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More used to a few crisps and a bowl of peanuts with a pre- dinner glass of wine, the French apéro takes things to a whole different level.

If you’re a foodie then you’ll find it as hard as I do to drive past Terre Exotique in Rochecorbon, one of the Vouvray villages close to Tours.

We were warned. It was going to be HOT yesterday. And, it was. 41°C to be precise. The hottest day recorded in June since records began.

It’s been three years since the trusty Le Mans Gang came down for their annual Loire Wine Discovery day and there was a lot to catch up on.

Like most growers in Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc makes up the majority of plantings but they’ve also planted a new variety called Floréal.

The weather in the Loire has been unseasonally hot and dry these past few weeks and as temperatures rose, hail storms were predicted.

I posted a few days ago that vines here in the Loire are flowering. There seems to be a lot of fruit and conditions are perfect at the moment.

Domaine d’Orfeuilles is an estate that has been in the Herivault family for more than 2 centuries.

We’ve had very little rain these past few weeks and lots of sunshine.

Domaine de la Cotelleraie has long been one of our favourite producers in St Nicolas de Bourgueil so it was great to pop in last week.

Blind tasting. It’s frustrating, fun and challenging in equal measure.

In the vineyards, growers are ‘tying down’ – pliage in French. Only vines that have a long cane after pruning can be tied down to the wire.