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BBC1' s new series on the Impressionists starts on Sunday 30 April, with 3 episodes covering the Impressionist movement's story and that of Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas and Cezanne. The potography looks sumptuous, as it should with settings in Paris, Provence and Normandy, including Monet's Garden at Giverny (27 Eure, Haute-Normandie). This is particularly fitting in the year which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the death of Cezanne (see earlier article) with the events around Aix-en-Provence (13 Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence).over this summer.
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With the imminent launch of the new Da Vinci Code film starring Tom Hanks, there is special interest in many of the real locations referred to in the novel, including France where the story starts in the Louvre in Paris, and of course Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and other works are on display there. Elsewhere in Paris you'll find the 17th Century St Sulpice Church where the "Rose Line" copper strip is laid in the floor. Just outside Paris is the Chateau de Villette which is the home to one of the primary antagonists in the story.
On a related theme, the Chateau de Clos Lucé near Amboise (37 Indre et Loire, Loire Valley) is where da Vinci spent the last years of his life, and which has a museum and exhibits (plus some intrigue) about Leonardo.
For more info see the website www.visitdavincicode.com
For myself, I found it a real good read, with a great blend of plausible conspiracy theory, well-written and well-paced. There is an added frisson that the physical settings for many scenes exist, but I suspect we shall never know which elements of the story may have some bearing on fact rather than fiction. And, if it adds another dimension or perspective on a visit to Paris then so much the better.

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If you are lucky enough to be in Provence at the end of May 2006, you could indulge in the Fete de la Vigne et du Vin, Throughout the departement of Vaucluse (84 Provence) various locations will be offering open tastings and the chance to compare and contrast a whole range of local wines from Cotes du Rhone, Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Valreas, Vinsobres, Tavel and Chateauneuf-du-Pape. These southern Rhone appellations offer big meaty reds, some excellent rosés and big juicy white wines. At the moment we know that the following locations are included on 27 May 2006: Jonquerettes, Vinsobres, Valreas, Vaison-la-Romaine, Vacqueyras, Tavel and Ste Cecile-des-Vignes. There is a website, but it appears to still show the 2005 info - see check first for other locations - www.fetedelavigneetduvin.com, which included numerous locations in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Avignon.
Our own favourite producer is Domaine la Fourmone/l'Oustau Fauquet where they produce a beautifully velvety smooth Vacqueyras and a blockbuster mouth-filling Gigondas - "drink with spoon!" The domaine is situated just north of Vaqueyras on the route de Bollene.

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In deepest Provence in the Cotes du Luberon (the setting for Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence) the Chateau Val Joannis offers visitors the best of all worlds - a winery with the opportunity to taste and buy wines - olives and olive oil - and a beautiful garden to visit. In an idyllic location north of Aix-en-Provence, and east of Cavaillon at Pertuis (84 Vaucluse, Provence) the Chateau and vineyards provided the backdrop for the Meg Ryan & Kevin Kline film French Kiss [1995]
Every Thursday from April to October (and more days in July & August) the Chateau offers a guided tour of the winery and gardens with a wine and olive oil tasting to finish off!
The Cotes de Luberon AC wines have really been transformed in recent years, I recall visiting the Cooperative in the early 1980s, before the area back from the coast became fashionable - the wine and winery were a little rustic. Peter Mayle and his ilk have transformed the region by inflating house and land prices, such that some winemakers sold up, leaving behind those who were passionate about their wines and who could make a quality product. There has also been a move away from the co-operative cellars to individual domaines, and the wine became a full AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controllee) in 1988.
The wines of the Cotes du Luberon AC essentially use the classic Cotes du Rhone grape varieties - Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan and Cinsault for the reds and rosés, Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc, Rolle (Vermentino) for the whites. A characteristic of the region is that due to its relative eight, the nights can be a little cooler than in the valley; this effectively gives the vine a little "rest" from the intense heat of the day, and hence the wines will tend to be more aromatic and more elegant.
Chateau Val Joannis wines are stocked in the UK by Richard Granger Wines
For more info see www.val-joannis.com

THE GARDENS Sitated on the southern slopes of the Luberon mountains, the Château Val Joanis stands proudly in the middle of its immense estate and boasts impressive rose gardens, orchards, olive groves and an old-fashioned vegetable garden. "A lovely garden à-la-française, rows of pottery, cypress-bordered lanes, ancient fountains, the old stone pool…"

Just to cap it all, the area is also part of the Parc Naturel Regional du Luberon with its protected environment, stunning views and great walking country.

