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In the region which hosts Sauternes and Graves, Langon (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) celebrates its 21st “FETE DU VIN ET DU FROMAGE” from 1-3 September 2006. Lying Southeast of Bordeaux, just off the A62 Autoroute to Toulouse (see map), Langon is in the southernmost part of the Gironde département. But if you follow the Garonne river down from Bordeaux rather than the autoroute you journey will take you through villages with evocative names such as Barsac, Sauternes and Loupiac - some of the finest dessert wines in the whole of France. These are made possible by both the Semillon grape and position of the vineyards influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, which is ideal for the moisture which prompts the development of “botrytis” or noble rot, which in turn produces late harvest grapes where the juices have been concentrated into sweet nectar.
There are also dry white and red wines from the “Graves” - including the modest little “Chateau Haut-Brion”. Here the reds (made from Merlot and Cabernets) tend to be supple and full-bodied with distinctive bouquets, and with real ageing potential amongst the best.

My recollection of Langon is of a pleasant, if unexciting little town, which will be enlivened over the weekend of 1-3 September with the celebration of wine, cheese and gastornomy - the “guest” region being Savoie - so some excellent cheeses will be available to accompany the wine tasting and all the “normal” attractions - competitions, music, processions, ceremonies and market.

For more info see http://www.sauternais-graves-langon.com//a>

And now for something a little different - the wines of St Peray (07 Ardeche, Rhône-Alpes) are not often seen, but your chance comes in early September when they hold their wine festival.
Saint-Péray is the southernmost part of the northern Rhône wine region just west of Valence.See map.
The Rhône is predominantly associated with spicy red wines, but Saint-Péray is unusual for the region in producing sparkling white wines - although a little still dry white is also made. This arises because the climate is just a bit cooler and the soils a little richer than its neighbours at Cornas for example. This produces wines which are more acidic and lighter in alcohol - ideal for making fizz! The principal grape varieties are Rousanne and Marsanne. The wines are highly rated - the Guide Hachette des Vins de France describes Saint-Péray as one of the best sparkling wines in France!

The Wine Festival spreads over 3 days of festivities, including music, a festival queen, cycling, rambling, a market and wine fair. As they combine it with a Twinning festival with towns in Germany, Italy and Portugal the weekend has an international feel and offers something to attract all. For more details see www.st-peray.com
St Peray (07 Ardeche, Rhone-Alpes) 1-3 September 2006

In the UK the excellent Yapp Brothers stock the Saint-Péray of Jean-Louis Thiers “Flavoursome dry, sparkling wine with a creamy mousse, and a bracing palate of mineral and nutty tastes with a lively citric zest and pleasant toasty aromas.” £11.95

The town of Coutras (33, Garonne, Aquitaine) goes onion crazy on 30 August 2006 with its “Foire aux oignons” - yet another celebration of something which is at first quite mundane, but which can be elevated to a gastronomic jewel
For the French an onion is not just an oignon. - they come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and each has a specific purpose. In cooking most French chefs will use Shallots (échallote), which are smaller and more delicate in flavour than the common onion. They also use small, flat “grelots” which are often used as a raw garnish - the flesh tends to be brilliant white but strong.You’ll see a lot of the larger Spanish onions which are milder in flavour, whilst of course the salad or spring onion and the red onion tend to be used for salads.In the north you’ll find the flat straw-coloured “oignons jaune paille des Vertus”, and in Alsace they grow the French equivalent of our pickling onions - “oignons de Mulhouse”.

However, back in Coutras, there is a market (both local produce and bric-a-brac (junk)) in the Place de la Mairie and in the evening there is a night market with French Onion Soup.
(There is a good recipe for French Onion soup in the delightful “Classic French Cooking” by Elisabeth Luard - see Classic French Cooking: Recipes for Mastering the French Kitchen
Coutras lies northeast of Bordeaux and Libourne near the confluence of the Isle and Dronne rivers.(see map)
For more info see Coutras Tourist Office

VILLERS-SUR-MER (14 Calvados, Normandie), is a pleasant seaside resort on the Côte Fleurie, and this weekend you could try the “Summer Fires” (Feux de l’Eté) festival on the beach on Sunday 27 August from 8pm to 1am, where huge bonfires are set on the beach and there is music, dancing and probably even a little drinking - both alcoholic and non-alcoholic as this is a family event.- see www.villers-sur-mer.fr/ot/
Also on Friday and Saturday nights (25 and 26 August 2006) there is “dancing on the beach” (Festival DANSE SUR LE SABLE : BALLET « 150) - well not actually on the sand, but there is ballet in the Ampitheatre Perdrisot on the sea front.
Villers-sur-Mer is on the coast just west of Deauville - see map Market days - Tuesdays and Fridays.

