The Life and Times of La Grande Maison

Easter Wine Tour 2012 in the Loire Valley Vineyards

2012-01-07T19:00:00.000+01:00

Easter Wine Tour in the Loire Valley Vineyards with a Qualified English Speaking Wine Guide

Spring time in the Loire is simply beautiful. Everything is fresh, vines are coming into bud and the weather is warming up. The perfect time to take a Wine Tour over the Easter weekend. All you need do is arrive - we’ll take care of the rest!   Experience the French countryside, fabulous chateaux and enjoy Loire Valley Wines with our Easter Wine Tour 2012.

We collect you from either Angers or Saumur station, or Tours or Poitiers Airport and transfer you to La Grande Maison in the heart of the vines. It won’t be long after arrival that you are sitting in the vineyards and sipping your first glass of cremant.   Once you have settled in you will have chance to go walking in the vines or even go for a bike ride before dinner. 

On the first the evening we serve you a delicious Wine Sampling Supper the grand hall. The home cooked meal with ingredients direct from our own organic potager is accompanied with a AOC Loire wine with each course, whilst we informally introduce you to the wine styles, grapes and terroir of the region.   Accommodation is available in one of our four well appointed bedrooms all with private en-suite shower or bathroom and wc.

A delicious continental breakfast is offered with freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh coffee or tea, croissants and baguettes all collected daily from the boulangerie and Easter Eggs of course.

After a yummy breakfast we head off the next day into the Saumur Region on the Easter Wine Tour where we will have the opportunity during the day to visit 2-3 wineries, sample the wines, tour the caves and buy wines at cellar door prices. There is a picnic lunch en-route either in the vineyards or on the banks of the beautiful Loire River. In the evening we’ll take you to a local restaurant where you can sample the regional food.

On the second day of the Easter Wine Tour we’ll venture a little further to discover the delights of the Chinon, Bourgeuil and St Nicolas de Bourgeuil vineyards.

The area is so rich in history and culture that we always throw in a little sight seeing along the way too.     Back at La Grande Maison you will greeted with tea/coffee and biscuits in the stunning gardens and have time to relax before being taken to a local restaurant in the evening. After a delicious breakfast the following morning we return you to your selected departure point. A not to be missed tour of the caves and tunnels at La Grande Maison is also included. SO EASY! 

EASTER WINE TOUR IN THE LOIRE VALLEY VINEYARDS

  What’s included in this package:

THREE NIGHTS STAY AT LA GRANDE MAISON in the VINES - ONLY 495 euros per person (based on two persons sharing a double/twin room)

   Collection to/from ANGERS OR SAUMUR STATION, TOURS OR POITIERS AIRPORT  
Welcome drink on arrival
  3 night(s) accommodation at La Grande Maison    
1 Wine Tasting Supper at La Grande Maison (per person)   
3 Breakfast(s) at La Grande Maison   
2 Picnics in the vineyard or on the banks of the river
Loire   Transport in roomy 6 or 9 seater vehicle   
Qualified Wine Guide - English Speaking   
Translation and explanations by guide whenever necessary   
A one day visit to 2-3 local Saumur/Saumur Champigny wine producers 
 A one day visit to 2-3 local Chinon/Bourgeuil/St Nicolas de Bourgeuil wine producers
Tastings of local white, red, rose and sparkling wines   
Route map   
Details of Domaines to be visited and meet the winemaker   
Helpful descriptions and notes
   Wine Tasting note book and pencil   
Bottled water to take on the tour   
Opportunity to buy wines at vineyard prices
   Transportation of wines bought to La Grande Maison   
Tour of the wine caves and tunnels at La Grande Maison 
Lifts to and from local restaurants of choice on 2nd & 3rd evening
  Tea or coffee in the gardens on return from your tour

 DATES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST - BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!! 

"Our first trip to France. Six nights in Paris followed by four nights at La Grande Maison. Whilst Paris was interesting, historic and busy, our four days with you were relaxing and we experienced more of the REAL FRANCE than in Paris. Your facilities, service and hospitality were the "Icing on the Cake!" Thank You" - Max and Deena Warren - Arizona USA  

“How wonderful to be able to drink 29 different wines in the space of one weekend and console yourself with the fact that it's educational as well as pleasurable - heavenly from the first to the last drop. Our hosts not only provided great food and fascinating lessons in viniculture but were excellent company too. We shall be back!” Kirsty Lang of BBC Radio 4 - London UK

  "This is as good as it gets. Thank you for an amazing four days. All five senses are fully engaged in pleasure, when you have the perfect combination of fun & interesting people, delicious home made food & beautiful wines!!" - Leah & Barton Melbourne Australia  

"This is exactly what we were looking for! Your hospitality and thoughtfulness made our stay extra special - we will definitely see you again! Graete" - Leonie, Helonna and Nicolas - Pretoria South Africa   

A Selection of Dates are available this year for the Easter Wine Tour choose from :

30th March 2012 - 2nd April 2012
6th April 2012 - 9th April 2012
13th April 2012 - 16th April 2012

Other dates available on request please ask.

Why not see a little more of the real France with an Easter Wine Tour 2012 in the Loire. To book today email resv@lagrandemaison.net and check our availability.

Wine & Boat Tour 1 Day - Weekend Break from Paris to the Loire Valley

2012-01-07T12:00:00.012+01:00

New from April 2012 we are offering an exclusive Private Wine & Boat Tour

1 day Tour - 2 night stay package

Experience the romance of the majestic Loire River with our 1 day Wine & Boat Tour on a Traditional Loire Barque. We spend the morning wine tasting at the sparkling wine houses in St Hilaire St Florent (Ackermans, Veuve Amiot, Langlois Chateau or Bouvet Ladubay) before taking a delicious picnic along the river banks of the Loire.

In the afternoon we sail from the pretty port of Le Thoureil on an authentic Loire Wooden Boat. Enjoy an aperitif as we glide past the riverside villages spotting bird & wildlife along the way. Relax on board & watch the river flow by.

Our 1 day Traditional Loire Barque & Wine Tour is an exclusively private 1 day Tour for you and your friends and offers you the opportunity of a quick weekend break away in the Loire Valley. An ideal way to take a short break out of the city whilst visiting Paris. Why not combine visiting the wineries and experiencing the beauty of the river at the same time. You will get to see hidden corners of the Loire not usually accessible by road.

All you need do is arrive - we’ll take care of the rest!

Weekend and Weekday Tours run with dates available on request.**

The 2 night stay includes the following :  

You will be met at your chosen airport/station and whisked away to La Grande Maison in the heart of the vineyards.  Or come by car so you can transport your wine home! Drive to La Grande Maison or fly to Tours Airport in the Loire Valley from Stansted and we’ll be there to collect you. Or take the train from London/Paris to Angers (Eurostar/TGV) or to Saumur.*  

  On arrival you have the chance to sample your first local wine as our welcome drink whilst we lead you through the next days itinerary and explain a little about the local region and it’s grape varieties.   Once you have settled in you will have chance to go walking in the vines or even go for a bike ride before dinner.  

The kitchens at La Grande Maison provide deliciously creative menus using fresh produce direct from our own organic potager. You have the opportunity to sample the local wines with the Wine Sampling Supper on your first evening at La Grande Maison.

 After a yummy breakfast we head off down to the port of St Hilaire St Florent to our wine tasting and tour provided at one of the Sparkling Wine Houses listed above (still wines also included). There is a picnic lunch at the end of the tasting by the banks of the beautiful Loire River.

After lunch we make our way to Le Thoureil where our wooden boat awaits to take us on a leisurely cruise of the Loire River. If conditions are right we might even get the sail up or have chance to row over the shallows. The area is so rich in history and culture that we always throw a little sight seeing in along the way too.

  We return you back to La Grande Maison where you will be greeted with tea/coffee and biscuits in the stunning gardens and have time to relax before being taken to a local restaurant in the evening.   A not to be missed tour of the caves and tunnels at La Grande Maison awaits you after breakfast the next day. Then time to relax in the glorious gardens before being returned to your chosen departure point. SO EASY!   

