Loire Wine Tours

The other evening we hosted a dinner at Manoir de Gourin in the Loire valley  France. Our sweet course was a bombe favorite on a raspberry coulee base topped with raspberries, a chocolate sauce and warm raspberry compote. Stunning. The wine pairing with this is of course a Coteaux du Layon which now has become my favourite […]

Before returning to the matter of the pruning of vines, Karin and I spent an enjoyable lunchtime at the local restaurant in Puy Notre Dame in the Loire Valley France with our friends Neil, Hilary and Andrew. Neil and Hilary are retired and live part of the year here in the Loire valley,  France. Andrew lives locally and provides […]

We shall be enjoying a warm and enjoyable evening with friends tonight. Wines for the supper will be an oak aged Chenin blanc Saumur AOC from Domaine de L'Enchantoir in the Loire valley France with the goats cheese, beetrootand balsamic starter, followed by a red from the appellation of St Chinian in Rousillon. Its a […]

Traditionally the winter is the time of pruning during the period when the vines are dormant. In France this task is done completely by hand using electric battery powered clippers. The rules regulating the pruning for each appellation is specific and different and so the person pruning has to be well trained and experienced to […]

I've arrived in wintery Loire valley, France and here's a pic of the vineyards. Cheers.

  Where am I now David. Cheers.

Here's another of our wine offers this month. A dry pink wine from the Loire valley in France. The grape is Cabernet Franc and it produces a fine elegant fruity wine with a nice edge. Its made by a winemaker called Richard Desouche who works hard to produce natural organic wines from the vineyards of […]

One of my favourite subjects is that of buying local and buying from a local source. I read that there is a growing move to using local shops and facilities that put something back. Join the movment. Yes I know its difficult and you will not be completely able to do so but at least […]

Who said so? Well I have told you all before that red wine contains polyphenols and antioxidents that are good for your health. Further news from one of the Blue Zones that have been identified as a place where your life expectancy is longer than the average. Its in Greece on an island called Ikaria. […]

  The 2012 vintage has been disappointing in general for most areas of France due to the bad weather throughout the year starting with the cold and freezing temperatures in the new year, the wet period over flowering and the damp summer with lack of sun. So basically all this reduced the yields by up […]