Tagged with "Loire valley"

After a busy day helping out at Vincent Carême’s open day on Saturday, a group of us stayed on for dinner in the troglodyte tasting room.

The Vin de France category of wine production in France is the least regulated. Most wines in this category are every day wines, simple wines.

We both love Vermouth. It’s bitterness backed up by notes of herbs, spices, flowers and fruits. Perfect on ice on its own as an apero.

I first learnt about sparkling wine in the 1980’s. Vintage fizz was from a single year and non-vintage was from several years.

It seems pertinent (as we countdown to Beaujolais Nouveau) to talk a bit about Gamay. It’s famous in Beaujolais but also grown in the Loire.

A short localised hail storm can wipe out a year’s harvest in 15 minutes. As the hailstones batter the vines, the foliage is stripped off.

Who doesn’t love a rich, smooth chocolate mousse? This vegan recipe really hits the spot with everyone and it’s incredibly simple to make.

You walk into a winery and the sound of fermentation fills your ears as the barrels bubble away turning ripe grape juice into wine.

Yesterday we went to see Arnaud Herivault of Domaine d’Orfeuilles in the Vouvray appellation. He was preparing preparation 501.

Walk into any cellar in the Loire valley during harvest time and the chances are you’ll see wooden barrels with lots of chalk scribbles on the side.

We’re particularly fond of soft cheeses. The smellier the better for us. Soumaintrain certainly ticks all the boxes.

Hail damage is ghastly. It’s random, localised and destructive and can wipe out a crop in minutes. That’s what happened here last week.