-
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.
-
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.
-
Frost alert!
Unfortunately it looks like the temperature is due to dip below zero this week which is very bad news for local vignerons.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Wine education – residual sugar in wine
Wine professionals often talk about residual sugar in wine but the average wine drinker is a little unclear about what this term actually means.
-
Wine Education – the diversity of Chenin Blanc
If you look carefully at a bunch of Chenin Blanc around harvest time you’ll notice that the grapes are not uniform in colour. Chenin is a magical grape.
-
Do you know about Pineau d’Aunis?
The Coteaux de Vendômois is an appellation in the Loire valley based around Le Loir. Did you know there are 2 Loire rivers?
-
What’s going on in the Loire valley vineyards in August?
As we countdown to harvest it looks like 2019 may prove to be a tricky year for winemakers.
-
Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – roasted Toulouse sausages with tomato salad
This is a great dish for a summer’s day. A simple dish, transformed by the quality of the ingredients so we only make it when the tomatoes are in season.
-
Technical vocabulary demystified – grattage
What is grattage? The literal translation from French would be ‘scratching’ but what does that mean when related to vineyards?