Another of those multi-tasking activities is planned for Sunday 3 September 2006 when you can take a number of guided walks through the Loire Valley vineyards, and discover and taste wines whilst getting some excercise!
Led by winemakers who have developed marked pathways through their vines, you can find out more about some of the best and some of the lesser known Loire Valley appellations such as Jasnières, Coteaux du Loir, and Quarts de Chaume and Coteaux de l’Aubance. Others walks are at Touraine, Bourgeuil, Saumur, Chinon and Vouvray, with one focussing on Loire Rosés! The walks end with a picnic and wine tasting - and some of the guided tours will be in English.
For more info see www.vinsvaldeloire.fr or phone (France) 01 42 04 21 00.

Castelnaudry (11 Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon) claims to be the birthplace of the rich bean and meat stew called “Cassoulet” - and celebrates its local dish over the weekend of 24-27 August 2006.
Although it is to my mind a winter dish, a good cassoulet is a wonderful dish made from haricot beans, preserved goose or duck, suasages and garlic, slow cooked in the oven. It is named after the earthenware dish, the “cassole”
The festival offers the opportunity to learn more about the dish and its variations - and there is a competition to find the best cassoulet cook.
The hearty dish deserves a hearty wine - such as a Madiran or Cahors, or a good Corbières for example.
The best Cassoulet I ever tasted was in Carcassonne at the Jardin de la Tour restaurant in the medieval heart of the Cité - quite rustic, great atmosphere and good wines - the Grande Cuvée Castelmaure, Corbières AC. (Le Jardin de la Tour, 11, rue porte d’Aude, Téléphone 04.68.25.71.24

Castelnaudry is between Toulouse and Carcassone, close to Cathar Country and the Canal du MidiSee map
For more info see www.couleur-lauragais.fr/fete-du-cassoulet
In the UK you can find Cassoulet at www.frenchflavour.co.uk

The Independent has another of its series “24 Hours In: Paris” which follows in the footsteps of artists and writers who had made the city their own. Also in the Independent Chalres Darwent writes “A picture of Paris”
They say the French capital shuts in August. Yet it’s just the time to visit the world’s best city for seeing art.
Meanwhile over in the Observer, there are some good ideas for avoiding plane travel (or rather the airports) in these days of heightened security with some good deals available on both ferries and Eurostar.
The Telegraph has some recommendations on where to stay in the fashionable 8th Arondissement in Paris (close to the Champs Elysees)
In the Times, Jane Shilling is beguiled by the beauty of the Camargue and its horse-riding ritual, the abrivado, whilst Alistair Sawday picks his top ten secret stopovers to break your journey - and enjoy a taste of rural French hospitality iwith a series of off the autoroute journeys through France - see http://travel.timesonline.co.uk
“France is too captivating to observe only from the motorway“. His itineraries include Peronne (80 Somme, Picardie), Arras (62 Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) Bourges (18 Cher, Centre) with its magnificent medieval centre and flying buttress Gothic cathedral; Beaune(21 Côte d’Or, Burgundy); Aumont-Aubrac (48 Lozere, Languedoc) and Collioure (66 Pyrenees Orientales (Languedoc) - a delightful little harbour and resort close to the Spanish border; Orange(84 Vaucluse, Provence); Menton(06 Alpes-Martimes, Provence)

Absinthe, the wormwood spirit which was the scourge of the French Impressionists is making a re-appearance in several guises. Known as the “Fée Verte” of green fairy this aniseed flavoured spirit was banned in France and many other countries when it was recognised that it contained high levels of a drug called thujone which is an effective mind rotting substance, made doubly lethal by high alcohol content to rot the liver. In Paris in particular it was cheap and often illicit, with few controls on its lethal content. Its descendents were the Pastis (e.g. Pernod, Ricard) of today which whilst still strong spirit (40-45^o alcohol, similar to most Cognacs) is obviously nowhere near as potent as the original.

The reputed home of Absinthe is in the Doubs département in the south east corner of France adjacent to Switzerland with its main towns of Belfort and Besancon. in the Franche-Comté region.

