Gaillac is an historic wine producing region located just northeast of Toulouse, in South West France
It is one of France's oldest viticultural areas
established in Roman times or even earlier
and still produces a wide variety of wines today
The region is best known for its richly colored, spice-scented red wines, which were historically used to beef up light-bodied Bordeaux
the red wines of Gaillac can offer excellent value for money and many are of very high quality indeed
There is clear interest in the diverse local whites too
which come in various sweet and dry styles
Sweet styles are covered by the "doux" (sweet) and "vendanges tardives" (late harvest) monikers
The former can also cross over into the sparkling Méthode Ancenstrale wines
Indeed, there are two kinds of sparkling wine made here, which quite possibly pre-date those of Champagne
accounting for around 20 percent of white wine production
it is not a style sanctioned in the appellation laws
A small quantity of rosé is also made in the area, although this rarely attracts as much attention as the other wines. The appellation also allows for a "Primeur" title on labels to denote young white or red wines – the latter specifically made from carbonically macerated Gamay
The primary grape varieties used for Gaillac's red and rosé wines are Duras, Fer (also known as Fer Servadou, Braucal or Brocol) and Syrah
Any red wine must contain at least two of these varieties and any of the three must make up at least half of any red wine
With Gaillac's historical links to the west of France, it is not surprising that the Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot are also permitted for use
Gamay is also permitted, as is Prunelard Noir (a local variety once thought extinct and a parent of Malbec) in a minor role (no more than 10 percent plantings are allow in the vineyard)
which are made solely from Gamay and marketed in a similar way to Beaujolais Nouveau – this accounts for around seven percent of red wine production
The main varieties used to make Gaillac's various white wines are Len de l'El, Mauzac, the pink-skinned Mauzac Rosé, and Muscadelle
Any one of these must make up at least half of a white blend and any white wine from the appellation must contain at least one of these varieties
Secondary varieties allowed in the Gaillac appellation include Ondenc (a long-established but long-forgotten local grape making a steady comeback) and Sauvignon Blanc which is also gaining popularity here
The sparkling Gaillac Méthode Ancestrale wines are made exclusively from Mauzac
late harvest "vendanges tardives" wines typically rely on Len de l'El and Ondenc
Occupying the northwestern third of the Tarn administrative department, the official Gaillac viticultural area covers 64 communes radiating for roughly 20km (12 miles) from the town of Gaillac (from which the appellation takes its name) on the Tarn river
A further nine communes within the appellation lie on the other side of the town of Albi
on the eastern edge of the main winegrowing area
The Tarn River effectively bisects these 73 communes on its southwesterly course between Bellegarde-Marcel (13km/eight miles east of Albi) and Saint Sulpice-la-Pointe on the departmental border with the Haute-Garonne (23km/14 miles southwest of Gaillac). After passing through Saint Sulpice-la-Pointe, the river turns to the northwest and soon forms the eastern limit of Gaillac’s western neighbor Fronton
The Tarn once played a vital role in Gaillac’s fortunes; 70km (45 miles) west of Gaillac town
The latter ultimately connects Gaillac with the port of Bordeaux and the export markets beyond
The phylloxera outbreak of the 19th Century led to a significant decline in Gaillac's vine plantings
but they are now finally regaining momentum
Land here is much cheaper than in other French wine centers and that fact
combined with the region's viticultural history
means that Gaillac is now seeing increased outside investment
Gaillac's viticultural history dates back to the first Century BCE when it was one of the first regions beyond the Mediterranean Basin in France to be planted with grapes by the Romans
Further supplementing wine production here
providing the newly-established viticultural region with amphorae and wine vases
Although pillaged by the barbarian waves of post-Roman era
viticulture was rekindled by the church and vineyards were re-established and flourishing in the late 800s
According to local viticultural historian Jean-Laurent Riol
in 920 mention is made of a gift of "crus" of Gaillac vineyards by Archdeacon Bernassert to the clergy of Albi
Viticulture is upheld by the Benedictine order
which establishes the Saint-Michel abbey in Gaillac
the building is now the site of the Maison des Vins de Gaillac (sold off in the French Revolution
the site of the region's cooperative winery)
Gaillac wines establish a reputation abroad – particularly in the Netherlands and England – and become known as "les vins du coq" (wines of the cockerel) after the cockerel stamp branded on barrels leaving the region for the port of Bordeaux and markets beyond
The cockerel is still found on the coat of arms of Gaillac town
Wars with the Netherlands and England in the 14th and 15th Centuries see foreign troops sack the vineyards (with the English crown retaining a claim on the wider Aquitaine region at this time) although production resumes and by the 17th Century production is evenly divided between white and red wines
Riol notes that in this period, much white is produced as sweet, Botrytis-affected wine, similar to Sauternes in style
much of the vineyard area is replanted to Mauzac
Although local court rulings legally establish the status of "Vin de Gaillac" in 1922
the Gaillac appellation is officially founded in 1938
Today, vineyards in Gaillac appellation account for 3150 hectares (7780 acres) with 120 producers, two cooperative cellars and a single négociant operation
White and sparkling wines account for roughly one third of production with two-thirds given over to red and rosé
The central part of the Gaillac viticultural area produces dry whites of particular quality from its limestone-rich vineyards on the right (north) bank of the Tarn. These are sold under a separate appellation, Gaillac Premières Côtes
This was created at the same time as the main AOC
Areas like Bordeaux and Burgundy have not always produced France's most luxurious wines
Andrew Jefford decodes the Gaillac puzzle..
