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A highlight of the wine year has to be Yapp's pre-Christmas sale which runs on 23 and 24 November 2007 (9am-5pm) at their delightful premises in Mere, Wiltshire. The setting is the Old Brewery and the range of wines on their list is an impressive choice of some of the best and most interesting growers in the Loire and Rhone, Provence, Alsace, Champagne, the Savoie, Roussillon, the Midi and Corsica.
To add to the offerings there is also an exhibition of contemporary still life paintings running from 9th-29th November 2007.
Amongst my selections from their list (not necessarily in the sale) I would highlight:-
- the Pic St Loup wines of Mas Bruguière (Languedoc)".. rich, compelling wines with vivid garrigue fruit aromas, an earthy palate and good firm tannins.";
- Menetou-Salon AC Domaine Jean Teiller (Loire) - "An atypically fruity wine with a scent of newly mown grass. The ripe, juicy palate yields a fresh, dry finish.";
- the biodynamic Savennieres AC Coulée de Serrant (Loire) ;
- the red, white and rosé Lirac ACs from la Fermade (Rhone) "Sweet black cherry, touch of roasted sage, good brisk tannins - this is a Rhône red of finesse ";
- Bunan's intense Bandol AC Mas de la Rouvière (Provence)"A deep ruby colour with intense aromas of truffles and peppers. The palate displays liquorice and tobacco with plenty of firm tannins."
And let us not ignore some of the lesser-known offerings of Jasnières AC and Thouarsais (Loire); and the selection of wines from Savoie and Corsica.

Yapp Brothers Ltd, The Old Brewery, Mere, Wiltshire BA12 6DY

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Mark Hix in the Independent (28 Oct 07) claims that UK producers are now producing ducks which can rival the French!

Years ago, the best ducks always came from France. If you wanted that lovely rich, full-flavoured taste with minimum fat and skin, you had to buy a Barbary or a canard de Challans - or you had to use the breast (magret) or legs from a duck that had been reared for foie gras. These days, fortunately, we don't have to go so far afield to find quality ducks. British farmers have come around to the fact that they too can produce quality ducks for the table. Poultry farmers, such as Reg Johnson in Goosnargh in Lancashire, are producing great free-range ducks and chickens that can match their French counterparts.

Personally I still think that the tradtional magret, the breast of a duck which has been bred for foie gras, still has the edge in terms of great gamey flavour and juiciness, and I would always prefer a breast or whole duck which has plenty of fat - the bonus being the oodles of duck fat which can be rescued by slow cooking, whilst the resultant duck dish itself does not have to be over-fatty. Duck fat is so great for roast potatoes!

Furthermore duck and goose fat are "good fats" being high in mono- and poly-unsaturated fats - good for the cardiovascular system and thought to be one of the elements of the French Paradox, whereby despite the relatively fatty diet, the inhabitants of rural France have lower levels of heart disease. For more info see the Goose Fat Information Service! where you can also find recipes, news and more information than you thought you might ever need about Goose Fat!

The article also points to the introduction of "ethical foie gras" - i.e duck or goose liver which is made by fattening the birds so that their livers become enlarged. Tradtional this is done through "gavage" which is a form of forced feeding. The ethical approach avoids forced-feeding and instead relies on the greedy bird's habit of putting on weight prior to their natural winter migration to warmer climes - see the Telegraph (19 Feb 07). This is available at Club Gascon in London - the place to buy and dine on the best of South West France cuisine.

The Independent article has some interesting recipes which can all be made from one whole duck (French or British) without wasting a morcel:-

1. Szechuan peppered duck breast


2. Slow-cooked leg of duck with Bramley apple mash and cider sauce


3. Duck and quince salad


4. Duck and cep broth

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Along with the new Vin de Pays de l'Atlantique in South West France there is also to be a new Vin de pays des Gaules (Wine of the Land of the Gauls)in the Beaujolais region - or is there?? The proposal was for the Vin de Pays des Gaules to be produced in the Rhone region and parts of the Saone-et-Loire departement : from Leynes, in northern Beaujolais to Chazay d'Azergues in the south.