The Prices : 

The Traditional Loire Barque & Wine Tour 1 day :   

495 euros per person (minimum 2 persons)* if you arrive in your own car 
565 euros per person (minimum 2 persons)* if you require station/airport collection (includes Saumur Station/Angers Station/Tours Station or Airport - others please ask)

Includes 2 nights stay on a Bed and Breakfast basis at La Grande Maison with a Wine Sampling Supper on the first evening of arrival. Wine tour, picnic and boat trip also included.

 *other travel options maybe available please ask 
**availability subject to weather and river conditions. In cases where we are unable to take the boat out then the tour will be taken in our wine tour vehicle.
Additional days/nights available on request

READ HERE TO SEE THE ADVANTAGES OF BRINGING YOU CAR TO FRANCE TO BUY WINES!  

Kirsty Lang of BBC Radio 4 says about our Wine Tours - “How wonderful to be able to drink 29 different wines in the space of one weekend and console yourself with the fact that it's educational as well as pleasurable - heavenly from the first to the last drop. Our hosts not only provided great food and fascinating lessons in viniculture but were excellent company too. We shall be back!”

Happy New Vineyard Year 2012

2011-12-31T13:34:00.000+01:00

Did you know that during the Napoleonic wars most of Europe used the Gregorian calendar. However between 1792 and 1805 France used what was known as the Republican or Napoleonic Calendar. In this all the months were renamed and years began with the foundation of the Republic at An I or Year 1. All months had 30 days except the 12th month, which had 35 or 36 on a leap year. The Republican year ran from September to August with each month named according to the season.

I've been fascinated with this calendar ever since I saw the paintings of it in the Musée Carnavalet in Paris. So I thought it would be fun to re-produce my own 21st Century version using the colours of the vineyard year.

"VENDEMIARE"

September to October was referred to as Vendemiare meaning Vintage and the month of the wine harvest.

GOLDEN VENDEMIARE

"BRUMIARE"

October to November was renamed Brumiare meaning Fog.

GREY BRUMIARE

"FRIMAIRE"

November to December was called Frimaire meaning Frost. Brrhh...

SILVER FRIMAIRE

"NIVOSE"

December to January became known as Nivose meaning Snow. Brrhhhhh...

WHITE NIVOSE

"PLUVIOSE"

January to February was Pluviose meaning Rain. Sums up a dreary cold month...

BROWN PLUVIOSE

"VENTOSE"

February to March became Ventose meaning Wind. My least favourite month and difficult to reproduce as a colour so I have called it opaque as by the end of March the sap should be rising on the pruned vines.

OPAQUE VENTOSE

"GERMINAL"

March to April was declared Germinal meaning Budding. Surprisingly in this month the little buds start to appear on the vines. From now on the vineyards start to come out of their winter dormancy and gradually more colour will start to appear in the vineyards.

GRIS GERMINAL

"FLOREAL"

April to May was considered as Floreal meaning FLOWERING. The month the little flowers start to appear on the vines. A period call floraison.

GREEN FLORIAL

"PRAIRIAL"

May to June was considered as Prairial meaning Meadows. The fields around the vineyards are starting to fill with colour now especially the rose fields.

RAINBOW PRAIRIAL

"MESSIDOR"

June to July was described as Messidor meaning Harvest. The cereal fields are starting to be harvested. Sue even went up in a microlite to catch this shot!

BEIGE MESSIDOR

"THERMIDOR"

July to August was designated Thermidor meaning Heat. Orange like a lobster thermidor?

ORANGE THERMIDOR

"FRUCTIDOR"

August to September was named Fructidor meaning Fruit.

PURPLE FRUCTIDOR

OTHER COLOURS OF THE VINEYARDS

BRIGHT GREEN

BRIGHT YELLOW

BRIGHT RED

RUSSET
BLUE

The calendar lasted for 13 years before being returned to the Gregorian Calender in 1806 by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Last of the Summer Wine in the Loire Valley

2011-07-25T22:31:00.026+01:00

Our Loire Valley Wine Tours take you beyond the tasting room. We dig deep into the tuffeau and come up with some great visits. Based on an extensive knowledge of the area and personal friendships with many of the regions winemakers here are just a few of the July 2011 highlights.

Our Wine Tours are not just about tasting wine. With us you'll get to meet some great personalities, experience the character of the region and get an idea of what terroir really means. Here's a taster of our Summer 2011 Wine Tour Schedule to give you an idea of what you might expect.

Dined at sunny riverside restaurants or took a picnic in the vines

Took a walk out into the vineyards with Tessa Laroche at Domaine Roche aux Moines in Savennières

Saw the new winery at Chateau de Tigné owned by Gerard Depardieu. The mobile bottling line was there too!

Toasted a 70th Birthday with a bottle of sparkling whilst sailing down the Loire River.

Gained wine knowledge from experience winemakers

Listened to the wine fermenting in the barrels with Guillaume Pire
the winemaker at Chateau de Fosse Seche

Visited the high tech wine press facility at Langlois Chateau

Walked out into the vineyards around Le Puy Notre Dame for an explanation of viticulture

Tasted a wide range of wines at the swanky Chateau Soucherie in the Anjou region

Ate fabulous food with wines to match either at La Grande Maison or at local restaurants

Arranged exclusive visits such as the unique private label collection at Bouvet Ladubay

Tasted some great Chinon rouge at Wilfred Rousse

Tasted a fabulous line up of Saumur Champigny's at Domaine Filliatreau

Saw some stunning architecture & blus skies at Chateau Dupetit Thouars

Took a cycle tour out into the vineyards

Brought home the purchases!

Plus you get the chance to be welcomed into our home with the opportunity to stay at the beautiful La Grande Maison in the heart of the vines.

The 2011 Wine Tour season is pretty much full but do check for late availability just in case we have an odd slot. In the meantime we are now booking now for 2012 Wine Tours. Glasses, corkscrews & bottles at the ready we can't wait to hear from you. Sante!

Late Availability for Loire Wine Tours Summer Season 2011

2011-06-21T14:22:00.010+01:00

Saumur Chateau

We currently have limited availability for our 2011 Wine Tour Summer Season but if you are looking for late availability then we have a few places left for the following dates :

7th - 10th July - 2 places (based on 2 persons sharing a room at La Grande Maison) for a 3 day Loire Wine Tour - what is included and price

10th - 13th July - 2 places (based on 2 persons sharing a room at La Grande Maison) for a 2 day Loire Wine Tour - what is included and price

Wine Tour Picnics are riverside or in the vineyards

Our Wine Sampling Supper and Stay Packages have been very successful this year and are also almost sold out save a few dates here :

1st - 3rd August 2 rooms for two nights (or more) on a Wine Supper & Stay Package basis

9th - 10th August 2 rooms for two nights (or more) on a Wine Supper & Stay Package basis

12th - 13th September 2 rooms for two nights (or more) on a Wine Supper & Stay Package basis

Here is what is included in the Wine Supper & Stay Package @ 285 EUROS PER COUPLE

Includes a 2 night stay on a bed and breakfast basis with one Wine Sampling Supper available on the arrival evening of your stay as shown below. Includes a bottle of sparkling wine on arrival and a private tour of the caves and tunnels at La Grande Maison

The Wine Sampling Supper is a delicious home cooked 4 course menu served with local AOC LOIRE wines to accompany each course. Coffee or tea and a cointreau or combier liquer are also offered at the end of the meal. The menu usually includes an entree and main course for example fresh oven baked salmon or tournados of beef in a mushroom marsala sauce, a selection of french cheeses and a dessert. All the ingredients are fresh and sourced locally at the markets. Many of the ingredients we use are organic or from our own potager when in season.

There is a fantastic selection of apertif, white and red local LOIRE AOC wines served during the meal.

Dining Experience at La Grande Maison

Other selected dates are available for Harvest Wine Tours during the months of September and October - please email to request availability.

