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The town of Cognac (16 Charente, Poitou-Charentes) becomes an even more attractive place to visit in July 2008 with the Blues Passions Festival (22–27 July 2008).

With more than 120 concerts, 80 of which are free, the range of music on offer is vast - i.e from Status Quo to Joan Baez and most music styles in between which an emphasis on Afro-American music.

For more info on the festival see www.bluespassions.com
The big Cognac houses (Martell, Remy-Martin, Hennesy) all have well-organised trips around their distilleries and tastings of their brandies. However, these are inevitably a bit “touristy” – there are plenty of smaller, family-run estates which also welcome visitors and provide a rather more individualised welcome – e.g Maison Deau at Gemozac, which also has a Botanic Garden to visit!

Jancis Robinson in the Financial Times (12 May 08) talks about the growing number of Brits who have followed their dream and bought a vineyard in France.

It is hardly surprising then that a substantial proportion of the hundreds of thousands of Brits who own French property have been tempted by the apparently bucolic life of a vigneron……
Are there any French winemakers left down there?
I asked Walter McKinlay, whose Domaine de Mourchon southern Rhône wines are some of the most successful from a British domaine, whether his Domaine de Mourchon wines were financially viable. He frowned. “Just about,” he said cautiously, then smiled. “But it’s a lovely lifestyle though.”

My own observation would be that it can be incredibly hard work and despite the attractions of the climate, landscape and the French way of life, it can also be very stressful. And as with all winemakers, a bad harvest, particularly in the early years can be devastating.

So, here’s our list of British vineyard owners (and 1 Irish couple) - that we are aware of (not an exhaustive list I am sure). Visits can be much more informative if the language is no barrier:-

Domaine de Laroux - Cotes de Gascogne, Armagnac (32 Gers, Midi-Pyrenees) - Nick and Karen Kitchener
Chateau Haut Garrigue - Bergerac, Saussignac AC (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) - Sean and Caroline Feely (the Irish couple running an organic vineyard also known as Wild Earth Vineyards)
Domaine de Fontenay - Cote Roannaise AC (42 Loire, Rhone-Alpes) - Simon and Isabelle Hawkins

Chateau Richard - Bergerac, Saussignac AC (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) - Richard Doughty

Domaine de Merchien - Coteaux du Quercy and beer! (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees - David & Sarah Meakin

Clos d’Yvigne - Cotes de Bergeac, Saussignac AC (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) - Patricia Atkinson

Chateau des Milles Anges - Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Cadillac AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) - Heather van Ekris

Chateau Lezongars - Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, Bordeaux AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) - Philip and Sarah Iles

Chateau Teyssier - Saint Emilion Grand Cru AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) - Jonathan and Lyn Maltus

Chateau de Sours - Bordeaux AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) - Esme & Sara Johnson

Domaine Gourdon - Cotes de Duras AC (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine) - John Coulthard
Domaine du Grand Mayne - Cotes de Duras AC (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine) - Andrew Gordon
Domaine de Begude - Limoux AC (11 Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon) - Catherine and James Kinglake
Domaine de Mourchon - Cotes du Rhone Seguret AC (84 Vaucluse, Provence) - Walter McKinley
Maison des Bulliats - Regnie AC Beaujolais (69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes) - Fred and Helen Lockwood
Chateau Méaume - Bordeaux Superieure AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) - Alan and Sue Johnson-Hill

Domaine a Sauvageonne - Coteaux du Languedoc AC, Vin de Pays d’Oc (34 Herault, Languedoc - Roussillon) - Gavin Crisfield

Domaine Sainte Rose - Vin de Pays d’Oc (34 Herault, Languedoc-Roussillon) - Charles and Ruth Simpson

Chateau Bauduc - Bordeaux AC (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) - Gavin and Angela Quinney

Domaine Sainte Croix - Corbieres AC (11 Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon) - Jon & Elizabeth Bowen

Chateau Monplaisir - Bergerac AC (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) - David and Helen Baxter

The heart of Gascony the Gers département (32 Midi-Pyrenees) offers what I consider to be the real “France profonde” - quiet, peaceful, gently rolling countryside with a distant view of the Pyrenees. You are miles away from the turbulence of the city and its traffic and fumes. The only very ocassional reminder is a speeding jet of the French Air Force and the high vapour trails of planes crossing the continent.
Yet this does not have to be a rural scene without modern facilities, nor without careful design and style as you will discover at the B&B Chambres d’Hote Les Chenes Verts de Gascogne:

Our Bed and Breakfast is a large restored 17th century gascony stone farmhouse set in 3 hectares of garden with four ensuite bedrooms and swimming pool. Situated in beautiful countryside with outstanding views, surrounded by vines and ideally placed for visiting the many historical sites, tasting the wines and armagnac at the local domaines, shopping at the local markets, visiting the Thermal Spa, house hunting or just lazing by the pool in its tranquil setting.