You can’t call many wine regions ‘enigmatic’ – but Gaillac fits the bill
which gouges its course through the Cévennes limestones from its source on Mont Lozère
the hills open up and the river becomes navigable – all the way
this was one of the two Grands Crus of Roman Gaul
(The other comprised the vineyards around Vienne
it was a millennium ahead of Burgundy and 1500 years ahead of much of Bordeaux
Remember that the Romans came from the south
and that they favoured hill sites (no use for grain production) for their vines
Once the legionnaires had marched over the Cévennes
Gaillac offered the first suitable hillside land
with the evident transport advantages for colonists and garrisons further north that the river provided
(Bordeaux’s first Roman settlers drank Gaillac.) It was also a crossroads for the paths and roads which ran from east to west across Gaul; there were wild vines in the local forest of Grésigne
Archeologists have discovered a large Roman-era pottery for creating amphorae at Montans just downriver from Gaillac
The French historical geographer Roger Dion speculated that
Gaillac might have marked the northerly limits of viticulture (most vineyards in Roman Gaul
We don’t know exactly how good the wine was in Roman times – but it was certainly sought-after in the Middle Ages and beyond
The Benedictine monks of the Abbaye St Michel in Gaillac created a set of appellation-like rules for its production
which they wouldn’t have done had there been no reputation to protect (it included the singular one that the vines could only be manured with pigeon droppings
which is why the area is still full of majestic stone dovecotes)
what is probably the wine world’s first brand – Vins du Coq – was created for Gaillac and given official recognition in the early C16
Moreover at that latter century’s greatest ‘summit’ – the meeting between Francois I of France and Henry VIII of England in 1520
known as The Field of the Cloth of Gold – the young French king gave his still-dashing English counterpart 50 barrels of Gaillac
First of all came the ‘privilege of Bordeaux’
which shut off export markets for Gaillac and other upland areas of the Garonne and Dordogne basins; then the vine-killing winter of 1709; and finally phylloxera
Gaillac’s vineyards today occupy one-twentieth of their former size
There’s more enigma when you ask what might be Gaillac’s representative wine style
There are so many answers to both questions that one of Gaillac’s vanguard producers
considers Gaillac’s leading quality to be sheer adaptability
“The soils and climate aren’t a limiting factor for us
around 60 per cent of Gaillac’s annual production of 155,000 hl a year is red wine
and around seven per cent of that is a Primeur wine based on Gamay
as well as another local speciality called Perlé
a slightly sparkling speciality of the dominant local co-operative at Labastide de Lévis; and there’s a Méthode Ancienne sparkler
The grape varieties are a complicated mix of indigenous varieties and French staples
are what gives Gaillac its uniqueness: they include the white Len de l’El (locally believed to be a descendant of the wild vines of the forest)
Braucol (the local name for Fer Servadou) and Prunelard (one of Malbec’s parents)
There is much talk of beginning to exclude some of the ‘staples’ from the appellation in order to give Gaillac more personality and individuality
but the question is far from straightforward
since the staples can help fill out blends very effectively
there are two main and two subsidiary zones
The clay-limestone hills of the Rive Droite (the ‘right bank’) is probably the best area of all; indeed it contains the little-seen subsidiary appellation of Premières Côtes de Gaillac
for white wines only (just 8 ha planted for this AOP)
The Rive Gauche (‘left bank) is a lower lying zone with alluvial or clay soils
The Plateau Cordais (around Cordes-sur-Ciel to the north) is limestone-soiled and higher sited
while the schist-soiled Noyau de Cunac lies much further upriver
Gaillac is open to many influences – the mountains to the east
the Mediterranean to the south and the Atlantic to the west – and this may be the principal key to its adaptability
“We get our weather from different directions,” says Margaret Reckett who
recently began a new life as a Gaillac wine-grower at Clos Rocailleux on the Plateau Cordais
“You get a very pronounced vintage effect.” Jack feels the best description is “like Bordeaux
The south-easterly Autan wind is as much a feature of the Gaillac climate as the Mistral is of the southern Rhône – but in this case
Having briefly visited the region last autumn and spent most of a day tasting recently
it’s clear that standards vary greatly in this appellation; some wines are weak
though are genuinely fascinating and unique
even though production is slanted in the other direction; it is in the whites that the subtlety
delicacy and grace of Gaillac is most clearly on view
They sometimes remind me of the best Italian whites in their supportive gastronomic discretion – almost as if the long-departed Romans had left a plump little Bacchus or two tucked away in the region to guide the spirit of the place
Sparkling wines can work well here (I’m a fan of the teasing
The Mauzac of Gaillac makes a fascinating contrast to that of Limoux: it’s a little softer and less pungently appley
freshened with some lively finishing bitter notes
even though they’re sometimes picked well into October
It’s almost as if they look up towards the mountains
that the indigenous varieties have most to say for themselves: the region owes a lot to pioneers like Robert Plageoles for helping to salvage these
A small selection of tasting notes is given below – and I begin with the Balaran family’s identically labelled
made with the key local indigenous varieties
make a useful introduction to Gaillac if you’re interested in what the French call cépages modestes
owing to the exigencies of the appellation rules.)
This is the white variety which tastes most like it came lurching out of the forest just a century or two ago: leafy
bitter-edged grapefruit and rose flavours and a little closing asperity
limpid rendition of white Mauzac (see below for a fine-dining version from Aurélie Balaran’s l’Enclos des Rozes): sweet orchard scents and poised
less overt white wine than the Mauzac or the Ondenc
leafy aromas with a faint hint of honeysuckle to them
Everything is very soft and supple in this white
Smooth and bright with lots of primary cherry on the nose
but once in the mouth that cherry disappears and this red wine is more bitter-edged
with a sappy-earthy finish: a typical South-Westerner in lively
A touch of reduction quickly clears to make way for a blast of blackcurrant and sloe
too: a vibrant draught of black-fruit flavours with forest-like wildness and cleansing bitterness on the finish
If you had to pick the red of the trio with most potential
which has deeper plum-sloe fruits than its two peers; a touch of tar
sap and copse in its aromatic spectrum; and more of a sense of completeness to it than the Braucol or the Duras
A pure Mauzac sparkler with 17 g/l residual sugar and just 10%
grape-skin-pungent and with some finishing bitter-fresh notes which contrive to cover the sugars almost completely
Hard not to finish the bottle as quickly as you’d polish off a beer
The David family’s property is an enormous one
its quenching acidity and vinous finishing turn is uncomplicatedly delicious
This is mostly Len de l’El (with around 20 per cent Mauzac)
It’s softly leafy with a touch of sweetness
secondary flavours which combine freshness
This pure Mauzac is fermented in demi-muids (of which around 30 per cent are new): classy
softly creamy aromas and a softly appley flavour with lots of peel and perfume
for the fine value Petit Enclos white — a blend of Mauzac and Ondenc — and an elegant and bracing Méthode Traditionnelle Rosé made from directly pressed Duras alone
This late-harvest wine is made from a blend of botrytis-affected Sauvignon and raisined Mauzac
peach and pineapple scents and flavours in a lush and luscious sweet white of frank sweetness balanced by comely but un-prominent acidity and a botrytis tang
Len de l’El and Ondenc come together in this dessert wine made from indigenous varieties only
sinewy and intense despite its amplitude and richness
with much more of an apricot stamp to it than for the wine above
Laurent and Fabien Caussé have crafted another supple
delicately phrased Mauzac which has clearly benefited from its barrel fermentation and bâtonnage
.st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Ken Ross | kross@repub.comMany people know France's famous wine regions on a first name basis
Bordeaux
Burgundy
(Let me add you can read about all three wine regions listed above in several
where I recently spent four days tasting wines and interviewing iconic wine makers in Nuits-Saint Georges
But there are so many other places in this country roughly the size of Texas that make amazing wine
But don't stop there. Dig deeper and there's an endless array of lesser-known wine regions, especially in the southwest corner of France
Cahors
home to some of the oldest vineyards in this less-traveled part of the country
"Our mission is to give the best that nature can give to us," said Alain Cazottes
a 7th generation winemaker in Gaillac at Domaine des Terrisses
"When we have beautiful grapes in our cellar
that's the most beautiful thing," Cazottes added
So what makes the wines from Gaillac so good
Part of it has to do with the weather in Gaillac
Mediterranean air and Bordeaux's ocean climate
a bar in New York City that sells several Gaillac wines
"There is an influence of the Atlantic (Ocean) and the Mediterranean that you don't find anywhere," Compeyre said
"Our most important secret is make beautiful grapes," Cazottes said
"We are proud of our soil," which includes a complex blend of clay
French people have known about the Gaillac region for a long time
But not many people outside of France have heard of Gaillac - until now
"It's a wine region people are starting to talk about a little more outside the borders," said Andre Compeyre
Another advantage of Gaillac wines - they're relatively inexpensive (often under $20 a bottle) and can be enjoyed relatively soon after they're bottled
"The Gaillac is very special," Compeyre added
Part of what makes the wines from here unique involves their "complexity," "long history" and the blending of several grapes to make a single wine
"It's a very distinct wine," Compeyre added
"Our mission is to give the best that nature can give us," he said
a 6th generation winemaker from Gaillac at Domaine du Moulin
sees the job of the winemaker as being similar to a great chef
"I'm a chef in the vineyard and in the soil," he said
a winemaker in Gaillac can only do so much
It's up to the grapes and nature that decide what type of wine they can make there
His work in the cellar accounts for maybe 1 to 2 percent of what the wine tastes like
But Hirissou takes such work very seriously
you will know who I am," Hirissou said
primary wine growing regions along both sides of the Tarn River in the Gaillac Valley
You can find almost any type of wine in the Gaillac Region
red wines from Gaillac made with a wide array of grapes
(NOTE: Open the wines about two hours before drinking to enjoy them at their peak.)
bright red wine has a fascinating taste - a blend fruity and flinty flavors
I especially enjoyed the way the wine smoothed out two hours later and took on a velvety smooth aftertaste with notes of plums and raspberries
Would recommend this enjoyable wine for people who prefer their red wines slightly on the lighter side
2014 Domaine la Croix des Marchands Tradition
TASTING NOTES - Talk about a wine that changes over time
this wine has a slight bite and a bitter aftertaste soon after opening the bottle
But give this wine just 10 minutes and its softer side starts to emerge
It's fantastic peppery notes contain a complex blend of blackberries and hay (yes
TASTING NOTES - Don't let this wine's goofy name fool you
robust red wine from Domaine Plageoles is the real deal
full-bodied wine exhibits a wide arrange of fleshy
velvety quality surprising for wine so young
2016 L'Oree Du Domaine Des Terrisses Duras
It's ripe flavors express themselves right away straight out of the bottle
But like several of the wines reviewed above
give this wine two hours and watch the magic really start to happen
Notes of fennel and licorice also appear in the background of this terrific example of another outstanding red wine from Gaillac
(Next Week - Great wines from Bordeaux for under $20.)
Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican's weekend section every Thursday
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In Feature Articles by Richard CharkinAugust 4
Richard Charkin finds mostly resilience and ringing cash registers in the provinces this summer
in southern France’s Tarn department in the Occitanie region
Image – Getty iStockphoto: Martin Burguillo
Editor’s note: As Publishing Perspectives readers will remember, Richard Charkin decamps London in August for a farmhouse in southwestern France. We’ve asked our man in the Tarn to look around while he’s there at local bookselling and to survey the condition of provincial French book retail amid the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.—Porter Anderson
By Richard Charkin | @RCharkin
I wanted to ask the owner of this tiny but beautiful shop how damaging had been the lack of tourists
Before and during the pandemic: Le Temps de Lire (Time to Read)
was a ‘tiny but beautiful’ bookshop in Puycelsi
The shop has become ‘Atelier Aloussa.’ Images: Richard Charkin
The owner confided that she’d make more money selling tapenade and olives but she said that books were doing okay in spite of everything
Onward then to a typical French independent bookstore in Gaillac and their terrific receptionist and bookseller
Angelique at Gaillac’s Librairie @ttitude
‘Reading Seriously Hurts Ignorance.’ Image: Richard Charkin
Librairie @ttitude is a small chain—for those in London
It has a total commitment to the local clientele
The exterior of Gaillac’s Librairie @ttitude
The stores in the @ttiude chain were shut down along with all other bookshops in France during the first lockdown in 2020. But the French government in its wisdom declared bookshops an essential service
allowing them to reopen and operate as usual
subject to normal social distancing and mask-wearing—both of which are assiduously observed but not restrictive
This shop and its sisters in other towns are thriving
enjoying and all kinds of literature—the ubiquitous BDs (bandes dessinées
for children and adults); the Prix Goncourt winners or wannabe winners; mass-market paperback fiction; how-to guides; travel
But not an English-language title to be seen
They’ve initiated “le click and collect,” online direct delivery
and the shops claim to be damaged neither by Amazon nor the supermarkets
this picture of a small section of Gaillac’s local Leclerc supermarket tells another story: shelf upon shelf of paperbacks and bestselling hardbacks with three-for-two offers on books more than three years old to circumvent the fixed-price law
Inside Gaillac’s Leclerc supermarket
While supermarkets in the UK have become less of a threat to independent bookshops as they seem to have lost interest in anything but Top 10 paperbacks
it seems that in France they’re still major competitors across the board
An English-language shop in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val
Hunting for an English-language bookshop took me to The English Bookshop in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val
it was disappointingly closed during normal working hours
but without many tourists you can understand why the owners may have decided to take things easy
But an optimistic outlook and resilience were on display at this lovely independent store, La Femme Renard in Montauban
Outside and inside Montauban’s La Femme Renard
Notice the directional arrows on the floor inside
There is some sort of free library service in every town and village I visited
and have been doing great “business” throughout the pandemic
This is a cherished service according to everyone I asked including the well-masked receptionists at this one in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val
At the médiathèque in Saint-Antonin-Noble Val
What have I learned from this light and informal tour of provincial book outlets in southwest France
Retail price maintenance is revered and used to explain the relatively low market share enjoyed by Amazon and the health and vitality of the independent bookshop sector—as Evelyn Waugh wrote in Scoop
Independents can thrive without retail price maintenance
the French authorities seem to have devised a system which allows a degree of flexibility without abandoning the central fixed-price concept—with discounting allowed three years after the original registration of a title
and five percent discount allowed on new books
as well as restrictions on discounting of imported books
And it’s hard to argue with such a thriving book ecosystem in spite of my Anglo-Saxon prejudice against commercial regulation
But perhaps the most impressive aspect is that the French book trade operates within a national and governmental recognition of the importance of book availability and literacy for cultural
How I wish I could say the same about the United Kingdom and other governments
Did the UK or United States declare bookshops to be essential
Did the UK adequately fund the public library sector
Did the UK include books in its overseas aid funding
Mensch Publishing’s summer headquarters in France
Join us monthly for Richard Charkin’s latest column. More coverage of his work from Publishing Perspectives is here and more from us on the French market is here
More from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here
Richard Charkin is a former president of the International Publishers Association and the United Kingdom’s Publishers Association
he was executive director of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
He has held many senior posts at major publishing houses
He is a former president of the Book Society and non-executive director of the Institute of Physics Publishing
He is currently a board member of Bloomsbury China’s Beijing joint venture with China Youth Press
a member of the international advisory board of Frankfurter Buchmesse
and is a senior adviser to nkoda.com and Shimmr AI
He is a non-executive director of Liverpool University Press
He lectures on the publishing courses at London College of Communications
Charkin has an MA in natural sciences from Trinity College
Cambridge; was a supernumerary fellow of Green College
Oxford; attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School; and is a visiting professor at the University of the Arts London
of ‘My Back Pages; An Undeniably Personal History of Publishing 1972-2022.’ In the June 2024 King's Birthday Honors
Charkin was made a member of the Order of the British Empire
for his "services to publishing and literature."
How can you be objective about wine when personal taste accounts for so much
One thing is still sure: you get what you pay for
“Why don’t you write a column about really bad wines?” my neighbour Adam asked
“Because I have limited space and reckon readers find it more useful to know what’s worth buying
The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.
