 

While most of the Cab Francs have been brought in in the appellations of Chinon, Bourgueil and St Nicolas de Bourgueil there are still grapes hanging on the vines in Anjou.

Poiré is the French term for the English drink perry. Similar to cider except made using pears, it’s delicious and great served as an aperitif. 

We’d been thinking about moving for a couple of years. The house seemed big without the children and we had been toying with the idea for a while.

Harvest is in full swing here in the Loire and for the first time in three years we are seeing broad smiles on the faces of our partner growers as they bring in decent volumes of lovely looking grapes.

Alexandre Bain’s Les Grandes Hates 2014 was tasting just delicious last night. A hugely expressive nose full of white fleshed fruits and flowers followed by a delicious richness on the palate.

It’s so nice to see smiles on the faces of growers in the Loire this year. For the most part, everyone seems delighted with both the quantity and the quality that is coming in. 

The Loire is the second biggest producer of sparkling wine in France after Champagne but here we call it Crémant de Loire.

This recipe for Greek style chicken with orzo was brought to my attention by my brother recently who spotted it in the Daily Telegraph. He made one or two small adjustments and passed it on to me.