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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – caramelised endives with thyme and Parma ham
We eat a lot of endives in France and love that characteristic bitter quality. In the winter we eat them in salads or cook them wrapped in ham and bechamel.
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – Campari and orange cake
This is a rather Christmassy cake that serves 12 generously. Blood oranges can be hard to find in France but normal oranges are also excellent.
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What are we drinking this week? Coteau des Treilles 2009 from Jo Pithon
Another amazing wine from Jo Pithon, his Coteau des Treilles 2009. We have a few bottles of a few different vintages in our cellar and it’s a while since we tasted the 2009.
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Update on Jo Pithon and Domaine Pithon-Paille – top estate in Anjou
Jo Pithon, legendary winemaker in Anjou has sold his domaine to Ivan Massonnat after 40 years of dedicating his life to wine.
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – roasted winter veg
Using up bits and bobs in the fridge to make a really tasty winter lunch. I took half a butternut squash and half an aubergine,
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What are we drinking this week? Tue le Boa from Jean-François Merieau
Off-beat to say the least. Jean-François Merieau’s Tu le Boa is an extraordinary wine. In 2000 he made just 1500 bottles from tiny yields (around 20hl/ha) of Sauvignon Blanc.
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Wine education – burying the cows’ horns
The biodynamic approach to growing grapes includes burying cows’ horns in the winter and digging them up again in the spring. What’s that all about?
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What’s going on in the Loire valley vineyards in October?
We’ve been living in the Loire for 12 years now and this is the first year that we have seen smiles on the faces of growers all over the region.
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What’s on the cheeseboard this month? Reblochon
Definitely in our top 10 favourite cheeses. Reblochon is a washed rind, raw cow’s milk cheese made in the Savoie area of France.
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Chenin Blanc
A beautiful bunch of Chenin Blanc still hanging on the vine at Chateau de Fesles in the heart of the Bonnezeaux appellation taken on Saturday.
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Wine education – picking grapes for Crémant
The Loire is the second biggest producer of sparkling wine in France after Champagne but here we call it Crémant de Loire.
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Loire valley vineyard update – Domaine de la Cotelleraie St Nicolas de Bourgueil
Grapes are looking superbly healthy and there are plenty of them at Domaine de la Cotelleraie in the St Nicolas de Bourgueil appellation here in the Loire valley.