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Unless you really like the excitement, noise and atrmosphere of motor racing avoid Le Mans in mid June, when the Le Mans 24-Hour Race takes place (17-18 June 2006) - see www.lemans.org. The circuit is just south of Le Mans (72 Sarthe, Val de Loire) city centre, much of it on normal roads, principally the N138 road towards Mulsanne on the main N road south towards Tours - fortunately the new A28 autoroute now provides a decent bypass for Le Mans whether heading south to Tours - or on the A11 west towards Angers. However, be warned that the roads will be very congested for several days before and after the weekend as enthusiasts from all over Europe converge on the town for a real party weekend. This year the race starts at 5pm on the Saturday (to avoid clashing with World Cup Football coverage on TV!!), and is designed as an endurance race for the cars (and the drivers - and spectators!) and 2006 is the centenary anniversary of the first race.
In previous years we seemed to often be taking our holidays on the eve of the LeMans 24 hour race, and it was great fun taking the ferry on the western Channel and to see all manner of classic and sports cars making their way south.

Recommended reading: Michelin Green Guide: Chateaux of the Loire (Green Tourist Guides)

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Robert Ehrlich writing in the Independent on 22 April 2006 berates the French approach to marketing their wines - a theme we have touched upon numerous times.
"How many of the following Vin de Pays names ring a bell, let alone a bell of excitement: Gers, Var, l'Ile de Beauté, Portes de Mediterranée, Duche d'Uzes, Côtes Catalanes, Côtes des Thongues? All produced constituents of the top 100 Vins de Pays , but using the Vin de Pays name as a selling point would - in most cases - simply be futile. A member of the on-trade, with responsibility for buying wines for his firm's pubs, says that selling these wines would be "incredibly difficult" when they were placed alongside well-known names from Chile, Australia or New Zealand."

There is an annual Top 100 Vins de Pays competition held every year in the UK, and in truth there are many really good wines available under this classification. Vins de Pays has in many ways been part of the French response to the competition from the New World, as it is less prescriptive than abiding by the full Appellation Controllee rules - and at the top end allows adventurous winemakers to produce some really innovative and exceptional wines. The "Vins de Pays d'Oc" from the Languedoc is a good case in point - although the area which this covers is a vaste swathe of southern France - the Aude, Herault, Pyrénées-Orientales and Gard - i.e. from Carcassonne to Nimes. But within this regional classification there a 4 departmental Vins de Pays and over 50 separate local classifications.

Even though I know France and French wines quite well, i would struggle to identify where the Vin de Pays des Monts de la Grage comes from (34 Herault - east of St Chinian). I confess that I really do not know what this nomenclature is supposed to tell us - the general wine style is unlikely to be distinctively different from the adjacent and equally obscure Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Fontcaude; the information which could count would be the name of the vineyard or winemaker. Vin de Pays d'Oc and the grape varieties used is probably as much as I need to know to filter a wine into or out of my initial selection - beyond that I would want an informative back label which tells me more about the wine and why it is different/better than anything else OR some local knowledge OR a decent recommendation. Otherwise most consumers will go for the easy better known choice.

Ehrlich does go on to recommend several wines, and in general seemed impressed with the wines on offer (except for single varietal Cabernets and Merlots). The results of the Top 100 Vins de Pays 2006 will be published in May - you can find the results (and those for 2005) at www.vins-de-pays.info/100vdp

Our recommendation for Vins de Pays d'Oc would be Cyril Cuche's Domaine de Puechredon in the foothills of the Cevennes at Puechredon north of Montpellier, who produces some excellent single varietals as well as a superb blended Reserve Cuvee.