Loire Harvest Wine Tours
NOW BOOKING FOR 2011 Harvest September / October

Guest Blog - Memories for a Lifetime & Education in Loire Valley Wine

2011-06-01T12:42:00.007+01:00

We have been back in Chicago for more than a week now, and still have vivid memories about our stay with you at La Grande Maison. From the minute you met us at the train and assured Andy that "yes, there's a lot of old here," we felt relaxed, welcome, and right at home. We loved so many aspects of our visit, but there are some we want to mention specifically. Our bedroom, with the fireplace, built-in sink, and giant wooden beams took us back to another era. The food, from our amazing and welcoming wine-paired dinner, to the fresh croissants, hand-squeezed orange juice and yogurt each morning, to the variety of a daily picnic spreads, and the restful, rejuvenating pleasure of afternoon tea, was all perfect for us. We enjoyed the company of each of you on our long jaunts each day, and we also appreciated the lively distraction of the dogs!

The little touches in your décor, the thoughtful aspects of showing us the "special" places for picnics or the unique clos with the walls that the vines grew through, to showing us the "Sleeping Beauty" chateau on an extra bit of our trip, all made this a wonderful vacation for us, one that we will always remember. We had fun wandering around in the nearby vineyards and woods near your home, and also meeting your neighbor with his beautiful prairie planting.

All of this would have been enough for a refreshing and restful vacation for us, but then if you add the value of our education about wine, and the opportunity to meet your favorite local producers, and their generosity in showing us caves, vineyards, and lots of wines, we feel especially grateful. Our two favorite places were Chateau du Petit Thouars with Michel, and Franck and Catherine's Domaine de Pied Flond. All the wineries we visited were special, but these hold a special place for us.

At Michel's, the character of his wine came through and matched his passion for the craft of wine making. The way he shared his knowledge of making wine with us really communicated his desire to have people understand what goes into making good wine. From the age of the barrels, to the different tanks he was using for fermentation, to the storage of wine in his cave, he shared his knowledge in an especially personable way. And indeed, his wines were amazing. We particularly liked that 2005 Touraine AOC Rouge. When we drank it in the pigeonerrie overlooking the vineyards surrounding La Grande Maison, with that lovely dinner that you so graciously provided, it was one of the romantic highlights of our stay. Michel's wine provided a perfect accompaniment to that lovely evening.

A rare opportunity to see the chai at Chateau du Petit Thouars

Franck and Catherine, from Domaine de Pied Flond, were perhaps the most charming and enthusiastic winemakers that we had the opportunity to meet. Franck's candid conversation about the reason he was making wine in a different way from his father, but within the traditions of the seventh generation family business, were so interesting to hear. His passion for making excellent wine, even if in (relatively!) small quantities, could be seen both in the way he operated, and in the taste of the wine itself. After this wonderful tour, where he showed us everything about his business and took his time to explain answers to our many questions (and seemed to delight in understanding the English word "fill"), we were then in the company of Catherine, who shared his interest and his passion for their wine. She was a knowledgeable and gracious hostess in leading us through tasting their exceptional wines. She was very good at explaining what food would work well with what wine, and imagining the pairing helped Diane understand more about the subtle differences in some of the wines. Catherine even brought out a lovely plate of ham, sausage, and bread to accompany the wines.

Franck Gourdon of Domaine de Pied Flond

On our return to Paris, we had our first opportunity to enjoy and appreciate Franck's fine work as we drank a chilled bottle of his Rose de Loire on our hotel balcony. The afternoon was hot, and the wine was a perfect accompaniment for our last afternoon in Paris, and we drank it with joy overlooking the dome of the Hotel Invalides and the Eiffel Tower. We are looking forward to drinking his other 2 bottles in the near future (or keeping them as long as we can stand it!), as we share the wine and our stories with our friends.

Gardens at La Grande Maison

We have been telling our friends about our trip and sharing our pictures. All are envious, and we hope some may come and enjoy your exceptional hospitality. We also would love to return to La Grande Maison ourselves; if that doesn't happen, we will have memories for a lifetime to recall our stay and our education in Loire Valley wines.

Wine Barrel & Bark ©

2011-05-31T16:00:00.009+01:00

Arrghh so much time has passed since I have found time to write anything for the blog! We've been more than busy running wine tours and preparing wine tasting suppers for our lovely guests at La Grande Maison. We re-opened for the season at the end of March and have not stopped since!

Fruit Platter

Hey ho! Just snaffled a few minutes to post a few photos of some of Sue's new line of wine related products for Wine Barrel & Bark ©. These are hand crafted items, all unique and all made from either parts of a barrel or cork. Here is a small sample of some of the items we made over the winter period.

Contemporary Kitchen Hooks

All the items are hand-made from the original staves of a wine barrel that has been used to age Loire wines. The barrel is de-constructed first of all and then dried out. The individual staves are then sanded down to give them a smooth finish before they are waxed and polished.

Wine Glass & Bottle Holder

Sue then decides what to create. This might involve searching for vintage hooks to add to the stave from the many brocantes we have in the area or cutting the wood to create an item such as this wine glass and bottle holder.

Loire Valley Wine Cork Table

We have many more examples such as bathroom hooks, coat hooks, wine glass holders and fruit bowls available at the house. Each item is signed and comes with a certificate of authenticity. As if you need it with the wine staining still apparent on the staves.

Bottle Rack 100% recycled 100% hand-made

Prices start from 25 euros and items are currently only available for viewing and purchase at La Grande Maison. If you are interested then please ask to see what we have available during your stay and we'll show you around the workshop.

Snippets from our Loire Valley Wine Tour Season 2010

2010-12-01T15:18:00.029+01:00

What an amazing season 2010 has been for us and the vines. So busy that it has left little time for updating our blog and now it’s December and snowing - sheesh!

So at last here are some pictorial snippets from this year’s wine tour diary to get your mouth watering for next year. Don’t forget to request availability for 2011 NOW as we are already getting booked up and we wouldn’t want you to miss out.

Anyway here are some of the best bits :

Ambience with friends:

Wine tasting with winemaker Tessa Laroche at Domaine Roche aux Moines

In the caves at La Grande Maison with Guillaume Pire of Chateau de Fosse Seche

Our wine tour guests viewing the production line in action at Langlois Chateau

The Tasting Rooms:

Edouard Pisani-Ferry introduces his wines at Château de Targé

It's not only the excellent wine at Domaine Baumard the frescoes are pretty impressive too!

...and there is always a friendly welcome for our guests at Domaine St Just

The Fermentation & Maturation Tanks:

We have created our own micro-winery in the caves at La Grande Maison

But it's always fun to go out and peer into other tanks like Pascal Lambert's in Chinon

...or these revolutionary egg shaped fermentation tanks at Chateau de Fosse Seche

Tasting from Barrel or Tank:

You don't have to wear the red robe to taste wine here....

....but we do sometimes get the chance to taste directly from barrel with Seb at Chateau Dupetit Thouars

...or from the tank with Frederic Mabilleau in St Nicolas de Bourgeuil.

The 2010 Harvest:

We have been helping out with the hand harvest for many years now and hand pick our own few rows of Chenin Blanc too.

Harvesting with Melaric is a more than family affair!

The Terroir:

Learn a little about the soil structure and the wines that come from it.

Or view the soil profile in the vineyard.

Barrel tastings, hand harvesting, meeting the wine maker, viewing the bottling line, and discovering the vineyards are just some of the season’s activities. Read more about booking your wine tour here at La Grande Maison.

Wine Tours from La Grande Maison are also available by bike.

With picnics en-route by the Loire river or in the vineyards.

Or occasionally by boat if the river conditions are good!

You can read more about our Vineyard & Discovery offerings on wine writer Sarah Ahmed’s blog here : The Wine Detective.

Is it me or is the Loire Valley Tropical ?

2010-07-05T06:06:00.013+01:00

Half way through the season now and the opportunity for an evening off beckons so we head off to our little cottage by the Loire River (La Petite Maison) in the commune of Chênehutte Trèves Cunault for an evening of rest and relaxation.

It’s a beautiful evening but so hot and we decide to cycle to the guinguette in Chênehutte - Le Futreau - a beautiful 10 minute ride along the Loire à Vélo cycle path that follows the river for over 800kms.

Now for those of you un-familiar with the term a 'guingette' (in this region of France) is a riverside restaurant or bar with live entertainment invariably from a French crooner and accompanied by particularly bad dancing.

