Loire Wine Tours

  We are able to report that our wine tours this year have been busier than ever. Our holiday lettings have also been busier than last year and so it has been a successful season for us here at Manoir de Gourin. We have had some wonderful guests on our wine tours and staying with […]

A very good day was had with our four guests from Cornwall visiting Saumur today.

We spent an afternoon in the sunshine exploring the saumur vineyards with guests Barrie, Mary, Nicola and Simon with the owner and winemaker Pierre. The chardonnay grapes seen in the picture are nearly at maturity to pick for the sparkling wines of Cremant de Loire and Saumur Mousseux appellations. They should be slightly under mature […]

Our wine tours are all but finished for this year as we give way to the harvest this year. It all started this week with the Chardonnay grapes for the sparkling Saumur and Cremant de Loire appellation wines. This year the sparkling wine houses have increased their payments as the yields will be a lot […]

So the 2012 harvest has started here in the Loire valley with the chardonnay for the sparkling wines. It has to be picked slightly before full maturity at about 11% potential alcohol. This year the harvest will be selective and the quality and quantity of the berries will be at best on the low side. […]

  Some two years ago a group of amateur actors performed a play called Abigail's party in a small theatre in Saumur, Loire valley, France part of the sparkling wine house called Bouvet-Ladubay. I played the part of Tony.

  An evening of wine and something else. We enjoyed some good company and some good no very good wine and more.

After our excursion into the vineyards and tasting with the winemaker, the evening was spent in the wineroom of Manoir de Gourin, Loire valley, France with guests over dinner. Karin supplied a wonderful four course meal with a goat's cheese, beetroot and lambs lettuce with balsamic dressing starter, a pork fillet Main course with caramalised […]

  Today we welcomed  six guests joining us for a wine tour in Saumur appellation country in the Loire valley, France. The pic is us amongst the Chenin Blanc vines of Domaine de L'Enchantoir. We enjoyed the afternoon with our host Brigitte learning all about the many operations they carry out in the vineyards and in […]

Try and cover the many appellations of Anjou in a day and you are doing very well. We did it just about with some omissions of Anjou Gamay, Anjou mousseux and Rose D'Anjou which isn't bad. So we started in Savannieres with Roche aux Moines at Domaine aux Moines and the owner Madame Monique Laroche […]