Doubs Premium Absinthe contains distilled wormwood, and the essences of 11 mountain herbs, including anise, fennel, hyssop and lemonbalm. It has a distinguished herbal and floral character, true both to its historical French antecedents and to the preferences of the most discerning modern palette.
Its herbal complexity, smooth and refreshing taste, gorgeous green colour (which louches dramatically when iced-water is added) and well-rounded absinthe character have garnered it a growing following and a string of awards: it was a Silver Medal winner at the prestigious 2006 International Wine and Spirits Competition, the premier competition of its kind, and in tasting evaluations for the Fee Verte Buyers Guide, it has consistently achieved the highest ratings of any absinthe in its class.“
In the last decade, regulatory authorities all over the world have come to the realization that the reasons for the banning of absinthe a century ago were specious, and had little to do with any inherent danger on the product, and everything to do with the fevered prohibitionist politics of the time. Absinthe with less than 10mg/l of thujone is legal throughout the EU, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. In many countries - Spain, Portugal, the UK - absinthe was never banned in the first place. It’s been re-legalised in France and Switzerland. It’s legal in Canada, Australia, most of South America, South Africa and Japan. The one remaining anomaly is the USA, where the sale of absinthe is still technically prohibited, although it is not illegal to possess, or to drink.”

For more information on Absinthe see www.absintheclassics.com/
For more information on the Doubs département see www.doubs.fr/

The city of Avignon (84 Vaucluse, Provence) lies in the heart of the Côtes du Rhône vineyard, but the city itself barely produces any wine except there is a vineyard within the curtilege of the Palais des Papes (the medieval Popes Palace) known as the Rocher des Doms

Early September sees the start of the wine harvest in Provence, the precise date depending on the weather in preceding months and days. Different grape varieties also ripen at different rates.

In many reasons they celebrate the beginning of the harvest, sometimes based on an “official” declaration that the harvest may be started within an appellation. This is known as the “Ban des Vendanges“. In Avignon this takes place on Saturday 2 September 2006 from 4.30pm to midnight - with a procession on the Ramparts, the declaration from the Ramparts, free wine tasting, music and markets. There is also a demonstration of harvesting and wine-making techniques - all set in the dramatic and historic surroundings of the Palais des Papes. For more info on this event see www.banvendanges.com

A similar event takes place in St Emilion (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) on Sunday 17 September 2006 - see www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com

The French have a very different attitude to certain foods than the British, and not just around snails, frogs legs and unmentionable bits of offal. Take the humble prune - in the UK it tends to cause a little sniggering and is mainly associated with its alleged effect on the lower intestine - and for most of us beyond early middle-age (as I like to consider myself) that memory is invariably of tinned prunes of uncertain origin as “black coated workers”!
In France however, the Prune is celebrated as a delicacy and has its own Appellation Controllée in “Pruneaux d’Agen” from the area around the town of Agen (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine). Furthermore a major French professional ladies cycling team is sponsored by the Agen Prune and proudly sport their racing jerseys which feature the noble prune. Considering how seriously the French take cycling, even womens cycling, that is some accolade.
Of course, gently cooked Agen prunes are deliciously different from the old tinned prunes. They come from a specific type of plum which is then slowly baked on the farm, so they retain a fresh fruity character without tough skins. They are an ideal complement to South West cuisine - duck and foie gras in particular.

Agen holds its annual Grand Pruneau Show from 1-3 September 2006 which includes the inevitable Prune parade, concerts, markets etc - see www.grandpruneaushow.fr/

The website at www.pruneau.fr/gb provides tons of info and recipes (e.g Duck and Prune kebabs) as well as more photos of prunes than you could ever need!

The local wine is Buzet AC a region which produces some excellent Bordeaux-style reds (Cabernets and Merlot), dry whites (Sauvignon, Semillon) and rosé. It is an appellation dominated by the Cooperative, but this is a co-op with a good reputation and high standards. They produce several different styles - the “Lys” range in the elegant tall decorated bottles is excellent, albeit lighter in style than the “Tradition” or “Baron d’Ardeuil” wines.
Buzet wines are available in the UK from www.genesiswines.com - the Buzet website is at www.vignerons-buzet.fr/uk/

I have tended to be somewhat wary of Bordeaux wines in recent years - too often they are either over-priced or of questionable quality - and such sweeping generalisations are inevitably unfair to a region that produces a vast quantity of AC wines, and some of the best wines in the world. My major beef has been that too often the French assume that because a wine is a)French and b) from Bordeaux they can justify selling it regardless of the usual criteria of “good value for money” or “bon rapport qualité/prix”. Consumers have also connived in this situation, always assuming that if a wine has Bordeaux on the label it must be good - AND/OR submitting to the wine snobbery of earlier years which suggested that if you did not appreciate a fine Bordeaux, then that was more a reflection of the consumer’s lack of knowledge (or parents!) rather than any shortcoming in the wine!!

But now www.bordeaux-undiscovered.co.uk has come along with the avowed aim of tracking down those elusive great value wines from Aquitaine: “Bordeaux Undiscovered has gone in search of such wines, tasted them, selected the best, based o­n their quality to price ratio, and is now making them available in the UK for the first time at very competitive prices.”