and it’s a subject that comes under periodic discussion among wine writers
Why don’t we include adverse reviews more often
even though it’s a given that not everyone can get to the restaurant in question
Theoretically everyone can get hold of a wine I write about
though that may be a bit of a struggle right now
The thing is, personal taste comes into play with wine, and perceptions differ. The reason Adam asked about bad wine was because he’d just bought a bottle from the Co-op – its 2019 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico (£6
I tasted it and thought it pretty decent myself: a typically neutral Italian white that doesn’t stand out in a line-up or even make particularly thrilling drinking on its own
What you think of a wine depends where you’re coming from and your tolerance of sweetness and acidity. If you’re sensitive to the latter, you may find wines such as picpoul and pinot grigio too sharp. If you don’t have a sweet tooth (as I don’t), you may find an appassimento red overly rich and cloying
And if you’re used to conventionally made wines
you’ll probably find natural wines weird and funky
Like your reds light and fresh and served cool (see the Gaillac in today’s panel)
some wines are just not very well made : as with chefs
winemakers can be good or bad at their jobs
Wines can also suffer from the conditions they’ve been kept in (under hot shop lights
for example) or the fact that they’ve simply been kept too long: bin ends are bin ends for a reason
though I have to say the Isla Negra Merlot I bought the other day in my local Tesco Metro showed remarkably good merlot character for £5.25 and was a much better buy than the weedy and unpleasantly sharp Wine Route Merlot that was part of the same store’s “meal deal”
View image in fullscreenIs This It
Hungarian white with a dash of fashionable grüner veltliner to add a bit of pep
View image in fullscreenTaste the Difference Gaillac Rouge 2017
£8 Sainsbury’s
made mainly from the local braucol grape with some syrah
Should appeal if you like lighter reds such as those from Beaujolais and the Loire
View image in fullscreenTibaldi Roero Arneis 2018
£14.50 Tanners
If it’s quality rather than quantity you’re after
Piedmontese white that I greatly enjoyed with some Middle Eastern-style cauliflower fritters the other day
It would be good with all kinds of seafood
View image in fullscreenKumala Eternal 2019 Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon Pinotage
full-bodied and well-rounded wine” described on the back label that I’m tempted to invoke the Trade Descriptions Act
rather than fruity; and unpleasantly sharp
View image in fullscreenDino Trebbiano Pinot Grigio 2018
£6.50 Tesco
The kind of wine that gives pinot grigio a bad name: tired and flabby
For more by Fiona Beckett, go to matchingfoodandwine.com
The Republic of Albania is a small country which borders the eastern side of the southern Adriatic Sea and looks towards Puglia
It has one of the oldest winemaking histories in the world
landlocked country at the southern end of the Eurasian Caucasus – the mountainous region between Europe and Asia
Austria is enjoying a renaissance as a modern wine producing nation
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are the flag bearers
Azerbaijan is a small country located in the Eurasian Caucasus
As in neighboring Georgia winemaking here appears to date back thousands of years
Better known for its vodka and grain spirit-based production than wine
Belarus is a landlocked country in the north of Eastern Europe
Belgium is better known for its traditional abbey-brewed beers than its wines
but this small northern European country does produce a small quantity of wine each vintage
Bosnia-Herzegovina is a country in the east of southern Europe
also referred to as Bosnia and Herzegovina
It does not produce a significant quantity of wine
although it does have a few thousand acres of productive vineyards
Bulgaria has a long history of viticulture
and its modern wine industry is introducing regions
The Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe
almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov
dating back at least to the classical Greek period
Croatia has been making wine for well over two thousand years
the last three decades have seen a steady rise in quality
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus lies 50 miles off the coast of Turkey
In wine terms it is best known for the dessert wine Commandaria
a wider range of styles and grape varieties are coming to the fore
the western half of the former Czechoslovakia
is better known for its beer than its wine
though the latter is also produced in reasonable quantities
Denmark is one of the three northern European countries which make up Scandinavia
The brewing of beer dominates production of alcoholic beverages
Estonia is a country in the Baltic region of northern Europe
far north of the latitudes in which grapes can reliably ripen
and the nation is better known for its beers and vodkas
Finland is a northern European country located on the eastern side of the Scandinavian Peninsular
The majority of alcoholic beverages produced in Finland are beers and spirits distilled from grain
France is arguably the wine world's most important country
and home to famed regions such as Bordeaux
For centuries it has produced wine in a wide variety of styles in greater quantity than any other country
Georgia is one of the world’s oldest winemaking countries
The red grape Saperavi and the white grape Rkatsiteli are the key varieties grown here
Germany's best Rieslings are some of the greatest whites in the world
while fine wines are also made from a number of other red and white grape varieties
Beer brewing is also a key part of the culture here
Greece has been home to a winemaking industry for at least three thousand years
Nowadays it combines tradition with modernity
using both native and international grape varieties
Hungary's wine industry is best known for Tokaj and Bull's Blood
But its wine portfolio is much broader in terms of wine styles
Iceland is an island nation in the North Atlantic Ocean
located around 900 kilometers (550 miles) north of Scotland's Orkney Islands
There is little chance of successful viticulture being carried out on the volcanic island
Ireland is an island off the west coast of Britain
The following description majors on the beverages produced in the Republic of Ireland
It has a rich and diverse wine heritage and a bewildering diversity of both grape varieties and wine styles
Kosovo is a region of south-eastern Europe
once an autonomous province within the former Yugoslavia
Kosovo had a substantial acreage of productive wine-bearing vineyards
Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe
The country once held the Guinness World Record as the world's most northerly commercial
open-air vineyard known as Vina kalns ('wine hill')
Liechtenstein is a tiny country hidden away among the Alps
the country's most noteworthy vineyard is terraced into a rocky outcrop topped by the 1000-year-old Schloss Gutenberg
Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe between Belarus and the Baltic Sea
bordered by Latvia to the north and Poland to the south
The country's best known alcoholic produce is its vodka
Luxembourg (officially the 'Grand Duchy of Luxembourg') is a small nation in northern Europe covering just over 2,500 square kilometers (960sq miles)
Only 1 percent of this is given over to viticulture
Malta is a small island (25 miles / 40m long) in the central Mediterranean Ocean just 80km (50 miles) south of Sicily
Viniculture here dates back to the early 16th Century
when the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem arrived on the island
bringing with them centuries of winemaking tradition
Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe
and one of several former Soviet states in this region
Moldova ranks among the most significant wine regions of Eastern Europe
Montenegro is a small country on the western side of the Balkan Peninsula
The wine industry here is best known for its intense
deeply colored red wine made from the Vranac grape variety
The Netherlands is a country in northern Europe
The latter is the name of the ancient county in the western Netherlands
Norway is a Nordic country located on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula
but it also borders Finland and Russia at its far-northern edges
is a new and perhaps surprising addition to the list of wine-producing nations
Although viniculture is very much in its infancy here
and has yet to make any mark on international markets
But in the last decade or two it has gained acclaim for its new wave of rich
with reds from the Douro Valley particularly prominent
Romania lies at the crossroads between Central Europe and South-eastern Europe
Its wine industry makes use of a broad portfolio of indigenous and international red and white grape varieties
Russia is the largest country in the world
covering over 17 million square kilometers (6.5 million square miles)
although only the country's southernmost lands are capable of supporting quality viticulture
is geographically the largest of the former Yugoslav states
Serbian wine is not often seen on international markets
although there is no question that the country has the potential to produce world-class wines
Slovakia's vineyards are mostly clustered around Bratislava and scattered eastwards along the border with Hungary
The eastern fringe of the Tokaj wine region lies in Slovakia
Slovenia is a small European country with a long history of wine production
Despite the cultural and political turmoil that has besieged the Balkan states over the past century
one which has been particularly successful since the country gained independence from former Yugoslavia
Spain is home to more hectares of vineyards than any other country
and has a national wine output exceeded only by France and Italy
Though a wide range of wine styles are made
Tempranillo is by far the dominant grape variety
Sweden is a country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe
Winemaking here is very much in its infancy making up a fraction of one percent of the nation's total alcohol production
Switzerland is not widely known as a wine-producing nation
largely because the Swiss keep much of their output to themselves
The white Chasselas grape is the specialty here
Turkey may well be where wine production first began
Today the country grows more grapes than almost any country on earth
The United Kingdom is best known for its beer
It also has a small wine industry which has undergone recent expansion
particularly with respect to sparkling wine production
Ukraine is a large Eastern European country with a long but potted history of wine production although the country is more readily associated to the production of grain-based spirits (horilka)
Canada is famous for its high-quality ice wines
but powerful Cabernet blends and aromatic dry Rieslings are also key features in the country's wine portfolio
But wine has been made here for longer than anywhere else in the Americas
The Vitis vinifera vine came to Mexico with the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th Century
The United States is home to many quality wine regions
though its global reputation still rides on the success of California and the Napa Valley in particular