Both appellations are designed to offer an alternative to an oversupply of Bordeaux and Beaujolais AC wines, offering winemakers the opportunity to make a wide range of wines with fewer restrictions. In the Pays de Gaules Gamay will be the overwhelmingly predominant grape, with Chardonnay, Pinot, Syrah, Viognier, Aligoté and 13 other allowed varietals.
However, there is a hitch in the system as the EU has ruled that the names of these 2 appellations are not sufficiently geographically recognisable. Someone, somewhere has got something wrong, which is a shame as these new wines could be very helpful if reducing the volume of over-priced and mediocre Bordeaux and Beaujolais and encourage some experimentation, WInemakers have been planning this new wine for some time, with labels already printed, as the above image demonstrates - from the Cave des Vignerons de St Laurent d'Oignt.
The new Vin de Pays des Gaules will not be allowed to compete with Beaujolais Nouveau however, as it cannot be marketed until mid-December, a month after the release of the Nouveau.

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According to the French Ministry of Agriculture, the grape harvest in France will be significantly down on previous years in terms of volume - much as reported from Guy Cuisset at Chateau Grinou in Bergerac and others. The 2007 vintage in France is very uneven in terms of fruit ripening in many regions, but there are however a few areas which are not affected by this, notably the Languedoc, Rhone and Provence.

Overall it looks something like 15% down on the previous year, and over 40% lower than the best of recent years (1999).

Low volumes does not necessarily mean low quality - and indeed it could mean that this year's vintage will be one of the best in some regions - e.g. the Rhône.

What is almost inevitable though is that prices will rise for the 2007s for many appellations.

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Eurostar launches services from St Pancras International from 14 November 2007 - and all services will start and terminate at St Pancras rather than Waterloo, which has been the terminal since the service was launched in 1994. Close to Kings Cross and Euston mainline stations, this will make life much easier for travellers from the Midlands and the North who will no longer need to cross from one side of London to the other. Furthermore you will be able to buy through tickets from many stations in the UK. The new St Pancras International station looks stunning, retaining key characteristics of the original Victorian edifice whilst bringing some modern touches. There is an excellent series of photos on the Guardian website.

There is also a website about the station at www.stpancras.com - but this tends to emphasise the function of the station as somewhere to visit, to shop and eat/drink!

The new intermediate station at Ebbsfleet in Kent, just off the M25 orbital motorway near Dartford opens on 19th November 2007 and will be ideal for car drivers to connect with the high speed links to Paris, Lille and Brussels - the new line will cut 20 minutes off the travel time. - London to Paris - 2 hours 15 mins; London to Brussels - 1hr 51 mins; London to Lille - 1hr 20 mins

Passengers should be aware that there may be some restriction in the timetable over this switchover period.

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Jonathan Ray in The Telegraph selects his top 10 sweet wines, which includes the little-known and hard-to-pronounce appellation of Pacherenc du Vic Bilh from South West France. Reserved solely for white wines, it is the white sister to the red Madiran AC, covering virtually the same area in deepest Gascony.
It is most often seen as a late harvest dessert wine, but you can also find dry versions. Permitted grapes include Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Arrufiac and Petit Courbu grapes, similar to nearby Jurancon AC, but tending to have a touch more mineral edge.

2005 Rive Haute Reserve Pacherenc 13.5%vol, France (£8.99 per 50cl; Playford Ros 01845 526777, Coe Vintners 020 8551 4966, Wheeler Cellars 01206 713560).

Pacherenc du Vic-Bihl is the white wine AOC from Madiran in south-west France. Made from Gros and Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu and Arrufiac picked between St Martin's Day (Nov 4) and St Albert's Day (Nov 15), this has hints of lemon and apricot. Great with fruit tart.

This comes from the Plaimont Co-operative, who also produce another superb Pacherenc - Cuvée St Albert.- for more see www.plaimont.com
Other French wines on the list included a Jurancon from the Southwest, a Barsac from Bordeaux and a demi-sec Champagne from Pol Roger!

Johnathan Ray makes the point that we too often pigeonhole such wines as "dessert" or "pudding" wines, when there are ocassions when they can be a perfect compliment to other foods.

"Pan-fried foie gras, simple pâté de foie or even smoked fish at the start of a meal can work beautifully with a sticky. I once enjoyed a fine German Beerenauslese with a main course of roast wild boar."

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