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Lock-down take 2. Day 34. 2nd December.
I’ve taken a few days off from the daily blogging and to be honest, I feel better for it. Writing every day has been a pleasure.
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Lock-down take 2. Day 24. 22nd November 2020.
First things first, a lovely long walk through the vineyards this sunny Sunday morning.
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Wine education – what is a cépage teinturier
Teint is a French word and it means tint, dye, stain. A cépage teinturier is a grape variety that stains, dyes or tints. So what makes that different?
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Life in the Loire after lock-down. 4th June. Day 25 of déconfinement.
Lightening flashes illuminated the sky throughout the night. We lay in bed waiting for the storm to come but it never did.
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Life in the Loire after lock-down. 25th May. Day 15 of déconfinement.
Another week begins and I start the day by making a batch of raison scones. Just four ingredients – flour, cream, lemonade and raisins. How easy is that?
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Wine Education – the difference between a lieu-dit and a hameau
Do you know the difference between a lieu-dit and a hameau. Do you know what either of them means?
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Life in the Loire on lock-down. 1st April. Day eighteen.
I’m a day late getting my monthly newsletters out. Totally inexcusable. It’s not as if I’ve been too busy is it. I hope my subscribers will forgive me.
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Life in the Loire on lock-down. Monday 30th March. Day sixteen.
Another frosty start to the day. It seems like temperatures are going to be low for most of the week. I think of the vignerons often at the moment.
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Frost alert!
Unfortunately it looks like the temperature is due to dip below zero this week which is very bad news for local vignerons.
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – cod en papillote with tomatoes and basil
This is an easy peasy recipe that is great fun to serve at the table. A succulent piece of cod on a bed of semi dried tomatoes with fresh basil and thyme.
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – basmati rice and lentils with raisins, dates, saffron & cumin
Rice and lentils together are a perfect combination. Add in some spices, a slow cooked caramelised onion and a touch of sweetnes and you have deliciousness.
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Wine education – burying the cow’s horn. What’s that all about?
The bousse de corne is one of the most important preparations used in bio-dynamic viticulture and is applied to the vineyard in Spring and Autumn.