Languedoc-Roussillon

The town of Prats de Mollo (66 Pyrenees Orientales, Languedoc-Roussillon), 40 miles southwest of Perpignan, celebrates the Day of the Bear (Fete de l’Ours) on 14 February 2010.

OK – they are not real bears (although Bears have been reintroduced in some parts of the Pyrenees) but young men blacked up and wearing sheepskins as the “bears” which are then chased through the town by “hunters” – culminating in music and dancing in the town centre.

For more info see www.pratsdemollolapreste.com

The route for the 2010 version of the Tour de France has been announced. The race starts in Rotterdam on 3 July 2010 and after a few days in Holland and Belgium the route takes in Champagne and Burgundy before heading for the Alps. Then southwest through the Côtes du Rhone before skirting the southern edge of the Massif Central, down through Languedoc-Roussillon before several gruelling days on the Pyrenees. One of the highlights will be on Saturday 24 July 2010 when there is an individual time trial from Place des Quinconces in Bordeaux up to Pauillac along the Route des Chateaux. In racing terms this is an important day as its is the penultimate day after 3 weeks on the road immediately before the Grand Finish in Paris on the Sunday 25 July 2010

From a spectator point of view it promises a good day out in the Medoc – as although you miss the momentary flash of 100+ professional cyclists zooming past, you get to see ech rider individually and can make a whole day of it with the race taking 2 hours or so to pass.

For more info see www.letour.fr

The Minervois region of the Languedoc holds a wide-ranging cultural festivel from 22 October to 4 November 2009 called Les Grands Chemins (the big tracks)

…the established showcase of the Minervois, is preparing its annual fortnight-long festival of the senses –
art, culture and fabulous food – all designed to introduce you to the delights of the region.
An astonishing range of activities, from the creative arts, food and wine tastings, evenings of music ranging from jazz to the classics, strolls through the vineyards, cinema , theatre paying tribute to PierrePaul Riquet with Guy Vassal’s play “The Madman of the Canal”, a cabaret evening dining to the poetry of Charles Trenet….You can choose to follow an exciting and varied programme of events; alternatively you are welcome to organise your own tour around the region where a profusion of historic sites, workshops and exhibitions await you.

The programme includes a wide range of open-days at winemakers throughout the region including Minervois AOC, St Jean-de-Minervois and Minervois-la-Lavinière which include some great Languedoc reds, whites and dessert wines.

The winemakers of Banyuls (66 Pyrenees-Orientales, Languedoc-Roussillon) celebrate their Fete des Vendanges from 5-11 October 2009.

An unmissable wine-themed rendez-vous involving encounters with winemakers, exhibitions, lectures, cultural activities and traditional local markets…

For example on Saturday 10 October there is a traditional market featuring local produce in the streets of the town centre;music; the pressing of the grape harvest by schoolchildren; taste workshops and an evening firework dispay.Festivities will end with a flourish on Sunday 11 October with tasting of the 2008 vintage, the arrival of the grape harvest by sea and traditional music and singing. – and a barbecue on the beach.

Banyuls AOC is a sweet fortified dessert wine made from older vines on the foothills of the Pyrenees close to the border with Spain. It is made mainly from the Grenache grape.

For more info on Banyuls wine see www.banyuls.com and on the wine festival

Ryanair is introducing new flights to France next summer (2010)  from Leeds/Bradford to Limoges, Montpellier, Nantes and Carcassonne! There are already flights from Yorkshire Avignon, Bergerac,Chambery, La Rochelle, Nice, Paris and Toulouse.

This comes at the same time as Ryanair has also announced the cancelling of many flights from Stansted over this winter.

So, much will depend on when you want to fly and how much you are willing to pay – and as always with Ryanair make sure that you take into account the additional costs that will be added to the headline price – i.e for online booking, baggage, priority boarding etc. However, the new Ryanair destination airports are local to the named city – but some airports can be some distance from the named city- e.g. Paris Beauvais is 50 miles (80km) north of Paris and takes about an hour and 15 minutes by bus.

For more info on Ryanair flights and destinations see www.ryanair.com
Air routes to France

Although a rather small Languedoc village, Aniane has a world-wide reputation as the home of Mas de Daumas-Gassac where owner Aimé Guibert challenged the traditional winse bureaucracy by making top quality wines outside the very restrictive Appellattion Controllée system – and then the locals saw off an attempt by a large multinational to buy up a significant chunk of the local vineyards in order to make some bland, branded wine.

Importantly the village lies in the heart of the Languedoc vineyards about 40km North East of Montpellier (34 Herault. Languedoc)  Hence it makes an ideal focus for the  substantial Aniane Wine Fair (Salon des Vins) on the weekend of 25-26 July 2009 – several dozen wine makers  from Aniane and surrounding villages (including Daumas Gassac) will be attending, including one of my favourties – the Mas de la Serranne. where Isabelle & Jean-Pierre Venture make some excellent Coteaux du Languedoc AC wines blending traditional Languedoc with  Rhône grape varietals which produce intense. but smooth, herby red wines.

For more info see Aniane Wine Fair