The sun was shining and the Cremant de la Loire was chilled and delicious......

Chance to relax on the riverside deck before dinner.....

Our bikes were used as a prop to display the menu.........

There was evidence of at least the start of some very bad dancing..........

The restaurant was buzzing, full with about 60 people all patiently waiting in various stages of being served. Chantal (with extremely larged pencilled in eyebrows) was crooning away and everyone was happy.

The opportunity for some frivolity was obviously high on these ladies agendas....!

.....when BAM from out of no where, whistling down the river, comes the most powerful storm you can imagine. It was the first gust that sent the whole scene into disarray. The sky went black, tables blew over, umbrellas went flying, bottles and glasses broke as they hit the deck! Small children were tucked screaming under their parents arms and run to shelter. It was a scary moment and the rain came so heavy and fast that my pave’ de boeuf frites was swimming in seconds.

How to empty a restaurant in 2 seconds flat.....

Quick grab the bottle......

The restaurant across the road was instantly turned into what looked like a refugee centre. We watched with dismay as all the soaked diners simply sat down at new tables and waited for service to recommence amongst the chaos. They should have been wearing Don’t Panic - Normal Service will be Resumed as soon as Possible T-Shirts . Only in France! We helped the struggling waitress carry tables across the road in an attempt to restore some order and helped clear the debris from the deck.

We had left our dogs on the veranda back at the house and feared for the worst. Willow is so frightened with storms and we thought everything else would be awash so we jumped back on our bikes and cycled quickly home - to find it bone dry not a drop of rain had fallen - the dogs lying there with their 'why are you back so early look on their faces'.

The calm after the storm....... It was as if it had never happened!

Not In My Back Vineyard

2010-06-21T16:25:00.008+01:00

We went on a ‘manifestation’ on Saturday.

That’s a protest in French. You might say it was a little too late after all the damn things have already been installed. But an email from an eager friend called us in to help swell the troops. After all imagine how you would feel if four of these 120m tall things had been installed above your roof!

There it is - the dreaded wind turbine or eolienne as they are known in France. A large lump of rotating metal that can be seen for 10’s of kilometers around embedded in an even larger lump of concrete. Metal that is slowly eating into the countryside under the ‘green guise’. Soon Anjou will be full of them if we don’t watch out. The promoters have plans for many more wind farms but the problem is there are only small groups in any commune prepared to fight against them.

So we all donned our ‘gilets jaune’ and went out on a miserably cold and damp Saturday in June to quietly protest at the inauguration (opening party) to which 250 people involved in the project had been invited but none of the local residents.

I wanted to share with you my observations as there are few people prepared to speak out against wind turbines as remarkably they seem to believe the ‘greenwash’ they are being fed. After all we don’t want nuclear do we (even though France is already 80% run on nuclear energy) and we are certainly running out of oil (now we have distributed it all over the Gulf of Mexico).

Here is what I saw at the inauguration:

1. On arrival at the site a large marquee had been erected for the party
2. Next to the marquee was a large bouncy castle (notion of free day out for the children springs to mind)
3. The local traiteur was busy delivering plates of gourmet food and sparkling wine
4. The Mayor of Antoigne arrived - he is the chap who is being paid for putting the wind turbines on his land but is also the chap who has the final say on development in his village!
5. The police were present (just in case we got nasty!)
6. The young promoters (just out of their prams) clutching their Valentino handbags and wearing Dolce & Gabanna sunglasses looked embarrassed when confronted by the opposition.
7. A great deal of back slapping was obviously going on as the get rich quickers chinked their glasses and look upwards at the monstrosities that they have installed.
8. Childrens books were handed out telling then how good wind turbines are. As the children bounced away on the inflatable castle powered by a noisy generator that drowned out the sound of the wind turbines rotating above (handy eh?)
9. We were invited to join the party (providing we took off our yellow jackets) obviously we did not take up this kind offer.

Don’t believe the hype - the Minister of State for France has already denounced eoliennes saying they do not produce the required amount of energy and has made a u turn in policy. But the promoters already have their teeth in persuading the greedy to give up their land for a meagre return. These 10 million euro projects are making ‘a few’ a lot of money. The promoters get approximately 350k euros per annum whilst the Mayor a modest 4k for leasing his land! In years to come these sites will be redundant. Like they are in Hawaii where nothing is left but a wind turbine graveyard of rusting metal. I will bet you that the get rich quickers will not come along and dismantle them then when they prove useless. Oh and another thing - life span 20 years - 6 years to offset their carbon foot print - so only 14 years productive operational life.

In the meantime the innocent victims of this #GREENWASH are suffering. Believe me they have sleepless nights but that’s not all.

The Innocent Victims:

1. They can’t open their windows because of the noise - it sounds like a constant storm battering and wears you down.
2. The flashing red and white lights are distracting and mean folks don’t want to go out and sit in their gardens under them and can be seen from at least 40 km away.
3. House prices are devalued by 20%. It’s a double edged sword as they can’t sell them so they can’t get away from the problem either.
4. The countryside around them has been destroyed and there is little bird life remaining in the surrounding area
5. The result is a lot of grief, stress and anxiety for all the residents of these tiny communes.

What about the Saumur-Anjou Vineyards - does anybody out there care?

I can’t believe that wind turbines are planned for parts of the Loire Valley Vineyards too.

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE!!! Bonnezeaux is certainly next on the list. I saw a report for 25 wind turbines for Chavagnes Luigné and the Layon / Anjou regions are also targeted. There are already areas in the vineyards of Anjou where they can be seen over 40 kilometres away. There are also plans for wind turbines in Tigné where Gérard Depardieu has his vineyards and in Concourson sur Layon where there are many wonderful Layon domaines plus many others.

The problem is most projects are planned for the borders of each commune so that there is little resistance other than that from the local villagers, who are then accused as usual of NIMBYISM. It is hard to pull a large group together when France works in communes. Who cares about the wind turbines planned for x when I live in y they say, even though x is only just across the field and the wind turbines will be very, very large indeed!

I worry for the the biodynamic producers like Marc Angeli of La Ferme de la Sansonnière who has already talked about concerns of radio masts killing the bee population. What will the eoliennes do I wonder? The wind turbines are Eco-Wolves in Sheeps clothing - the promoters pretending they are great for the environment whilst rubbing their hands all the way to the bank and leaving the locals to suffer.

The Alternatives:

My take is that if you want wind turbines then they should be installed in industrial areas where they do the innocent no harm and certainly don’t muck up the countryside, forever. Here are some alternatives we should at least be thinking about :

1. Wind Farms in Industrial Areas
2. Biomass - a renewable energy source, is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood or waste.
3. Geothermic solutions
4. Photovoltaic - solar power.
5. Being responsible for our own energy consumption and generating what we can in the home. e.g. heat from woodburners, turn off lights when not in use, drive less or share lifts.
6. Candles - more romantic dinners ;)

If you (like me) were pro wind farms because you thought they were ECO then thank you for reading this I hope it has given you food for thought. RANT OVER!

Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side....

2010-05-03T07:40:00.017+01:00

Wine features pretty highly on our agenda here at La Grande Maison but luckily we do have time to appreciate a few other things too. So we thought it time to share with you the delights of one of our favorite artists that we exhibit at the house.

Jo Watters-Pawlowski has a unique quality to her paintings. Born in Ghana in 1960 she studied at Worthing College of Art and Design in Sussex and Winchester School of Art in Hampshire, England from 1979 – 1983. From her studio in Sussex, during 1985-1994 she produced original, limited edition textiles for interiors, exhibiting in London she gained commissions worldwide.

Her transition from fabric to canvas evolved naturally and has enabled Jo to develop her creative skills using an alternative medium.

Her pictorial vocabulary was from the outset distinctive, a form of abstaction arranged to represent personal images and sounds. As a colourist, her work contextualises colour with movement, allowing the observer to explore their own emotions. Jo’s paintings are usually formed by a gradual build-up of successive layers of paint, a process that allows selecting areas of the painting to be masked and later, peeled back to expose colour and shape beneath.