Here Julie-Ann and her family have magnificently restored an old stone farmhouse into a comfortable and elegant place to stay, with four ensuite bedrooms - 3 with kingsize beds and 1 with twin double beds. Outside there is 12mx6m swimming pool, a garden with covered shaded terrace and wonderful views over the countryside (see photos)

Although somewhat isolated from hustle and bustle (situated north west of Auch at Bezolles) there is nevertheless plenty to do in the region - follow the traces of the Three Musketeers and d’Artagnan, explore the charming towns and their markets or go wine- or Armagnac-hunting!

The house is surrounded by the vines of Domaine Camp du Haut producers of Madiran and Armagnac and Julie-Ann can introduce you to the owners of the Domaine for a tasting - and at least you could walk back afterwards!

In addition they have a very good and elegant website which offers online booking - see www.leschenesvertsdegascogne.com

Les Chenes Verts De Gascogne, la Bourdette, Gers France 32310

T:00 33 562 28 90 50 F: 00 33 562 29 28 51

see our map and more info on the area

cforms contact form by delicious:days

For more info and photos click Read more on this…

One of the joys of renting a property in some parts of rural France was always the prospect of a little welcoming glass of the patron’s home brew - often something so unfamiliar and powerful if was bound to encourage good Franco-Brittanique entente cordiale. For me it was a homemade Pineau des Charentes near Saintes (Charente, Poitou-Charentes) - a blend of unfermented grape juice and neat Cognac made in the Cognac region, The first glass of this totally unknown beverage was drunk with a mixture of trepidation and politeness - served from an unlabelled bottle straight out of the fridge. The second glass was miraculously welcomed as an old friend, and the third was drunk merely to prove to the host that we were not merely being polite. Unfortunately we then discovered that the property we were staying in was still a few kilometres drive away along what roads that seemed anything but straight at the time - although the following morning the curves seemed to have been an illusion,

Hence a certain dismay at another piece of French life under threat as the Guardian (10 Dec 07) reports that this tradition is under threat.

Eau-de-vie, the fiery homemade fruit brandy which has been a staple of French rural hospitality for centuries, could be under threat by a new law to be enforced on January 1.

In France, making homemade alcohol is a tightly regulated - and taxed - process. But nearly 300,000 fruit growers and their offspring, thanks to a law dating back to the 1920s, can make up to 10 litres of pure eau-de-vie, or 20 litres of 50% alcohol, tax-free.

I do somehow have my doubts that this ruling will be strictly adhered to in the backwaters of rural France, although you should never underestimate the French customs authorities (les douaniers) who are regarded with grudging respect in France - so the bottle may stay in the fridge in future!

Charles Bremner in the Times (10 Dec 07) reports that another romantic icon of France with echoes of the 1930s is also disappearing - the Wagon-Lits sleeping cars which ran overnight from Paris to the Riviera are no more! The advent of the TGV and the ticket prices have rendered this serene and elegant mode of travel obsolete - Le Train Bleu as it was known was gleaming, polished and luxurious - a far cry from today’s preference for speed and utility. It does seem to me that modern travel termini such as all airports and many railway stations (with the exception of the new St Pancras International in London) are designed to rob travellers of any sense of anticipation or excitement for the thrill of the journey and turn it into an ordeal to be endured.
Now you’ll have to eat at the Train Bleu Restaurant in Paris to get an impression of the stylish decor and style (see image above) or really blow the budget with a trip on the Orient Express from Paris to Venice!

I have enthused about the wines of Gascony for some time, despite the fact that they have tended to remain somewhat unknown and certainly under-rated. So I was delighted to see Jonathan Ray in the Telegraph (04 Aug 07) writing about this area and its wines, and focussing on 2 producers which I have featured before on these pages and on Allez Viins!