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France is understandably proud of its cultural heritage, its wealth of historic buildings, galleries and museums, but few can be as irresistible as the idea of a Museum of Chocolate! Located in Biarritz (64 Pyrenees-Atlantique, Aquitaine - 14 Avenue Beau Rivage close to the seafront) it looks a serious venture (rather than some marketing ploy). You can see and learn about the history and cultivation of the cacao bean, the production of chocolate, its various forms from sweet to chili-peppery, chocolate sculpture and the advertising slogans used throughout the world over the years, Most importantly you do get the chance to taste as well! See www.lemuseeduchocolat.com

Coincidentally the film "Chocolat" starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp was shown on TV again recently, which provides its own very seductive story of the magical product - including some Hot Chocolate which was more the consistency of custard!! The film was shot in the picturesque village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain (21 Cote d'Or, Burgundy) between Dijon and Chablis. The village prefers to be known for its "Bonbon a l'Anis" a small round hard sweet flavoured with Aniseed, rather than for its connection with Hollywood.
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Chablis - one of the most northerly wine regions, is technically a Burgundy, but other than sharing the same grape varietal (Chardonnay) its wines (white only) are distinctively different to the big name Burgundies further south near Beaune.

Chablis occupies a milestone in my wine education, in that it was the first dry white wine which I appreciated for its crisp, minerally fruitiness - far removed from first sips of cheap Barsac and light fruity German wines. The trouble has always been that that first glass of Chablis lingers in the memory, and few since have conjured up a similar magic.
A recent brief unplanned visit to nearby Auxerre (89 Yonne, Burgundy) allowed just enough time to head for Chablis to stock up the cellar. As a wine merchant specialising in lesser-known French regional wines, Chablis did not feature on our list, so it was with an unaccustomed total ignorance that we set out to do some quick tasting. In the middle of the village of Chablis, Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard have a small retail shop and tasting room. Generally I prefer to visit the vineyard and cellar, but being a cold March day, and with muted expectations and with the name being at least familiar, we decided to give it a try.
It was a slow day for the shop, so our little group was warmly welcomed and treated to an excellent and informative tasting. Another of those rare opportunities to do a comparative tasting across the range from the very respectable Petit Chablis up to and including Grand Cru. It was fascinating how much variation showed between and within the quality levels - the balance of minerally dryness, the weight of the wine in the mouth and its persistence. Some exhibited a similar level of acidity as a good Sauvignon, whilst you could believe others had been barrel-fermented (which they are not!)
Our recommendations were for the great value and straightforward Petit Chablis (€6.90); the equally good value Chablis Vielles Vignes (more mineral depth) at €10.90; and the Grand Cru Bourgros 2003, which demonstrated such wonderful complexity for a white wine, that made it well worth the €24 price tag - and is being reserved for a special birthday later this year!
We'll go again - the countryside and vineyard around Chablis is dramatic and attractive; the welcome at the shop was genuine and the wine was superb!
Jean-Marc Brocard has a really good website at www.brocard.fr which includes an excellent video presentation - "Four Seasons at Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard".
Some of Jean-Marc Brocard's wines (including the Chablis Grand Cru Bourgros) are available from

On an earlier trip to the region we did have an unforgettable meal at the Hostellerie des Clos in the town - a Michelin-starred restaurant - a little formal, and a little expensive - but the food and service were remarkably good. The biggest problem was the wine list, which features about 300 different Chablis wines alone (including Jean-Marc Brocard's) - so you really do need the help and advice of the very knowledgeable sommelier to guide you to the appropriate choice for your budget, your taste and your menu!
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Alsace, as well as being one of France's classic wine regions is also home to some major breweries - particularly in and around Strasbourg. Despite, or maybe because of their history, this confluence on French and German influences across the Rhine valley has cross-fertilised ideas and traditions. These tend to be light beers or lagers, which are refreshing but seldom very interesting - so the Beer Festival should be a great opportunity to see other styles of beer from the region.
On 6 May 2006 Illhausern celebrates its Beer Festival (see www.ribeauville-riquewihr.com
- close to some of the main Alsace vineyards north of Colmar, and also the location of a well-recommended restaurant - Auberge de l'Ill (The Ill being the river from which the village gets its name). The region is very pretty with picturesque villages of timbered houses interspersed with vineyards - the region gets a surprisingly high amount of annual sunshine, which is very important for the vines - and the whole area should be at its most attractive in early May.
Dorling Kindersley (DK)'s Eyewitness French Travel Guide provides really useful information and advice for the traveller in France -
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Vins Sarthois - a Loire Valley wine area which includes the lesser-known appellations of Jasnieres and Coteaux du Loir - is holding its Wine Festival in Le Mans (72 Sarthe, Val de Loire) 13-14 May 2006.
This area is north of Tours and south of Le Mans. and as such is the most northerly Loire Valley wine appellation.
Jasnieres produces white wines from Chenin Blanc (also known as Pineau de la Loire) - floral and fruity aromas, often with a mineral touch, which evolve very subtly towards dried fruit and honey.
Coteaux du Loir reds from Pineau d’Aunis, Cabernet, Côt, Gamay. and the same for the rose with the addition of up to 25% Grolleau - light and aromatic.
NB Just to confuse matters there are 2 river valleys - the Loir which is a smaller tributary which runs into the Sarthe river and then into the Loire near Angers. The main river is the Loire - the longest river in France, which enters the Atlantic at Nantes.
In the UK Yapp Brothers(www.yapp.co.uk) stocks Jasnieres. Have yet to find any Coteaux du Loir stockists in the UK.