Whiskey distilling and beer brewing are both integral parts of American culture
Argentina is the largest producer of wine in South America
its principal grape variety; in recent decades they have together risen to global prominence
Bolivia has an extreme high-altitude wine industry
in which around 75 percent of production is devoted to red wine
its winemaking origins date back to the 16th Century arrival of the Spanish
Brazil has a burgeoning wine industry led by its sparkling wines
though Cachaça is still its best known export beverage
Chile occupies a thin strip down the western coast South America and is home to an enviable variety of wine terroirs and styles
it is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
Colombia is situated at the north-western corner of South America
though the country's rum has a higher profile
Ecuador lies on the Pacific coast of northern South America
There are only a few hundred hectares of vineyards; rum and beer are produced in much greater volumes
Guyana is a country located on the Atlantic coast of northern South America
It is well-known for its production of rum and cultivation of sugarcane
Spanish-speaking country in central South America
The country is more famous for its rum than its wines alhough it does produce more than seven million liters (1.85 million US gallons) of wine each year
Peru is a Spanish-speaking nation in western South America
Suriname is a country on the north-eastern coast of South America
but a small amount of winemaking does in fact take place
Uruguay is the fourth-largest wine-producing country in South America
Wine grapes have been grown here for more than 250 years
although commercial vineyards were first established in the second half of the 19th Century
in terms of production of alcoholic beverages
The bottlings from Diplomático and Ron Santa Teresa have gained particular acclaim around the world
Belize is a small country on the eastern (Mediterranean) coast of Central America
The Caribbean is not known for its wines (grape vines do not thrive in the tropical climate)
though the region is the undisputed home of rum
Costa Rica is a country in Central America
and sits on the isthmus between Panama (to the south) and Nicaragua (to the north)
The country's key alcoholic beverages are beer and rum
Guatemala is a small country in Central America
Although it is far from competing with Jamaica
sugarcane and the rum produced from it are some of Guatemala's main exports
Given Nicaragua's location at the western edge of the Caribbean
it is hardly surprising that its key alcohol production comes from sugar
famous as the land link between North America and South America
It is also home to one of the world's largest tropical rainforests
Australia is a leading wine producing country
its climatic and geographical range offers versatility
Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay lead the way
Fiji is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean
There are over 330 islands (110 are inhabited) plus many hundreds more islets
New Zealand is known globally for its aromatic Sauvignon Blanc whites
but it also makes a range of acclaimed cool-climate wines
from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to Bordeaux blends and Syrah
Norfolk Island is a tiny island located in the Pacific Ocean
located almost exactly half-way between New Caledonia and the northern tip of New Zealand
Although technically part of the Commonwealth of Australia
(Sydney lies 1050 miles / 1700km to the south-west)
the island has a high level of self-governance
is one of the world's least-known wine regions
grape wine is made on this tropical island
China vies with several countries as the world's sixth largest producer of wine by volume
Its best producers are gaining international recognition
India is a rapidly emerging wine economy in terms of both production and consumption
with the potential to become a significant player
Whisky and spirits distillation has a longer history
Indonesia is a Southeast Asian country made up of 33 provinces spread across more than 13,000 individual islands
there are wines made in Indonesia: not from imported must or juice but from grapes grown in the island's small number of vineyards
though its modern industry has mostly developed in the last few decades
The Judean Foothills and Galilee are the largest regions
though grape wine has been made there for several centuries
Beer and whisky production have also become established in the last hundred years
Jordan is a country in the Middle East (or Western Asia
as it is officially labeled by the UN) bordered by Iraq and Iran to the east
The country takes its name from the Jordan river
which since biblical times has been a vital source of water in this desert area
Kazakhstan is a large trans-continental country: the vast majority of it lies in Asia
but its western extremities cross over into eastern Europe
Though it has a very long history of wine production
vodka is the principal alcohlic beverage here
Lebanon has an ancient wine culture and a modern industry dating from the 19th century
Its vineyards are concentrated mostly in the Bekaa Valley
The Republic of Myanmar (or Burma) produces a minute quantity of wine
unlikely as that might seem to the outsider in this hot
has been home to tiny plantings of wine-producing vines since the late 20th Century
The high-altitude Himalayan climate is not particularly suited to Vitis vinifera vines
so local wines are made from a combination of honey
The Philippines is a complex group of islands in Southeast Asia
indigenous wines are produced from a variety of fermented crops including fruit
South Korea is a country at the far eastern extremity of East Asia
situated on a large peninsula which juts southwards from north-eastern China
Sri Lanka is an island off the southern tip of India
Syria is a mid-sized country in the western Middle East (also known as the Near East)
situated between the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea and the deserts of Iraq
is located at the centre of the Indochina Peninsula
there are also a number of rum producers with the wine industry beginning to gain international notice
Vietnam is one of a number of East Asian countries which have appeared on the wine radar since the turn of the century
Although its growth is far from rapid and nowhere near as dramatic as that of neighboring China
Vietnam's wine production is steadily increasing
Algeria is a large country in the Maghreb geographical region of north-west Africa
Though an Islamic nation it has a remarkably extensive area under vine
Though today much of this focuses on table grape production
it is still the second largest wine producer in Africa
Cape Verde (officially Cabo Verde) is a small archipelago nation off the coast of West Africa originally colonized by settlers from Portugal in the 15th Century and has a long history of wine production
Egypt is home to some of the oldest winemaking traditions on Earth
Madagascar is a large island off the south-east coast of Africa
it lies almost entirely within the southern tropics creating an ideal climate for sugarcane cultivation and rum maturation
Mauritius is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean about 2000 kilometers off the south-east coast of Africa
the country has a long history of rum production
Morocco's wine industry retains a strong French influence over six decades from independence
bordered by the southern Atlantic Ocean to the west
South Africa to the south and Botswana to the east
produces only very small quantities of grape wine
Wines made from pineapples or palm sap are more common in this tropical nation
Pinotage and Chenin Blanc have been its signatures
Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are also widely planted
despite not having an international reputation as a wine producer
is actually home to the second largest wine producing region in Sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa)
The history of wine production in the country is relatively recent and roughly grew in tandem with the independence of Tanganyika and its merger with Zanzibar in the 1960s
Tunisia is a North African country with a long (if not consistent) history of wine production
Despite being a predominantly Muslim country
the wine industry here makes over 40 million liters of wine per year
and there is no cultural tradition of winemaking
have at least one producer making wine from hibiscus flowers
Zimbabwe is rarely cited as a wine region of note
the southern African nation's wine industry has been gradually growing and evolving
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While ruminating about what my next story would be
I had a delicious snack of hummus and pita bread with a glass of L’Arete de Thau Piquepoul & Terret from the eastern Languedoc region
The Piquepoul or Picpoul grape originates in France’s Rhône region where it is one of the 13 grapes allowed in a Chateauneuf du Pape and the Languedoc
The Languedoc region produces more than a third of the grapes in France
Wines from the Languedoc region along the Mediterranean coast are labeled Languedoc
Languedoc wines from the interior can be labeled Franton
Picpoul means “lip stinger” because of it’s bracing acidity
it has found a home in Washington vineyards
Especially in the sandier vineyards in eastern Washington
Gramercy Cellars in Walla Walla Valley has been fermenting Picpoul since 2013
They source the grapes from the Los Oidos Vineyard in the foothills of the Blue Mountains
The Picpoul grape planted here is a Tablas Creek Clone A
meaning that it comes from Tablas Creek in California which was founded in 1990 by the Perrin family
The Perrin family are the proprietors of Chateau Beaucastel in Chateauneuf de Pape
Another vineyard planted to Picpoul is Boushey Vineyards in Yakima Valley
This celebrated vineyard on the southern slopes of the Rattlesnake Mountains
produces many varietals of distinctive character
Dick Boushey first planted his vineyards to Cabernet and Merlot in 1980
followed with the most recent planting in 2003
Planted on generally south-facing slopes varying from 700 to 1400 ft
the vineyards are composed of layered soils on top of fractured basalt
With these different types of soil and cooler elevations
And the longer ripening time means grapes with more complex aromas and flavors
Callan Cellars is a boutique winery in the Woodinville Artisan Hill District
Winemaker Lisa Callan crafts both Bordeaux and Rhone style wines from grapes sourced from several AVAs
most notably Red Mountain’s Ciel de Cheval Vineyard and Yakima’s Boushey Vineyards
She crafts crisp Rhone-style whites from Boushey Vineyard’s Picpoul and Grenache Blanc
I tasted her Picpoul years ago at a Taste Washington event and have been a fan ever since
Callan made an impressive Grenache Blanc from Boushey Vineyards and it has since become her largest production wine
Both the Picpoul and Grenache Blanc have garnered multiple awards
Syncline Winery has been operating since 1999
This small winery sources their grapes from some fabulous vineyards
in addition to their own estate vineyards in the Columbia Gorge AVA
winemaker James Mantone first fermented Picpoul from Boushey Vineyards
delicious complexity and brilliant acidity,” he planned “to keep working with this vineyard for the long term.”