Somewhat against the trend, the area is somewhat dominated by 2 larger -scale enterprises, which rather buck the easy stereotype that often equates big size with mass-produced, bland wines to satisfy undemanding palates.

The wines from this part of south-west France are becoming increasingly popular, thanks in no small part to two contrasting producers: the family-owned Domaine de Tariquet near Eauze and the co-operative Producteurs Plaimont, based in and around Madiran and Saint Mont.

Allez Vins! imported the wines of Plaimont for many years, as they produce excellent Vins de Pays (Colombard) and the Côtes de St Mont VDQS red, white and rosé wines – under the inspired direction of André Dubosc. Unlike other co-operatives at the time (late 80s/early 90s) they focussed on quality rather than quantity, and allowed themselves to be led and managed, rather than trying to keep every grower happy.

Their robust Madiran AC (Tannat)  and the sweet Pacherenc du Vic Bilh AC (Gros and Petit Manseng) are also worth trying.

Only a week or so ago we looked at Domaine du Tariquet where Yves Grassa and his family are producing some stunning little wines – full of lively fruit and characted.

Maison Deau’s cellars are situated near Gemozac in the Charentes, between the town of Cognac and the sea.
This is a long-established family Cognac house, which until recently sold most of its production to one of the major marques in Cognac, but has now decided that it is proud enough of the quality of its products to sell under its own family name.
The quality outstrips that of the better-known brands at a most competitive price!
The domaine (Domaine de Chaillaud) produces fine Cognacs of various ages, including some very ancient vintages.

The domaine also produces PINEAU DES CHARENTES - a delightful blend of unfermented grape juice and fine Cognac, similar in style to the Floc de Gascogne made with Armagnac in Gascogny.- “This cousin of Cognac is the most delicious drink in the world”THE TIMES - Saturday 26 July 2003
Pineau des Charentes is the result of the subtle blending of fresh grape juice selected at harvest time, and Cognac. It can be enjoyed chilled as an aperitif or as a pleasant accompaniment to melon or foie gras etc

The grapes ripen on the soft slopes of the Saintonge (the area around the town of SAINTES) hillsides. They benefit from the microclimate lent by their proximity to the Gironde estuary (intense luminosity and moderate temperature changes).The soils are hot, either of clay-chalk (as in Champagne) or a lean sand-silica filtering type permitting early growth. This blend of Cognac with unfermented Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grape juice is not dissimilar to a light port - good sweet berry flavours.

The domaine also has an impressive Botantical Garden which is well worth a visit even if you are not interested in Cognac or Pineau. There is also a small museum and a tour of the cellars available.- see www.deau.com

Address details:-

Deau SVS, Le Chaillaud, 17260 St André-de-Lidon

Tel:05 46 90 08 10
Fax:05 46 90 04 01
E: info@deau.com

See more about Maison Deau on www.frenchduck.com

The cultural treasure chest that is France has a special open evening on Saturday 19 May 2007 - the “Nuit des Musées”. Throughout France a huge number of museums and galleries open until late evening. A random selection includes:-
- a pottery museum in Betschdorf, Alsace (67 Bas-Rhin, Alsace-Lorraine) (www.betschdorf.com);

- the Toulouse- Lautrec museum in Albi(81 Tarn, Midi-Pyrenees) (www.musee-toulouse-lautrec.com);

- the Armagnac Museum in Condom (32 Gers, Midi-Pyrenees) www.condom.org;

- the French Travelling Post Office museum (www.ambulants.fr in Toulouse ()21 Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrenees)

Particularly interesting is the Chateau de Versailles, (78 Yvelines, Ile de France) where there will be a music and light show against the spectacular backdrop of the marble courtyard of the Chateau - see www.chateauversailles.fr/

Moreover entrance appears to be free and many are putting on other diversions (e.g. music, dancing, a pocket torch tour). Full details can be found at www.nuitdesmusees.culture.fr/

A recent invitation to taste a couple of vintage Armagnacs was something too good to miss, as I tend to prefer this brandy to the more widely available and commercial Cognac. One of the reasons is that most Armagnac is produced by small domaines rather than large multi-nationals, so you can establish more of a connection to place and people.
In this instance the people are an English couple, Nick and Karen Kitchener who took over the Domaine de Lauroux at Manciet (32 Gers, Midi-Pyrenees - (see map) in 2004, whose red, white and rosé Vins de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne we have tasted before.

