Tagged with "day trips from Paris"

What is grattage? The literal translation from French would be ‘scratching’ but what does that mean when related to vineyards?

Domaine Filliatreau is having a ‘portes ouvertes’ on Saturday May 25th and Sunday May 26th. Pop in to taste good quality Saumur Champigny wines and I’m sure much more.

Growers who choose not to use chemicals to control weeds underneath the vines ‘work’ the soil mechanically or occasionally use a horse.

We both prefer the dark meat, preferring the juicy, tender leg meat to the breast so last night I decided to spice up the remaining breasts! Here what you need to do make a lovely spicy mid-week dinner that requires little work and really hits the spot. 

One of the signs of spring that we look out for is the beautiful wisteria that grows all over the Loire valley. It’s generally out in time for my birthday!

Things are really taking shape here at le tasting room in the Loire valley. Our new home is semi-troglodytic (partially built into the rock face).

You’ll often see the word ‘clos’ mentioned on a wine label. A clos is a walled vineyard or a vineyard that used to be enclosed by walls (not always still standing).

Saucesse de Morteau (a delicious smoked sausage) is a protected product which means it must meet the strict regulations that surround its production.

Beautifully crafted artisanal wines made with practically zero intervention in the vineyard or winery. And what’s more, now we are practically neighbours!

The van arrived with all our furniture this last Monday so it’s been all systems go this week unpacking boxes. It’s been like a lucky dip, rediscovering our things.

Our furniture (that has been in storage since October) arrives on Monday. We can’t wait to get everything into place and start making it into a home after 4 months in our (lovely but temporary) home.

In our village, we return to the calm just like we had in Cumeray although we have street lights and mains drains. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be excited about that!