the grapes are now whole cluster pressed and then settled overnight before vinifying in concrete tanks
aromatic white that would be a perfect pairing with seafood or hummus
Sycline’s owners James and Poppie Mantone specialize in some of the most unique wines available in Washington
Not many places on the west coast grow and hand harvest Cinsault
Gruner Veltliner or Mourvedre in their vineyards
Directly west of their vineyards and winery is a massive 2,100-foot formation of columnar basalt cliffs rising into the Cascades out of the Columbia River
Known locally as the “Coyote Wall Syncline,” it’s a very prominent feature
This dramatic feature is what inspired the winery’s name
a trough of stratified rock in which the beds dip toward each other from either side
It is at this point in the Columbia Gorge that the rainier western side transitions to the semi-arid eastern Washington desert
The Columbia Gorge AVA is one of four Washington AVAs that shares its borders with neighboring states
Total acreage is 186,610 with 120,010 acres in Oregon
only 925 acres on both sides are planted to the vine
Other unique features of this AVA is the variation of geography
One side is affected by the maritime climate and the other is more high desert
the west side is cooler than the east side
This extreme climate variation makes this unique AVA a region where many different grape varieties thrive
Besides being inspired by that pairing of Picpoul and hummus that led to this missive on Washington state Picpoul
I also received an invite to a harvest celebration at Syncline Winery
Syncline’s event on November 12 is billed as a Harvest Roast
Chef and Farmer Matt Dillon will fire roast meat
and wild mushrooms from his Old Chaser Farm
Mary Earl has been educating Kitsap wine lovers for a couple of decades
is a longtime member of the West Sound Brew Club and can pair a beer or wine dinner in a flash
She volunteers for the Clear Creek Trail and is a longtime supporter of Silverdale
Andy Howard MW became a Master of Wine in 2011 and runs his own consultancy business
He previously worked for Marks & Spencer as a buyer for over 30 years and was responsible as wine buyer for\u00a0Burgundy,\u00a0Bordeaux,\u00a0Loire,\u00a0Champagne
Although his key areas of expertise are Burgundy and Italy
he also has great respect for the wines of South America and South Africa
as well as a keen interest in the wines from South West France
He is a Decanter contributing editor and writes a regular column on the UK wine retail trade for\u00a0JancisRobinson.com
At the 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) he was the Regional Chair for Southern Italy
Just an hour's drive to visit these producers..
The vineyards of Gaillac are just an hour from Toulouse
and have been transformed by a new wave of younger winemakers
so hopefully we will see more of the crafted
individual wines from this area in the near future
One of the best producers is Damien Bonnet, who has taken over from his parents at Domaine Brin
This estate is focused on an organic and minimalist approach with great results for whites and reds (his sweet wines are also outstanding)
Damien’s father is an avid collector of old cars
so expect to see him doing some maintenance when you visit
Open Monday to Saturday (10am-12am / 2pm-6pm)
Back towards Gaillac, drop in to the new tasting room at Domaine du Moulin
where sixth-generation winemaker Nicolas Hirissou is challenging local traditions by planting Tannat vines to complement old-vine Syrah and Braucol (aka Fer Servadou) – the latter one of the main local red varieties
Domaine du Moulin Credit: Domaine du Moulin
One of Gaillac’s trump cards is the presence of several rare and exclusive grape varieties. Several have been saved from extinction through the efforts of Domaine Plageoles
which has promoted local terroir through a focus on single
Visit here to taste the deeply coloured Prunelard (one of the parents of Malbec and unique to Gaillac)
which accounts for 1% of red plantings but is growing rapidly
a long-lost white grape which only survived at a Montpellier vine library
and is also credited with rescuing Ondenc from extinction – although this variety is found outside Gaillac
Opening 8am – 12pm and 2.30pm – 6.30pm
Monday to Saturday – Only on RV Sunday morning
Gaillac has its fair share of radical winemakers, such as Michel Issaly of Domaine de la Ramaye
the emphasis is on encouraging natural flora and fauna
The wines are thought-provoking as well as high quality
a product of oxidation and ageing under flor
Shop open from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 12pm and from 2pm to 6pm
Visit only in the afternoon and by appointment
The domaine is closed on weekends and public holidays
Domaine d’Escausses is closer to Albi
off the main route between the city and the famous hilltop bastide of Cordes-sur-Ciel
try the méthode gaillacoise sparkling – an ancient form of fizz fermented in one bottle
Sauvignon dominated blend that can challenge top white Bordeaux
Over on the gravelly soils of the left bank (close to the A68 autoroute) is the consistently excellent Domaine Rotier
where Alain Rotier doesn’t put a foot wrong with any wines in the extensive line-up
He also has a very smart new visitor centre to explore
The name Duras comes from dur, the French word for "hard". This is a reference not to the wines (although these can be relatively dark and unforgiving) but the sturdiness of the variety's wood. The Duras variety is entirely unconnected with, and not used in, Cotes de Duras wines
The variety covers a total of roughly 2,400 acres (1,000ha), almost all of which are located in the Tarn department where Duras plays a key role in the red wines of Gaillac. Some is also planted in the neighboring Aveyron department, for use in the little-known wines of Estaing and the Cotes de Millau
Together these three varieties make up at least 60 percent of any Gaillac red or rosé wine
During the post-war years of the mid-20th Century
swathes of Duras vines were pulled up and replaced with more fashionable varieties from Bordeaux
By the 1960s only around 240 acres (100ha) of Duras vines remained
a movement of Gaillac winegrowers (including local hero Robert Plageoles) banded together to safeguard the variety's future
and its prospects are now decidedly brighter
Brian Alonzo and Tilden Sansom led the way for Auburn
grabbing state placings at the Mat Classic XXIV 4A state championships last weekend
According to the sparse information available on Verdanel, the variety produces conical bunches of medium-sized, loosely clustered berries. The highly dentated, round leaves, with their jagged, tooth-like edges, resemble those of Chardonnay
Aside from the obvious implication of "green" in the name Verdanel
little is known about the specific origins or meaning of the name
Only a handful of wines are now produced from Verdanel grapes. The variety's most notable supporters are heritage vine campaigner Robert Plageoles and his son Bernard (of Domaine Plageoles), who have experimented with producing varietal Verdanel
The domaine also boasts such ancient Gaillac varieties as Prunelard Noir, Duras and Braucol, the Gaillac name for Fer Servadou
The Plageoles grew their Verdanel vines from cuttings they took from the variety's few remaining plants. These were found miraculously preserved ("miraculeusement conservé") in Marseillan, just south of Pinet (of Picpoul de Pinet fame)
Santa Emily consecrated her life to the poor
involving some of her companions in a true charity organization
she inaugurated a new form of religious life devoted to the service of all the poorest of the poor - caring for them in their every sort of misery - as well as attending to the education of very young girls
that it would spread within the span of a few years to all continents
and transferred her remains to Gaillac in 1972
where it is now offered for the veneration of the Christians of the land where she was born
the day on which she is celebrated in Marseille
She founded her congregation at Christmastide
With the thought of spreading the Gospel in the farthest countries
she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St
Joseph of the Assumption and despite many difficulties
managed to found 42 houses from North Africa to Burma
thus giving a significant development to the Institute
Today her sisters are present on all five continents
Her feast day is August 24 on the General Calendar
though in her communities she is celebrated on June 17
It was the strangest sight to ever grace the sky over Oloron
high school superintendent Jean-Yves Prigent
there appeared a "cottony cloud of strange shape
was slowly moving in a straight line toward the southwest
A sort of plume of white smoke was escaping from its upper end."
