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Waitrose (online and in its stores) launches its French Wine Showcase on 26 March 08 - running through to 27 April 2008 this will feature a total of 48 wines.

As well as our usual French favourites, the showcase will also see the launch of four new wines to the range, including the delightful Taittinger Rose NV and the excellent value Domaine des Eyssards Bergerac Rouge.

Unusually for a major supermarket (and greatly to be welcomed) Waitrose will be featuring 13 specially sourced small parcel wines from a wide range of less well-known appellations such as:

Quincy (crisp Sauvignon Blancs from the Loire), Provence and Lirac (Southern Rhone) and the wonderfully unusual Pierre Boniface Domaine des Rocailles Apremont de Savoie 2007 and La Bastide Blanche Bandol (rich Mourvedre red from east of Marseille).

Waitrose Wine Direct

The start of the cycling season in France is marked by the somewhat mis-named Paris-Nice race which runs from 9th - 16th March 2008. Mis-named because although it does indeed finish in Nice it does not start anywhere near Paris. This year is pushes off from Amilly (45 Loiret, Centre) about 75 miles south of Paris near Montargis.

It is also known as the “Race to the Sun” and extends over 1200 km in the week.

After a time trial (prologue) on Sunday 9 March, the route heads south through Nevers (58 Nievre, Burgundy) via Sancerre, then across to Beaujolais (Belleville, 69 Rhone, Rhone-Alpes) and Fleurie and on to Saint Etienne (42 Loire, Rhone-Alpes).

After a transfer down to Montelimar (26 Drome, Rhone-Alpes) the race then heads for the Alps via Mont Ventoux, Althen-les-Paluds (84 Vaucluse, Provence) and onto the Mediterranean coast via Sisteron to Cannes and Nice where the race finishes on 16 March on the Promenade des Anglais.
Even if you are not a cycling fan, the race and its paraphernalia is quite a spectacle and will pass through some glorious countryside.

For more info on the route see www.letour.fr

Watirose online is currently running a special offer of £10 off a mixed case of classic French wines (and free delivery) until 5 March 2008.

This offer is available to French Duck readers by quoting code WINE77 at the checkout.

Whilst I tend to prefer to support small independent wine merchants, Waitrose’ selections are often excellent, always reliable and generally good value.

This is a good selection of wines from all the main classic wine regions of France including reds from Beaujolais, Cahors, Fitou, Bordeaux, Cotes du Rhone (Chapoutier) and a red Burgundy.

For the whites there is a Macon Lugny, Saumur, Bordeaux, Touraine Sauvignon and Chablis.

The offer means that a case of 12 bottles is just £55.00 including free UK delivery - i.e under £5.00 a bottle. And if you prefer only reds or only whites, you can have that for the same price (2 bottles of each). But this offer is only available with thediscount voucher code above and until 5 March 2008!

See Watirose online

A browse through the local travel bookshop in midwinter is always enjoyable, especially when you find something new. Hence Mireille Guiliano’s French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure caught the eye as unlike most books about dieting, it concentrates more on the pleasure of eating well A la Francaise. Personally I like the French approach of more but smaller courses rather than the British plate piled high with meat and 2 veg! One of the key messages here is all about portion size. This is another angle on the “French Paradox ” whereby despite a rich diet, the French tend to have lower levels of obesity and heart disease!

“It is classy, chic, convincing, funny, wise, well-written and very timely. It’s the ultimate non-diet book, which nonetheless shows us how to eat with balance, control and above all pleasure. Chuck out all the radical diet books, think about what you eat and why, and then enjoy eating the right things (and some of the wrong ones) intelligently, and in smaller portions.”

Another choice was Marie-Pierre Moine’s Provence Cookery School a sumptuous celebration of rich Provencal fayre, lovingly illustrated

Recreate the gorgeous flavours of Provencal cuisine in your own kitchen. Forget expensive and difficult courses run by intimidating chefs. This one-on-one guide gives step-by-step advice on how to learn the key elements of Provencal cooking in only one week. Each day, you’ll discover how to combine local ingredients and techniques to create authentic, delicious dishes, with three-course menu plans for making magnificent meals. Cook and enjoy over 100 wonderful dishes, using local ingredients from the best producers, from superb sauces to perfect pastries. Guy Gedda is your friendly and charming host: his clear demonstrations show you exactly what to do without the need for professional expertise and skill, but with results that will prove you have mastered the essentials of Provencal cooking in your own kitchen. Bon Appetit!

Finally a rather fun food book to enable you to recapture the essence of French cuisine back at home - William Black’s Plats Du Jour. According to Metro’s review: (April 25, 2007):

“The French wouldn’t dream of agonising over whether to buy local: after all, their culture is built on it, n’est ce pas? In his culinary travelogue Plats du Jour, William Black celebrates their peerless heritage, but also detects that everything isn’t quite so rosy in the country’s kitchen as they would like to think. “

In the east of France and to the east of Burgundy adjacent to Switzerland, the Ain is probably a little overlooked by most visitors.

With Bourg-en-Bresse as its principal town it is a region of gentle hills and river valleys - which is one of the hidden parts of France.

The departement includes Bugey and the wines of Bugey. These are VDQS wines (Vins Délimité de Qualité Superieure) - a classification between full Appellation Controllee and VIns de Pays. As such there are restrictions on grape varieties used and planting and harvesting techniques - and the grapes must be grown in the designated region. White wines from Chardonnay, Roussette; Rosé wines from Gamay and Poulsard; Reds from Gamay, Pinot and Mondeuse; and sparkling wines from Chardonnay. Seldom seen in the UK.
For an opportunity to taste some of these wines there is an open tasting in Lyon from 25-26 January 2008 - click here for more details
For more on the wines of Bugey see www.vinsdubugey.net
One of the highlights of the year is the celebration of the famous yellow corn-fed chickens from Bourg-en-Bresse - the Glorieuses de Bresse held every December shortly before Christmas (for 2008 it runs from 16-21 December 2008 - in the form of a market and other festivities held in Bourg-en-Bresse, Louhans, Pont de Vaux and Montrevel-en-Bresse - see www.glorieusesdebresse.com

More info - see the Ain Tourism Office

For an English run B&B in the region with a knowledgeable host and guide see B&B Burgundy