And to prove their point they have a mixed case offer of 12 bottles for just £49.00 plus £5.99 delivery - which has to be worth a try.
The website at www.bordeaux-undiscovered.co.uk includes recipes to match the wines. There is plenty of information on the wines chosen - within the criteria of some seriously selective tastings to ensure quality and value - and their previous unavailability in the UK.
Perhaps it is time to take another look (or taste) of Bordeaux.

A sudden panic - we could not find one of our favourite restaurants - had we taken a wrong turn? had it been transformed into a Burger King or something - no, it had been sold and renamed as “Fleur de Sel”!
Flower of Salt sums up the French approach to food - in the UK we tend to think of salt as salt - maybe differentiating between sea or rock or Maldon salt as opposed to refined table salt. But with the French there are many more gradations of quality and style - so “Sel de Guerande” and other s from the islands off the Atlantic and Brittany coasts are considered quite different to those from the Camargue on the Mediterranean coast.
The Fleur de Sel is a version of sea salt obtained by hand harvesting the “young” crystals that form on the surface of shallow salt evaporation ponds. The harvesting of fleur de sel always takes place in the summer months when the sun is strongest and hence the evaporation is quite natural. They tend to be less salty and to exhibit more mineral character and are prized as special by good chefs.

Having re-traced our steps we find the old “Bois de Chene” is now the Fleur de Sel at Capelle-la-Grande between Dunkerque and Bergues (59 Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais). A favourite lunch stop close to the cross-channel ferry ports, we found this place about 15 years or more ago. As so often with French restaurants the exterior appearance tells you little - a fairly typical and unprepossessing brick facade hides an elegant restaurant and great food.

As the Bois de Chene it was particularly good at northern and flemish cuisine - so the menu was always interesting and challenging - and never disappointed. The new owners have given the place a make-over - toning down the rustic feel of the dining room into a more restrained and elegant interior. The food and service were superb and we can thoroughly recommend - BUT, it seems to have lost some of its local and idiosyncratic character which made it rather more special.
We feasted on local duck, crab and cheeses which were all superbly cooked and presented in generous proportions. The wine list was very good - we chose an old vine rosé from Chateau de la Tuilerie in the Costières de Nimes (an old favourite winemaker) - very intense and almost red in colour and weight.

For more on the Fleur de Sel see www.fleurdesel-restaurant.com/
For more on the wines of Chateau de la Tuilerie see www.chateautuilerie.com/

The French have a penchant for finding any excuse for a celebration, and Hesdin (62, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais) is no exception with its “Fetes du Cochon Rose” held in August. You may be a bit late for the “Rando-Cochonnaille” or guided Pork Walk (lunch included) but 15 August is the grand spectacle pyrotechnique - or big Firework Spectacular” at 10.30pm. (see map) For more info see www.tourisme7vallees.com/
The town, inland from Le Touquet is at the heart of a region known as the Seven Valleys - which include the valleys of the Canche and Lys. The town itself has Spanish connections and indeed was rebuilt and relocated to its current site by the Spanish Charles V (Charles Quint) in the 16th Century. Its other claim to fame (apart from Pink Pigs) is its proximity to the site of Agincourt (or Azincourt as it is now known) a few kilometres to the north. This was a famous 15th Century battle in the 100 years war, immortalised in Shakespeare’s Henry V. There is a museum/visitor centre there (the actual battlefield is apparently little altered by the passage of time) - for more info se www.azincourt-medieval.com/

On Thursday 17th August 2006, the town of Pézenas (34 Hérault, Languedoc) stages an intriguing evening wine & food walk through the unspoilt heart of the medieval town. A combination of wine tasting, feasting and meeting the winemakers combined with an exploration of the impressively preserved historic town centre should make for a thoroughly enjoyable, instructive and healthy time (assuming not too much wine is imbibed).
Pezenas is well-situated in the heart of the Coteaux du Languedoc and some good southern wines should be on taste - see www.ot-pezenas-valdherault.com

Another opportunity to do some pleasant multi-tasking could be taken if you were visit a number of wine cellars (both independents and co-operatives) who are staging photography exhibitions in their cellars featuring the local heritage and landscape under the heading of “A winemaker invites an Artist” (Un Vigneron invite un Artiste) Runs until 17 September 2006. Also at the Hôtel Flottes de Sébasan in Pezenas.
For somewhere to stay in the region you could choose a classy villa in the midst of the Languedoc vineyards at Roujan (34 Herault, Languedoc) near Pezenas - with easy access to both the Med and the Parc Regional du Haut Languedoc.Owned by a winemaker who as decorated and furnished with style. Large private enclosed grounds (9000m2), 3 bedrooms, pool, terrace, bbq - sleeps 8/10 - and plenty of informed advice about which vineyards to visit - CLICK HERE