Biography of paintings: (Indigo), Red, Purple, Orange, Pink and Brown: By Jo

A series of six small paintings resulted from a larger painting entitled Metamorphosis. The original painting was based on the classical instumental music composition ‘Metamorphosen’ written in 1945 by Richard Strauss (1864-1949).

In 2004 Herbie Flowers, musician, original member of the band Sky and famous for the base line in Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ commissioned me to create a painting based on this classical piece. Initially, visually interpreting the compostion was difficult, as I stuggled to bond with the music emotionally. A turbulent process ensued before I could finally complete the commission. Stauss had composed the piece for twenty-three strings and it was documented that various conductors had difficulty in interpreting the original score.

Certainly this group of paintings enabled me to extend my emotions towards the music. By identifying the aspects of sound and instrument in separate sequences. I was able to communicate feelings in moods of colour. The process helped me to understand and learn about the power behind Metamorphosen.

You now have the rare opportunity to view part of this collection at La Grande Maison. Those of you who have stayed before will already recognise Jo's work from the magnificent 'Blue' abstract displayed in the Great Hall.

If you are in the UK during the month of May don't miss out on the chance to go and see Jo's work exhibited as part of the Brighton Festival Artists Open Houses. Jo has grouped together with Niyati, Ruth & Bryony to form The Easelles a talented female group of artists based in the Ditchling area of Sussex.

The Blue Abstract in the Hall at La Grande Maison

Pink Abstract at La Grande Maison

Jo's latest work is on show in Ditchling during May and has evolved into still life representation of Fruits and Vegetables an example of which this beautiful Onion & Beetroot shows.

Jo Watters-Pawlowski is pleased to accept commissions or provide further information. Contact can be made through Micaela and Sue at La Grande Maison d’Arthenay or by email to jowp.ditchling@hotmail.co.uk

Pots of Tea and Deco...

2010-04-15T08:04:00.009+01:00

Crikey what happened to March, all of a sudden it's mid-April? We have been so busy with our Loire Wine Tours and B&B at La Grande Maison that we have had little time to update the blog. So just in case you have missed us we promised Virginie that we would tell you about her beautiful shop Pots & Deco in Candes St Martin, east of Saumur, in the Loire Valley.

It's a great spot to stop for a pot of tea or coffee on your route along the Loire River, all beautifully served in 'iiiii's' pottery. Virginie Boitiau in case you wondered where all the i's came from! Her signature on her works is iiiii.

Virginie takes her inspiration from the vineyards. Take this little pot for example, the blue colour is produced from the copper sulphate which is sprayed onto vines to protect them from mildew. Virginie collects the ash from burnt vine posts and makes a glaze for the pots. The reddish markings on the pots are created from the iron in the nails from the vine posts.

Take time to have a look at Stephanie Lherbette's painted furniture too....

....soft natural tones and muted hues.

Or disappear down into the wine cave "Enfin du Vin' to discover a fine selection of Loire Valley and Navarre wines.

It's not just the wine sitting in oak...at our Loire Valley Vineyard B&B

2010-02-07T14:19:00.007+01:00

It’s been a hectic week with Wine Salons here, there and everywhere. We’ve got tasting notes coming out of our ears from the Renaissance of Appellations, an Organic Biodynamic tasting in Angers; the Dive Bouteille, a Vin Naturel tasting held this year in the dry moat of Chateau de Breze; to the professional Salon des Vins de Loire in Angers.

We have found some stunning wines along the way which have sipped and slurped their way into our Wine Tour schedule. These liquid delights will be stocked in our cellars at La Grande Maison for you to enjoy too. But what we also wanted to share with you was our excitement at finding our wonderful re-cycled furniture for the hall.

Christophe Lorenzoni produces this most amazing furniture all from used wine barrels or tonneaux as they are known here in France. Now this is what I call re-cycling with style. These beautiful chairs are individual works of art. Made from used 228 litre Burgundy barrels they are crafted in oak. We even know which vineyard they came from and the wine that was stored in them!

The arms of this chair (provenance Domaine de Gramenon Vallée du Rhône ) are produced from the flat part of the barrels base, the clou or nails that originally held it in place are still incorporated in the design having been rubbed down so that they are smooth. The staves are stained red from the wine and the whole chair is held together using the original bilge hoop, the circular piece of metal that would have surrounded the barrel to hold it together.

The dining chairs are made from barrels used at Domaine de L’Abbaye in Provence. Each chair is made from staves (les douelles in French) of the same barrel. They are simply brushed and then coated in a acrylic matt varnish to protect the wood thus preserving the patina and the colour that they have acquired after years in the winery.

Each piece is unique. They are stunning, we love them and hope you will do too. We are obviously looking forward to collecting much more of Christophe’s work over the next few years and perhaps we’ll even convince him to use barrels from our vigneron neighbours here in the Loire!

We are also delighted to have been awarded an Ethical Stamp this year from Alastair Sawday of the Special Places to Stay guides. We have been awarded the Ethical Stamp in three categories Community, Environment and Food. You can view the entry for La Grande Maison here.

Weekend Wine Tours in Loire Valley France

2010-01-14T17:11:00.006+01:00

The Weekend Wine Tour in the Loire Valley France

Always wanted to take a Wine Tour but never thought you could afford the time or the money? Well now you can. Our Weekend Wine Tours are tailored to offer you the opportunity for a quick weekend break away in the Loire Valley Vineyards with the thrill of sampling wines, visiting the wineries and meeting the winemakers. If you loved the idea of Oz and Jame’s Wine Adventure then here is your chance to sample the life in the vineyards for yourselves in just a weekend.

All you need do is arrive - we’ll take care of the rest!

Fly to Tours Airport in the Loire Valley from Stanstead and we’ll be there to collect you. Or take the train from London to Angers (Eurostar/TGV) or to Saumur.*

Tours run all weekends subject to availability :

Arrival Friday - Tour Saturday - Return Sunday

Arrival Saturday - Tour Sunday - Return Monday

The weekend includes the following :

You will be met at your chosen airport/station in one of our fleet of 6 or 9 seater vehicles and whisked away to La Grande Maison in the heart of the vineyards.

On arrival you have the chance to sample your first local wine with our welcome drink whilst we give you the itinerary and explain a little about the local region and it’s grape varieties.

Once you have settled in you will have chance to go walking in the vines or even go for a bike ride before dinner.

The kitchens at La Grande Maison provide deliciously creative menus using fresh produce direct from our own organic potager. You have the opportunity to sample the local wines with the Wine Sampling Supper on your first evening at La Grande Maison

After a yummy breakfast we head off the next day into the Saumur/Anjou Region where we will have the opportunity during the day to visit 2-3 wineries, sample the wines, tour the caves and buy wines at cellar door prices. There is a picnic lunch en-route either in the vineyards on the banks of the beautiful Loire River. The area is so rich in history and culture that we always throw in a little sight seeing in along the way too.

Back at La Grande Maison you will greeted with tea/coffee and biscuits in the stunning gardens and have time to relax before being taken to a local restaurant in the evening

A not to be missed tour of the caves and tunnels at La Grande Maison awaits you after breakfast the next day. Then time to relax in the glorious gardens before being returned to your chosen departure point. SO EASY!

The Prices :

Standard Weekend Tour : 390 euros per person (minimum 2 persons)**
Premium Weekend Tour : 460 euros per person (minimum 2 persons)***

*other travel options maybe available please ask
**reductions available if you bring a group of 4 persons or more
***Premium includes additional 1/2 afternoon wine tour direct from pickup & bottle of sparkling wine in your room on arrival
Additional days/nights available on request

Kirsty Lang of BBC Radio 4 says about our Wine Tours - “How wonderful to be able to drink 29 different wines in the space of one weekend and console yourself with the fact that it's educational as well as pleasurable - heavenly from the first to the last drop. Our hosts not only provided great food and fascinating lessons in viniculture but were excellent company too. We shall be back!”