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The village of Mouans-Sartoux (06 Alpes-Maritimes, Provence) holds its Honey Festival (Fete du Miel) on Sunday 30 April 2006. Mid-way between Cannes and Grasse in the heart and heat of Provence promising workshops on honey production and bee-keeping, cooking with honey, a photographic exhibition on the theme of honey, bees and apiculture - and of course the opportunity to taste - see www.mouans-sartoux.com
Small honey producers are often a feature of French Markets - the picture above is from Cahors market (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) where you can bring your own jars to refill. The range of honeys is also impressive, especially if you can do a comparative tasting between say a Lavender honey and a Rosemary honey.

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Posted by frenchduck at 6:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Some wineries in France are now offering some great on-line content which really strengthens the link between the consumer and producer. It has always been my contention that a wine has that bit "extra" if you know where it has come from, perhaps visited the vineyard and shaken the grubby hand of the working winemaker. The best wine memories have this sort of added value because I can make a connection with time, place, people, food etc, and for me the best wine I have tasted was not the best technically, but the most memorable because of when, where and with whom I drank it.
So, these websites can give you more of an insight into the winemaker, sometimes warts and all - and this makes the whole thing more approachable and personal - something you cannot really do with the big brands.
The latest one I came across (courtesy of www.spittoon.biz) is a Champagne house - Champagne Tarlant at Oeuilly near Epernay (51 Marne, Champagne-Ardennes) - the Champagne Tarlant website is in English, but the more interesting Champagne Tarlant Blog is regrettably only in French. However, it also includes short video clips - for example a view inside a stainless steel cuve whilst the wine is being run off with a commentary. This promises to build into a fascinating and really informative insight into wine-making in Champagne delivered by people who lack some of the pomposity often associated with Champagne producers. Recommended viewing!

Another site worth visiting is that of Domaine de Lauroux at Manciet (32 Gers, Midi-Pyrenees) - although no fancy video there is a great Vineyard Diary written by the Kitchener family who moved out to Armagnac country to run a vineyard producing Cotes de Gascogne wine, Floc de Gascogne and Armagnac.This is a fascinating series of snapshots of life in the vineyard, well written and informative.

A visit to Jean-Marc Brocard's Chablis website is very rewarding - one of the best designs I've seen - very informative (and seductive!) plus there is a full 16-minute video "Four Seasons in Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard" which despite being a bit "arty" is most enjoyable to watch.