However, tasting Armagnacs (or Cognacs come to that) is not quite as easy as tasting wines (see www.frenchduck.co.uk) but we managed to rise to the challenge. We had 2 fine Armagnacs to taste - a vintage 1967 and a 15 year old - the first being Armagnac only from the 1967 harvest; the second a blend of Armagnacs which have been matured in oak for at least 15 years.
The Lauroux Armagnacs are based on wines made from 100% Ugni Blanc which are then distilled and aged in oak - initially new oak barrels to extract colour and tannin, and later in older barrels to allow for slow maturation. Once bottled Armagnacs do not develop further.

The colour of both Armagnacs was an attractice mahogany brown - the use of clear bottles helps here. What was noticeable with both bottles was that after the initial hit of the alcoholic spirit, they were both surprisingly delicate to the taste with discernible fruit characteristics.
The 15 year old came across a touch lighter and more floral but with nutty, almond tones - whereas the 1967 was noticeably richer with more depth of complex flavours - and almost a sweet edge (caramel) - and beautifully smooth in the mouth. I could happily drink both, although inevitably the older bottle had the edge. But compared to cheap brandies, these 2 bottles were akin to putting 2 classic vintage Champagnes against cheap fizz - it is quite a different level of exquisiteness!!

Nick and Karen are hoping to put their Armagnacs online soon, but in the meantime they can be found at Planet of the Grapes, Bentleys of Ludlow and at the Butchers Arms Pub/Restaurant in Priors Hardwick, Warwickshire.
For more info on the Armagnacs of Domaine de Lauroux - see http://frenchduck.co.uk
For more on Domaine de Lauroux wines see www.frenchduck.co.uk/lauroux.html
Domaine de Lauroux, Manciet, France

For wine enthusiasts there can be few more attractive options for holidays than spending part of the time surrounded by vines on a vineyard, with some preferential access to the winemaker, cellars and maybe even a few bottles of wine - it always tastes so much better on site.
Several years ago, whilst still actively importing wine, I stayed at Chateau Gibalaux-Bonnet in the Minervois (near Laure-Minervois 11 Aude, Languedoc). Now in addition to some very good wines (especially their Cuvée Prieuré, an oaked red which rates as one of the most memorable bottles I have tasted) they also have a self-catering Gite and 3 B&B rooms (Chambres d’Hotes). The domain is wonderfully isolated in the scrubby moorland north of Trebes - ideal for walking and enjoying the scents of the “garrigue”. For more info on the accommodation see www.gibalaux.com/ and for more on their wines see www.gibalaux.on-web.fr
Other options include:-
Clos Montels at Caux in the Languedoc (34 Herault)
In Cahors you could stay at one of our favourites - Chateau les Hauts d’Aglan at Soturac (near Fumel) - no website I can find but email Isabelle Rey-Auriat or phone 00 33 565365202
in Bergerac Chateau Les Miaudoux offers a fine looking Gite
In the Gers (32 Midi-Pyrenees) Domaine de Lauroux makes Cotes de Gascogne wines, Floc de Gascogne and Armagnac - and has both self-catering and B&B accommodation on offer

The route of the 2007 Tour de France cycle race has been announced, and love it or hate it, you need to be aware of it if you are planning to visit South West France next summer. Starting in London for the weekend of 7/8 July the tour heads down to the Alpes via Chablis (going clockwise around France this year) before heading through Provence and the Languedoc via Marseille, Montpellier, Castres and Albi (Gaillac country) on 20/21 July. After a few gentle climbs in the Pyrenees the route then heads north from Pau through Castelsarrasin, Cahors, Angouleme and Cognac in the last week before the finish in Paris on Sunday 29th July 2007.
The impact of the race on local travel and hotels is severe, and even more so on the twisty roads and small villages of the South West - not just because of the cyclists zooming by, but because of the vast entourage of team cars, press, publicity,sponsors and spectators (many with large motorhomes) which can often mean the closure of roads and whole villages for up to 6 hours. It is such a part of French life that no-one complains about the inconvenience or hassle - unless you are not expecting it.
So make a note of the route and dates (see www.letour.fr/) and plan to either stop and enjoy the spectacle - or avoid it completely. The autoroutes are generally unaffected, but hotel rooms for miles around can be difficult to find on the night before or after the race passes through or near a town.