12 More Things To Do in the Loire Valley Around Saumur

2009-12-06T07:21:00.020+01:00

Back in August I started a series of "12 Tips for Things to do in the Loire Valley" around Saumur. It's now December the days are shorter, darker and colder but in between we get some beautiful blue sky days which provide a great opportunity to explore the local area which is so rich and varied in it's history and culture. So here are some ideas for day trips from La Grande Maison along with some places to visit a little closer to home.

1. Fontevraud Abbey is a must see especially the tombs of the Plantagenêts, Aliénor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart, Henri II and Isabelle d'Angoulême

2. The beautiful medieval city of Loches with it's imposing 11thC Dungeon built by Foulques Nerra. It's a long climb up and not for those with a fear of heights!

3. The 17thC (New Town) of Richelieu with it's stunning Baroque church and mathematical town planning. The chateau and gardens a worth a visit too.

4. The City of the Plantagents in Le Mans with it's glorious St Julien Cathedral

5. The light in the David d'Angers Sculpture Gallery in Angers is amazing and the Beaux Art gallery has a great permanent collection along with innovative exhibitions.

6. The old LU (Lieu Unique) biscuit factory in Nantes converted into a funky bar and has a great book store and theatre space.

7. It's worth getting up early enough to see the sunrise over the Loire

8. Take the Amarante boat along the river for a great view of Candes St Martin

9. See Joan of Arc ride her horse into Chinon or visit the house of Rabelais La Deviniere.

10. Brewing beer is becoming popular locally. Tastings can be arranged at Brasserie des Fontaines just across the vineyards from La Grande Maison.

11. Fine dining in the many of the local restaurants just ask us for a recommendation.

12. ...and certainly don't miss the wooden alterpiece (misericord) in the local church of Le Puy Notre Dame. The carved stall of the monk drinking out of the barrel has become the symbol for one of the latest wine appellations Saumur - Le Puy Notre Dame AOC !

Sante!

The Last Day of the 2009 Harvest at Chateau de Fosse Seche

2009-11-08T19:21:00.013+01:00

6th November 2009 and a bright sunny morning for the final hand harvest of the botrytised Chenin Blanc grapes for Les Tris de la Chapelle Saumur Blanc A.O.C. with Guillaume Pire at Chateau de Fosse Seche.

Pourri plein (purple grapes) white chenin turned purple by botrytis produces only 10 hectolitres of wine per hectare for Les Tris de la Chapelle.

The last hand selection of botrytised grapes hits the trailer.

My final vendange bucket of the season on 6th November 2009

The noble rot grapes go straight to the winery where they are pressed and put in tank before filtration the following day.

The juice is then filtered using a Padovan filtration system and is then pumped back into a second tank for it's fermentation. Guillaume's Tri de la Chapelle is produced from grapes that have reached total noble rot (pourriture noble) and spends 12 months in oak. It is a wine to keep, rich, complex and very elegant.

Read more about Chateau de Fosse Seche on their website.

Read more about Botrytis with the Wine Doctor.

Review of 2009 Loire Wine Harvest around Saumur - Le Puy Notre Dame AOC

2009-10-24T17:05:00.016+01:00

First of all a ton of apologies for not updating the blog for nearly a month! Thought it was time I had better get round to it but what with the harvest in full swing, running our Wine Tours, looking after guests at La Grande Maison and offering our Wine Sampling Suppers in the evenings we have not had a moment to ourselves. All this and now the additional marketing effort that is needed to keep the websites, the blog, our facebook fan page and twitter up to date! Who ever said running a Maison d’Hotes was for retired people?

Anyway as we start to wind down for the season it’s time to review the past year so I’ll start with the 2009 Harvest in this post. Which I might add is not over yet for the late harvest wines and we are waiting on a call any day now to go and help one of our local producers hand picking for the Coteaux de Saumur.

Golden Chenin Blanc Ripening in the Sun

We have had an incredibly dry summer with very little rain since the beginning of June so the vines have been free from mildews and disease. Because of the dry conditions there has been much less need for spraying chemical treatments and the bunches are very clean. With recent ‘little’ rain, morning mists followed by sun and warm temperatures the conditions have been ideal for the development of noble rot (botrytis cinerea) and consequently the production of sweet wines such as Coteaux du Layon.

Some of the bunches have dried out due to the lack of rain.

The dry conditions mean that the yields are likely to be lower as some of the Chenin Blanc dried out but the concentration has been very high and the juice full of fruit and very aromatic. Picking for the Cabernet Franc was held off for as long as possible to gain the benefit of an extra week of sunny ripening conditions before harvest.

The Cabernet Franc is looking extremely good and free from rot

The feedback we are getting from the local vignerons is that the 2009 is going to be as good as the 2003 / 2005 if not better so we will cross our fingers and wait on the ferments!

Fermenting whites be very careful one sniff with blow your head off at this stage!

We have been pretty active with the harvest this year both with running our Harvest Wine Tours which gives our an guests a opportunity to see and take part in the harvest and in helping some of the local wineries with their hand harvesting. Aymeric and Melanie have recently taken over some organic parcels of vines around Le Puy Notre Dame and we were pleased to help them out harvesting both the reds and the whites.

The Melaric crew hand harvesting the Chenin

We also got the chance to barrel taste their Chenin from 2008 and although not quite finished it is already tasting sublime! See the Melaric website here.

Aymeric giving us a barrel tasting of the Chenin Blanc from 2008

We also had a couple of rows of Chenin Blanc donated to us by a kindly neighbour vigneron this year. He is happy to let us run wild in the vines and do as we wish so that he can witness the results! So we have green harvested which meant removing excess bunches in July and leaf stripped in August and September in order to reduce shading of the bunches and improve airflow. Seems to have improved the quality of the grapes in those two rows which have produced approximately 50 litres of juice which is currently undergoing fermentation.

The La Grande Maison Crew with the able help of Sue, Jo & Kris

In addition to this we were able to hand harvest the vineyards around La Grande Maison once the machine harvester had been through and we make a non-commercial production of white and red wine for our own use.

The once a year appearance of the machine harvester outside La Grande Maison tipping the grapes from the hoppers into the awaiting trailer.

Each machine harvested row yields about a bucket of grapes still left on the vine so with potentially 1,000 rows to play with we can be very selective and produce a very small quantity.

Sue harvesting the Cabernet France by the bucket load.

The red Cabernet Franc is currently macerating on the skins and the white Chenin Blanc is happily fermenting away. To add to this we have just hand bottled the 2008’s which will go down into the caves for storage ready for tasting next year.

Micaela bottling the 2008 with the old hand corking machine.

Bon fermentation. Come back soon as our next post will feature guest reviews from this year.

Up on the roof high above the Loire River.

2009-09-25T13:11:00.020+01:00

There are over 100 steps to climb to reach the top of Treves Tower that is after you have climbed the steep hill to the entrance and then negociated another 20 steps to the front door. So thank goodness it is only open one weekend a year!

Every September in France we have a weekend of "Patrimoine" call it a Heritage Weekend if you like. This involves many of the private properties opening their doors to display the cultural wealth hidden within their walls and grounds. We had been itching to see inside the Treves Tower for many years so this was our lucky chance.

The Tour de Treves was built by Foulques Nerra III Count of Anjou on a site that has been occupied since the gallo-roman period. The village of Treves being situated between Saumur and Angers on the south bank of the Loire River made it an important defence point and the height of the tower afforded excellent look outs both up and down stream.

Inside the tower was in a lot better condition than I had been anticipating. Each floor is made up of a beautifully vaulted chamber which were a lot smaller and cosier than expected due to the walls of the tower being around 4 metres thick!

The lower ground floor housed the 'ice room' where the wild boar would have been kept chilled, next floor up the old kitchens, then the dining chamber, bedrooms and then out on the roof. Surprisingly small really for such a tall tower. Somewhere in the midst of it all is the arms room from which the canon could be shot from all directions giving the tower excellent protection.

Once out on the roof top though the views are superb along both directions of the Loire River and of the village of Treves with it's old tuffeau houses with slate roofs. During Foulques Nerra's time the tower served as the dungeon to a Chateau that once stood on the site and a barage was run across the river to act as peage so that Foulque could collect taxes from boats passing up and down stream with their goods.