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There are times when I wonder if my wine-tasting preferences are just a little bizarre. True, I enjoy the really heavy and tannic wines of Madiran and Cahors which are not to everybody's taste. And there is a danger that descriptions such as "serious", "complex" or "needs food" can disguise wines which are pretty unapproachable. And then along comes Andrew Jefford's "The New France" which supports my view that there are many many really good and interesting wines to be discovered in France, and that moment of self-doubt evaporates.
So another encouraging moment comes when Anthony Peregrine in the Telegraph is brave enough to promote the unfashionable idea that there are hidden wine gems in some of the lesser known parts of France.
"I get highly irritable when in wine-bore mode, and one of the things that fuses my plugs, is the criticism that French wines are too complex, too arrogantly varied or too inaccessible. Dear God. We might as well dismiss the pretentious abundance of the vegetable world. Or smack Dickens for wilful inventiveness."
Fortunately I never get highly irritable and what me? a wine-bore??
So he includes some top flight Madiran, Jurancon, Cahors and Irouleguy producers in his list of recommendations in the SouthWest, together with some of the undoubted stars of Alsace, Provence, Jura, Languedoc and Provence.
Hoorah! - see the full article

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Nigel Horne has penned an article in the Telegraph Online entitled "why are French Hotels so grotty?" Really a bit unfair methinks, despite having had our share of disappointments in French bedrooms! In terms of value for money the rooms are usually much better value then UK hotels - and OK we may spend as much or more on the restaurant usually than on the room. Unless staying more than a night or two, the bedroom is really just somewhere to sleep, wash and contemplate the plumbing. Regrettably Fawlty Towers is still alive and kicking in various corners of the UK, and is often over-priced or falls into the bland packaged variety such as the big name roadside lodges, Besides I prefer the idiosyncracies of characterful hotels with ghastly wallpaper on the ceiling, creaking pipes and bolsters!

We have had some great little hotel visits, and very few disasters. A combination of the Michelin red guide, the Logis de France guide or personal recommendations has largely served us well. A recent stay was at the Hotel du Sauvage at la Ferté-Gaucher (77 Seine et Marne, Ile de France) - (Sauvage = wild) about 40 miles east of Paris - decent room, excellent meal (less excellent wine - the Touraine Sauvignon was too old!) - the room was €63, the three course meal with "amuse bouches" was €25 each plus wine - the town was a small quiet market town with a few bars, pharmacy, chocolatier, pattisserie and florist etc - all in all a decent stopover at a reasonable rate.

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Andrew at www.spittoon.biz has unearthed a story about Alsace wine producer Paul Blanck at Kientzheim (68 Haut Rhin, Alsace), and his adoption of screwcaps rather than cork closures for his top of the range Grand Cru wines.
The story is interesting because Alsace generally has a reputation for being one of the less-adventurous wine regions in France - producing some excellent, if sometimes pricey wines - but an area which holds on to its tradtions with determination. Perhaps it has to do with the history of the region and having successively been French then German and then French again and again. Their retention of the germanic fluted bottle and in many cases germanic typefaces on labels does not help to distinguish their undeniably great wines from the often disappointing wines across the Rhine in Germany. It is also an area which is quite geographically isolated from most of the other main wine-producing regions of France - as you would discover if you visited. It is a truly beautiful area, with a surprising level of annual sunshine hours - plenty of quaint villages , impressive hillsides and superb wines.
Paul Blanck however has been brave and innovative, not least because his main market, which is France is generaly more resistant than the rest of the world to the loss of the cork. True, I enjoy the frisson of excitement that comes with pulling a cork - drama and expectation which is missing with the screwcap. But as Paul Blanck says "I have never seen wine improved by corks, but too often wine ruined by corks.". Paul Blancks Alsace wines are available in the UK from Adnams and
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Located in the heart of the Val de Loire area and of the Regional Natural Park Loire - Anjou - Touraine, the Chinon area lies between two rivers, the royal Loire and the majestic Vienne.
The surrounding, countryside, particularly the lower valley of the Vienne and the area between the Vienne and the Loire, known as the Véron, delights visitors with its lovely scenery and many interesting architectural features. Not to be forgotten of course is the local beverage, Chinon's noble wine, already celebrated in the writings of François Rabelais, one of Chinon's most famous sons.
A 2-day wine show is to be held on 22-23 April 2006, when you can have the chance to taste the wines of the region - see http://tourisme.chinon.com.
Chinon has an impressive chateau which dominates the town, and beneath the chateau lie the cellars of Couly-Dutheil, one of the most important Chinon producers. Although best known for Cabernet Franc reds, the Chenin whites can be delightful - particularly memorable was a bottle of Couly Dutheil's Les Chanteaux - great label too!

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