In front of this "cylinder" were 30 smaller objects that, when viewed through opera glasses, proved to be red spheres, each surrounded by a yellow ring. "These 'saucers' moved in pairs," Prigent said
"following a broken path characterized in general by rapid and short zigzags
When two saucers drew away from one another
But this was only the beginning of the strangeness
hairlike substance rained down from all of the objects
When observers picked up the material and rolled it into a ball
it turned into a gelatinlike substance and vanished
who had observed the episode from a bridge
and he was able to extract himself from it only by cutting his way clear-at which point the material collected itself and ascended
A nearly identical series of events occurred in Gaillac
Such "angel hair" is reported from time to time
Laboratory analysis of authentic material (airborne cobwebs are sometimes mistaken for angel hair) is impossible because the material always vanishes
when Craig Phillips (director of the National Aquarium from 1976 to 1981) witnessed a fall off the Florida coast
he collected samples and placed them in sealed jars
Take a look at these articles to learn more about the older and more oddball UFO phenomena:
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Haute Living hosted an exclusive Haute Leaders dinner at Alessa NYC
a modern Italian gem in the heart of New York’s Penn District
certain names echo not just for their scents but for their seismic influence on the industry
Estée Lauder unveils its first Skin Longevity Institute in the Americas at Hacienda AltaGracia in Costa Rica’s Blue Zone
We’ve rounded up the best Mother’s Day gifts that will pamper
and indulge the ultimate beauty lover in your life
Haute Living and hip-hop legend Fat Joe celebrate the launch of Sonrisa Rum at the iconic Fontainebleau Miami Beach
IWC and Mercedes-AMG Petronas kicked off the 2025 Miami Grand Prix with a soiree featuring George Russell and the stars of the new F1 film
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vintage bicyclettes and champagne: our tipsters recall holiday joie de vivre
Plus our £200 holiday prize is back - scroll down for details
pretty towns like Gien and the occasional castle to break up the view
and the four teenagers still say it was their best holiday ever.Angela Luke
View image in fullscreenSailboats in Jardin du Luxembourg
Photograph: Laura StoreyI’ll never forget watching my children pushing vintage wooden toy sailboats down the lake in Paris’s Jardin du Luxembourg on a hot summer’s day
They had seen kids doing it in a colouring book
A French neighbour at our campsite invites us for oysters and crabs in spaghetti
We play volleyball with the camp owner’s kids
There is a path from the site to a small beach on the basin where we swim at midnight and watch the shooting stars
a girl from Lille who I’ll never meet again
but remember as if it were today.Simon Tobin
View image in fullscreenA cafe in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
dotted with white-cloth covered tables and Parisians raising their champagne flutes
Madame in Yves Saint Laurent inclined her head as did Monsieur in velvet trousers
Flowers spilt out in front of exquisite small shops and galleries and the elegant doors of Rue de Verneuil
clutching the address of my apartment and pulling my case on wheels
I walked into this scene celebrating arts and antiques week in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
I saw a bunch of giddy children in lifejackets
It was a perfect sunny day and their enthusiasm summed up how it felt to be a child during their summer holidays
make sure you’re sheltered when eating an ice cream: French seagulls are full of confiance en soi!Eve
View image in fullscreen Photograph: incamerastock/AlamyIn Chinon – a Centre-Val de Loire town that was once a royal residence and seat of power in France
and the place where King Henry II Plantagenet died in 1189 – a small pathway leads from the main château to the Chapel of Sainte-Radegonde
There you find a still-unresolved fresco from the end of the 12th century
probably of Eleanor of Aquitaine with her son Richard the Lionheart
you will find a sacred site of the Celts still in place: the aquamarine of a holy bath.Christine Zeile
View image in fullscreenThe prologue of the Anjou Vélo Vintage
Photograph: Jonathon Short/AlamyEvery June and July
the Anjou Vélo Vintage is held in Saumur on the Loire
Saumur is a pretty little town with a cracking château
But when it’s filled with vintage costumes
it’s transformed into a carnival of colour
The festivities start on the Friday evening with 1950s live music and dancing in the vintage “village” overlooking the bridge over the Loire
The Saturday and Sunday have several rides leaving the town centre and spanning the fields and country lanes nearby
Gaillac wine is practically unheard of outside France, but its unpretentious and discreet nature can be best appreciated by experiencing an apéro concert in and around Gaillac. These outdoor events are held on warm summer evenings at numerous local vineyards. Music varies from classical (chateau-de-mayragues.com) to rock’n’roll (lesvignals.fr)
The wine has travelled no further than vine to cellar and is served by the owners themselves
while food vans offer a choice of Toulouse sausages
From next week we will be once again be issuing a prize – a £200 voucher for a Canopy & Stars glamping stay – for a winning tip chosen by travel expert Tom Hall.Enter next week’s readers’ tips competition: we’re looking for tips on UK campsites
the picture accompanying the cycling in Normandy entry wasn’t of the correct location
It is with a tired face and a slightly misty mind that Louis de Faramond welcomes me on his estate one morning in September
We are in the middle of the harvest season and the young man has just spent a sleepless night “we have to harvest at night to pick a fresh grape and better preserve its aromas”
At the age of 33, Louis de Faramond is the heir of a long line of winegrowers. In the Gaillac region (France), one of the oldest vineyards in France, Château Lastours has been in the family since the 16th century and before telling me about its wines
Louis wants to tell me the history of the estate He tells me about the small fort that originally stood on these lands
transformed in the 16th century into a castel with two towers
He also mentions the magnificent 17th century dovecote
as well as the hard blows such as the fire that in the 1950s ravaged a third of the buildings or the phylloxera
two ordeals that forced his grandfather to reinvent himself
If today the years of misery seem far away
one feels however that the profession of winegrower is not simple and requires constantly to question oneself
Over the generations and the evolution of techniques
a half-buried cellar was built to maintain the temperature of the wine
the use of tuns was abandoned in favor of concrete and then stainless steel vats
the Faramond family was one of the first to bottle the wine directly at the estate and to develop sales in the cellar …
It takes two essential qualities: passion but above all madness
“What we have today is because for five centuries there has been transmission from generation to generation” humbly confides Louis de Faramond
With humor he concedes “To take over a wine estate you need two essential qualities: passion but above all madness”
an engineer in food processing with a banking specialization
He worked for a few years in the banking sector before returning to his roots
A welcome training because today the job of winegrower requires a lot of versatility and skills in marketing
management … all without losing sight of the know-how of course
the profession of the vine has changed a lot
New techniques such as machine harvesting have changed the methods but also allow a better control of the winemaking process
the challenge is to adopt a more ecological approach to production
which has led Château Lastours to completely eliminate the use of insecticides
Louis de Faramond welcomes those who come to push the door of the estate
It is even possible to take a guided tour – preferably by reservation
Louis is unable to choose a favorite among his children and does not try to impose his tastes: his recommendation is simple “good wine is the one you love”
I let myself be tempted by the dry white “Les graviers” and the red “Tradition” but I let you go to Domaine Lastours to find the one you will appreciate the most
It is possible to make a visit of the wine storehouses
These visits are offered from Monday to Saturday
from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and from 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Book a visit