Looking upstream along Loire River towards Saumur you can see how sandy the riverbed is after the very dry summer. There are two quays in Treves which were used for the transportation of tuffeau and it is said that Dutch Mariners owned many of the houses. You can still see evidence of this today with the properties that had greniers (attics) high above the river so that goods could be kept dry.

A quick peak into one of the beautiful private gardens in Treves.

If you would like to stay in the beautiful village of Treves click here to see details of our Riverside Cottage for which rental options are available.

Come back to read details and see pictures of our visit to St Mace' the 11c Gallo-Roman Chapel that sits on the hill above Treves and houses frescos from the roman period.

Loire Valley Wines in London

2009-09-15T17:19:00.012+01:00

If you love the wines of the Loire Valley and find them hard to track down in the UK then go no further than a lunch out at RSJ's in Coin Street. We popped in there during a recent visit to London. We chose a glass of Domaine de Nerleux Cremant de Loire as an aperitif which was spectacularly delicious, lemon, acacia and almonds. Sadly the Didier Dagueneau that we fearlessly chose from the wine list to go with our main course (at £56 ish a bottle) was out of stock so we chose a Huet Vouvray 2007 that when tremendously well with the Pan Fried Scallops.

Majestic Wines are stocking a few Loire wines these days and you can't go wrong with a Saumur Champigny from our friend Edouard Pisani Ferry at Chateau de Targe'. In fact they have a special offer across many of their wines at the moment that offers great savings if you buy two bottles. Majestic have also recently reduced the quantity you have to buy from 12 bottles to 6 per visit making it an even better bargain. Needless to say we came home with many more than that from all over the world!

Whilst still on the theme of Loire Wines we took the chance to visit the Gay Icons Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery sponsored by Rose d'Anjou Wines. The exhibition brings together ten selectors each of whom is a prominent gay figure in contemporary culture and society. Each selector named six persons that for them were inspirational or an icon for them The results are a fascinating insight into an iconic range of figures from the heroic, artistic, sporty, literary, political, famous and not so famous of our world.

We have been "drinking pink" this summer at La Grande Maison in celebration of the Gay Icons Exhibition, did I mention it was sponsored by Rosé d'Anjou? In honour of the event we still have cases of Rosé d'Anjou wine to give away to all our lucky guests. The first guests to arrive at La Grande Maison to produce their ticket stub from the exhibition will win a case of six bottles of this delicious pink packed with summer fruits. Subsequent guests will receive a free bottle of Rosé d'Anjou with every room booked (on production of their ticket stub or proof of visit on arrival).

Fête du Patrimoine et Vin Aubigné sur Layon

2009-08-30T15:55:00.022+01:00

It never ceases to amaze me how rich in culture and 'patrimoine' the area of the Loire Valley around the River Layon is. On the surface it remains un-commercial, drive through endless Layon villages and you won't see a soul. Until today that is. Today was one of our favourite events of the summer season The 16th FÊTE DU PATRIMOINE À AUBIGNÉ-SUR-LAYON. A day to celebrate art, food, wine, music and today blue blue skies.

The inaugaration ceremony commences at 11:00m with the pouring and serving of the previous years Coteaux du Layon wine from the Fountain of Aubigné. A beautiful copper font designed by Italian Claudio Parmiggiani serves this purpose. In previous years the wine was served by 'wine thief' from a stone trough but these days Jean-Paul prefers a more elegant approach.

Jean-Paul Cochard from Domaine de Mihoudy serving the Coteaux du Layon

Jean-Paul is a member of the 'confréries' so wears the traditional costume of his wine brotherhood. The confréries of Anjou-Saumur-Touraine are responsible for promoting the various Loire appellations and they are part of the Loire’s regional folklore having a role to play in its wine-related events and festivities, adding a colourful touch particularly with their initiation ceremonies.

Jean-Paul in traditional confréries dress red hat, robe and 'taste vin'.

These bacchant brotherhoods all have their own ceremonial costumes and symbols. The groups are organized hierarchically, and each member has a title or rank, bestowed upon him after the initiation ritual conducted by the Grand Master. In spite of the solemn nature of the ceremonies and costumes, the festive aspect predominates and it certainly does in Aubigné.

The day is really centred around the celebaration of the Coteaux du Layon but here are some of the other great events that go on throughout the day.

Many of the beautiful houses in the village open up their gardens and there is a band in each playing jazz, blues, swing, funk, or classical music. Choose the musical style you prefer and in each garden you will find stalls selling anything from grilled Loire fish, to oysters, duck, grillades or savoury items along with plenty of Anjou Blanc or Rosé.

We choose Jazz & Oysters in the gardens of a beautiful 17c seigneurie.

Followed by a choral group from Corsica in the Chapel of Aubigne.

Sculpture was very much the theme for the art exhibits this year with this superb bronze of Ghandi. The rest of the village is closed off to cars and artists line the streets in every direction.

Ghandi by Martine Vaugel

Watercolourist at work.

Let's not forget we are in a wine growing region so vines are also for sale.

Along with plants....

...and a shot of my new apron. Sorry could'nt resist it!

Although I did rather fancy the black chef's top of the guy doing the cookery demo!

...and the amazing sculptures by Jacque Tempereau!

On reflection it was another superb event. The sun shone even though Jean-Paul is praying from another 30mm of rain before maturation. The music and wine was fab and we hope you will take the opportunity to come and join us again this time next year until then à bientôt......

Harvest Wine Tours in the Loire Valley Vineyards

2009-08-25T14:44:00.003+01:00

HARVEST WINE TOUR IN THE LOIRE VALLEY

1 DAY PACKAGE (additional days on request)

From mid-September to mid-November 2009 we are offering the opportunity to come and see the grape harvest in the Loire Valley. Throughout the 2 month period we have a series of special 1 Day Harvest Wine Tour Packages to offer which include the opportunity to see the harvest in action and even get to harvest a few bunches yourselves!

Some of the highlights of the harvest season allow us to :

See the hand harvest picking into crates
See the machine harvesters in action
Taste the bernache - white grape juice from the harvest
Taste wine directly from the barrel
Measure the baume (sugar level) in the grapes using the refractometer
Taste the previous years wines
See the harvest being brought into the Caves des Vignerons
Enjoy a delicious harvest picnic in the vineyards

To see what is included in the package click here : Harvest Wine Tour Package

Or click here to see the : Harvest in Action Photos from previous years.

To check availability or book today email Micaela and/or Sue at resv@lagrandemaison.net

Pyramids Are not Easy to Clean

2009-08-19T10:16:00.005+01:00

We have a pyramid in our house....

....unusual I know but a necessary precaution to stop small children and dogs disappearing through a large hole and into the kitchen sink!

The story goes that before the staircase in the hall was constructed (from the wood of an ancient winepress) the previous owner of La Grande Maison used to descend into the kitchen on a rope!

This pyramid was inspired by the Louvre pyramid, however, it does not contain 666 panes of glass, holds no satanic significance and has not featured in a Dan Brown novel.

Nowadays the pyramid is a good source of light into the kitchen and also a good spot to watch our sous chef ‘Sue’ at work, but don’t let her know I told you that.

So yesterday was my day to clean the pyramid and in doing so I got to wondering about the symbolism of the pyramid and it’s ancient powers. Here is what I found.

Pyramids are handy for :

Preserving food
Sharpening razor blades or knives
Improving heath
Functioning as a thought-form incubator
Triggering sexual urges
Relieving stress
Improving quality of drinking water
Restoring the lustre to tarnished jewellery or coins

Now here is the really interesting one :

Improving the taste of coffee, wine and fruit juices:

Apparently pyramid energy alters the hydrogen bond in water. A general effect is an increase in the "smoothness" of a drink. It takes the sharp "edge" off drinks like coffee and works well with wine too.

So here is the experiment : a comparative tasting between wine decanted and placed under the pyramid and the same wine decanted and placed elsewhere. Chosen wine? Domaine de Grand Maison from Langlois Chateau of course. Can we decrease the acidity of this marvellous Muscadet using the power of the pyramid?

