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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.

Growers have been under time pressure to tie down the vines that were left upright in many appellations in an attempt to avoid frost. Normally this is done by mid April but no chances were taken this year.

Clafoutis is a classic French dessert and one that I cook on a regular basis throughout the summer. I have various versions but this one is a particular favourite as it contains ground almonds in the recipe and can very easily be multiplied up or halved to make large or smaller quantities without compromising the final result.

Well, it seems like we made it past the frost saints (11th, 12th and 13th May) so growers are beginning to relax as we approach the second half of May. We had one or two nights in the past couple of weeks when temperatures dropped dangerously close to zero but it seems that we are out of the major danger zone.

I posted a brief resumé of this recipe on Instagram. This is a really easy recipe that really peps up a large fillet of fish. I used Lieu Noir (Coley) which is much cheaper than Cod and just as delicious.

Yesterday was the perfect day for the Fete du Thoureil, an annual celebration of life on the river Loire, its boats, people and traditions. Le Thoureil is our nearest riverside village and is a beautiful tranquil place that comes alive with events such as this.

From the 1st May until the 31st October 2018 Chateau des Vaults (Domaine du Closel) is open every day, 7 days a week for visits to the park, vineyard and tasting room. 
In the centre of the pretty village of Savennières, Chateau des Vaults makes fine white wines from the Chenin Blanc grape. 

Often you hear winemakers talking about ageing wine on the lees, the yeasty deposit that falls to the bottom of the tank or barrel when the alcoholic fermentation has finished. But what is to be gained by leaving the wine on its lees?

It’s the annual Fête du Thoureil this weekend, the 5th and 6th May. The forecast is for 23°C on Saturday and 27°C on Sunday, sunny and bright so fantastic news for the organisers of this lovely local event on the river Loire. 

There are a number of vineyard practices that are routinely done in the Springtime and in recent years we have seen more and more growers working their soil mechanically instead of using chemicals. So what exactly is décavaillonnage?

If you like to run and are in the Loire this September, the Foulées du Saumur Champigny is a lovely event amongst the vines. Runs of 9km, 17km and a troglo trail of 29km as well as 2 Nordic walking trails and much more.

Happy May Day!
Temperatures dropped to just around freezing last night in the Vouvray and Muscadet regions  so growers were out lighting fires in the vineyard to try and avoid the potential risk of frost. The weather forecast is pretty encouraging but temperatures were due to have a dip last night.