Many thanks to Louis de Faramond for having taken the time to receive me and to speak to me with such passion about his (beautiful) job despite his fatigue! Thanks also to Christian Rivière of Tourisme Tarn for this contact
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Parcel Series Sauternes, Bordeaux, France 2018 (£24.99, or £14.99, as part of a mixed case of six bottles, majestic.co.uk) A sweet
golden wine made of mist and mould: sauternes is a defiantly odd creation
Produced in the eponymous appellation in the south of Bordeaux’s Graves district
it relies on the very particular conditions of its vineyards by the river Garonne and the Ciron tributary
which are cloaked by lingering evening mists in autumn at the end of the growing season
In the cool and damp a benign form of mould
This makes for an exceptionally labour-intensive
and profoundly uneconomical form of winemaking: at harvest time
pickers for the best sauternes producers pass through the vineyards several times
selecting and sorting the semillon and sauvignon blanc grapes
Yields may be as low as one glass of wine per vine – a glass of pure
in the case of Majestic’s clever find from an undisclosed ‘top’ château
Ulysse Cazabonne Sauternes, Bordeaux, France MV (£18.50, thewinesociety.com) Another secret château is the source for The Wine Society’s equally gorgeous example of sauternes seductiveness: a blend of three vintages (hence the MV or multi-vintage) that fully expresses the special charm of the style
the silky sheen of the texture offset by ripples of fresh acidity and a wonderful clarity and length of flavour
Sauternes isn’t the only Bordeaux region where top châteaux occasionally sell off the odd bit of stock under cover to help cashflow
and the practice isn’t necessarily an indication of financial difficulties
there is no doubt that recent years have been tough for winemakers in the region
Thanks to the impact of spring frosts and mildew (a not-at-all benign form of mould for grape growers) the latest vintage
with many producers not making any wine at all
And all this in a global context where sweet wines
have never been less fashionable and harder to sell
Domaine Rotier Renaissance Vendanges Tardives, Gaillac, France 2017 (£16.99, 50cl, Waitrose) One of the problems for sauternes producers – not including the region’s most revered château
which has never lost its centuries-old status as one of the world’s most expensive and sought-after wines – is the way it tends to be sold as ‘dessert wine’
sauternes has the necessary sugar and balancing acidity to work with the sweet part of the meal
as a kind of dessert – or sweet part of the meal – in itself
Think of the way that quince or fig jam makes such a good contrast with stronger cheeses: a glass of sauternes does much the same job
while also rinsing the mouth clean with that tangy acidity
This skill isn’t the sole preserve of Sauternes
by the way: a couple of hours’ drive west of Bordeaux
Domaine Rotier’s Renaissance is an intense yet scintillating
crystalised apricot-accented sweet alternative made from the local loin de l’oeil variety in Gaillac
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2009 Domaine de la Chanade Galien Gaillac Rouge
This young red from France's South West displays liquorice aromas with cherry fruitiness topped off with a rustic freshness. £7.49, down from £9.99, M&S
2010 McManis Family Vineyards Viogner, California
A tropical dry white showing the viognier fragrance of honeysuckle and apricot fruit whose richness is leavened by refreshing acidity. £10.99, Waitrose
Elegant Aussie cool-climate shiraz with spicy undertones and a fruit quality that's satisfyingly lingering. £22.25–£25.99, Cambridge Wine Merchants (01223 568989), Wine direct.co.uk
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A road-trip through the south-western region of Tarn throws up an Ab Fab feast of food and wine for Audrey Kane
French fancies: Tarn's episcopal capital
Audrey KaneSun 21 Apr 2019 at 03:30I remember watching the decadent duo of Eddie and Patsy from Ab Fab travelling around the South of France
and ever since it's been on my list of things to do - minus the carnage
I finally fulfilled that dream thanks to a little French delight - Tarn be thy name
so our first stop at Toulouse-Blagnac airport was to pick up a rental
An hour's drive from the airport was all it took to feel Absolutely Fabulous
Gaillac in the north of the region is home to some of the oldest vineyards in France
and here we checked into our first destination - Domaine de Perches
a restored 17th-century château transformed by hosts Alain and Howard into a small boutique hotel that you'll never want to leave
We felt like lord and lady of our own manor
with suites overlooking the rolling countryside
After working up an appetite with a quick spin out to Cordes-sur-Ciel - a medieval bastide town where we strolled the craft shops and artists' galleries - we settled down for a four-course meal prepared by Alain
with the first of many Gaillac wines to be tasted on our trip
or a dark chocolate mousse with an orange and raspberry salad..
it's among the loveliest areas of south-east France
steeped in history and characterised by an enormous variety of landscapes
Our journey continued on day two as we leisurely drove through the rustic countryside
Here the colourful local market was in full flow
but with the Musée Art du Chocolat (chocolat-tarn.fr) awaiting in Lisle-sur-Tarn there was no time to stop
The Musée holds a permanent exhibition showcasing amazing skills of building in chocolate - sculptures range from little fish to a life-sized mother and child
As I sat eating rich dark chocolate from Columbia and drinking hot chocolate from Argentina
I realised I had broken Lent - they had found my weakness
We quickly became accustomed to the French way of life; three-course meals for lunch and the obligatory bottle of wine for two
a restaurant set on a little square away from the busy main street
The food is simply amazing - you can enjoy a three-course meal here for as little as €28
There is also a fabulous selection of wines by the glass - our favourite was Domaine d'Escausses from the Gaillac region at just €7 a bottle; one for the table and one for the suitcase
where we had a rendezvous with Duncan Geddes from Château de Mayragues (chateau-de-mayragues.com)
Set 10km north of Gaillac in a vineyard on slopes leading down to the Tarn river
it was built in the 13th and late 16th centuries and bought in 1980 by the Geddes family
Treated to some organic wine-tasting from the vineyard
once again I left with a favourite bottle - Brut De Mayragues 2017 - this one priced at €15
If it's haute cuisine paired with local wines you're after
rural Château de Salettes hotel (see factbox below) hits the spot
Dating from the 13th century and set in 32 hectares of vineyards
Polish head chef Ludovic Dziewulski served us an eight-course gastronomic delight (dinner from €29 to €90
depending on how decadent you are feeling)
with excellent wine pairings by the house sommelier
Another bottle ended up in our ever-expanding suitcase - Chateau de Salettes
The final leg of our little tour de France was the episcopal city of Albi
Tarn's capital has been classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site
One of Albi's biggest draws sits at its heart - Sainte-Cecile Cathedral
redbrick masterpiece which took over 400 years to complete
It's definitely worth having a guided tour of the city
as there are little gems everywhere you may miss such as the Restaurant Le Lautrec (restaurant-le-lautrec.com)
take a trip to the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum (musee-toulouse-lautrec.com) where over a thousand works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Our final night was spent at the four-star Hotel Alchimy
near the cathedral and other tourist spots
We had dinner at the hotel in the new Albigeois restaurant where almost everything is made in Tarn - Le Pont du Tarn
with a wide selection of authentic cuisine and great service plus
This time we had a bottle of Mas des Combes for €10
All that was left to do now was to say au revoir to the South of France and also to somehow fit my fab collection of Gaillac wines into the airline allowance
If you are planning a trip to Tarn you will need to drive
Having never driven on the opposite side before
I chickened out and let my partner take the wheel
driving through the rural parts is a lot easier
Aer Lingus flies from Dublin to Toulouse-Blagnac airport
Audrey was a guest of the airline (aerlingus.com)
Suites at Domaine de Perches (domainedeperches.com) from €155
at Hotel Château de Salettes (chateaudesalettes.com) from €255
and at Hotel Alchimy in Albi (alchimyalbi.fr) from €180
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