Come back in a couple of weeks to discover the results! In the meantime we will be relaxed, shining jewels, having loads of ideas and well....I’ll leave the rest to your imagination ;-)

12 More Things To Do in the Loire Valley Around Saumur

2009-08-16T17:55:00.015+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I promised I would find you "12 More Tips for Things to do in the Loire Valley" around Saumur from La Grande Maison. So here they are! Enjoy...

1. Take a ride on Le Grand Elephant at Les Machines des Isles in Nantes

2. See the hand harvest at the Chateau of Saumur around the end of September

3. Visit a riverside 'Guinguette' like this one on the island of Béhuard
for traditional Friture de Loire

4. Go to the beautiful Chateau at Montreuil-Bellay for a walk around the magnificent gardens

5. Interested in art then the Contemporary Art Gallery at Bouvet Ladubay is for you

6. Enough of wine tasting then how about a liquer at the Combier Distillery?

7. Angel or Demon everyone likes to visit the tomb of Leonardo da Vinci at the Chateau in Amboise

8. Chinon is not far either for all things Rabelais & this amazing statue of Joan of Arc

9. The fairytale castle of Rigny Ussé will bring out the sleeping beauty in you

10. Get clean at the most amazing homemade soap shop at Domaine de Mestré

11. A little dressage at the Equitation Centre in Saumur

12. ...and home for a wine tasting in the pigeon tower at La Grande Maison with one of our local winemakers

Phew! So much to do and so little time. Don't underestimate just how much there is to see and do here. It is worth taking a little more time out than you think to explore this area. It's a rich tapestry of history, food, wine & vines, culture & traditions. If any of these ideas appeal to you then make sure you ask for more details during your stay here at La Grande Maison ... a biéntot as there will be more to come over the next few weeks so don't forget to check back.

12 Things To Do in the Loire Valley Around Saumur

2009-08-05T15:10:00.021+01:00

"La Grande Maison Top Twelve Tips" for what to do in the Loire Valley Region around Saumur.

1. A visit to the Chateau of Saumur is a must for great views of the river.

2. Fine dining at many of the local restaurants

3. Visit one of the local festivals or fetes held in the villages during the summer months

4. Opportunities for some pretty serious wine tasting

5. Canoe a section of the Loire River.

6. Visit some of the pretty Loire side villages such as Chenhutte -Treves-Cunault

7. Visit the markets such as the Sunday Marche' in Cunault or the Saturday Market in Saumur

8. Riverside Brocantes & Antique Markets

9. Wine Cellars and Caves to visit

10. Take a Hot Air Ballon ride

11. Explore the Caves, Tunnels and Underground Pigeonniere at La Grande Maison

12. A cycle ride in the vineyards around La Grande Maison

Twelve ideas to get you started and I've only scratched the surface. Come back in a couple of weeks for more ideas of what to do in the Loire Valley Region. www.lagrandemaison.net

Strawhouse Players Summer Production 2009

2009-07-30T07:39:00.012+01:00

Huge applause goes this year to Frank, Ned, Luc, Beth and of course Steve (scriptwriter extraordinaire) for their traditional summer production. This year "King Arthur & His Trusty Knights on the Quest of the Holy Grail" Maybe a tad pythonesque me thinks?

Posters are painted, costumes are made, tickets are designed, props are propped and the scene is set on the lawns of Plantagent Plantes in Argentay.

The Knights of the Round Table

King Arthur's Knights in search of clues to the Holy Grail

Knights of Camelot: [singing] We're knights of the Round Table, we dance whene'er we're able. We do routines and chorus scenes with footwork impec-cable, We dine well here in Camelot, we eat ham and jam and Spam a lot. / We're knights of the Round Table, our shows are for-mi-dable. But many times we're given rhymes that are quite un-sing-able, We're opera mad in Camelot, we sing from the diaphragm a lot. / In war we're tough and able, Quite in-de-fa-ti-gable. Between our quests we sequin vests and impersonate Clark Gable / It's a busy life in Camelot
[solo]
Knights of Camelot: I have to push the pram a lot.

A snack during the interval? Escargot au Chocolate - hmm delicious.

Tickets are in high demand!

Bravo the Strawhouse Players
il était for-mid-able!

Retro Grand Prix Grande Maison Drive Past

2009-07-25T11:29:00.009+01:00

The cars have now arrived in Le Puy Notre Dame for the Retro Grand Prix tomorrow and there is a buzz of excitement in the air. The arrival heralds the start of a weekend of festivities and first off comes the drive through the vines and past La Grande Maison.

So every year we rush outside the gates and wave everyone on their way. There are always a few that take the wrong turning so we are there to put them right back on track. Or even push them up the hill if necessary!

Here they come arriving at the bottom of Rue de la Cerisaie....

....they pass the house.

....and then continue on up the hill and through the vines behind La Grande Maison.

.....the last in line being safely followed by the 'depannage' truck in case of breakdown.

The Le Puy Notre Dame Retro Grand Prix is always held on the last weekend in July so book early for next year's weekend of fun and frivolity Arrive on Friday evening for a delicious La Grande Maison Wine Sampling Supper, take Wine Tour through the vines on Saturday and finish off at the Retro Grand Prix on Sunday for a BBQ and glass of local Le Puy wine. No better way to spend a sunny July weekend. Hope to see you in 2010!

Le Puy Notre Dame Retro Grand Prix

2009-07-21T12:34:00.008+01:00

26th July sees the Retro Grand Prix in our local village of Le Puy Notre Dame. This normally quiet corner of France comes alive to the sounds of convertible Morgans, Bugattis, Amilcars and the odd vintage Rolls Royce. Here are a few photos from last years event to whet your appetite.

Cordoned off by bales of hay, the entire village becomes a race track for the day. The local vignerons sell their wines by the glass and the BBQ's spring into action.

More to follow soon......opps mid-blog and got a phone call to say that our dog Willow had escaped and had made his way down to the local nursery. Quick diversion whilst I jump in the car and go to collect him!

Now back to the grand prix....

Vintage motorbikes are allowed compete too. This includes a side-car race and the opportunity to wear old leather helmets with ear flaps - very alluring. Here Olivier from Le Puy au Vin checks out a problem on his old vintage some thing or other.

Along with a few more photos of noisy engines....

.....and shiny badges of desirability.

...see how they shine!

...and to make our day there is even a convertible rainbow Amilcar.

From Potager to Loire Valley Vineyard

2009-07-13T18:46:00.011+01:00

A pretty hectic couple of weeks has left little time for blogging other than 'micro-blogging' on Twitter where you can now find us at Twitter.com/frenchwinetours if you wish to join in with the tweets. Otherwise we have been pretty much out and about running Wine Tours and serving our delicious Wine Sampling Suppers here at La Grande Maison.

So what has been happening in the vineyard and the potager during this time? Well less than a month ago the bunches on the vines looked like this. Flowering went well in the end and we managed to avoid any heavy rain that might have knocked off the tiny delicate flowers.

Within 3-4 weeks the bunches are looking good and with the cooler evenings it has been the ideal time to go out and work on the few rows of Chenin Blanc that we have in the vineyard. When the vines were pruned during the winter eight buds were left on last years canes so each vine produced about eight vertical shoots. Each shoot usually produces two bunches so there are a total of around sixteen bunches per vine. This is too many for us as we wish to produce quality rather than quantity hence the job in hand. The extra bunches that didn't fit the bill were cut off leaving 8-10 bunches per vine.

It is hard to think that the grapes will be wasted but it will improve the quality and space available for what is left on the vine.

Back in the potager, secateurs still in hand and we have good crops of yellow and green courgettes, potatoes, garlic, shallots, peas and beans. All our produce is grown organically and our meals are based around what is available each evening.

Even the hens are coming up trumps and Vita produced her first double yolker bless her, she always was a hen of many fancies!

Dogs as per usual do their best to help. With the odd bit of baguette snaffling.

Humble Pie H.R.H

They don't look at all guilty do they?

Willow (aka Wills or Mr Beans)

Gay Icons & Dykons at National Portrait Gallery Sponsored by Rose d'Anjou

2009-07-01T15:15:00.005+01:00

We will be "drinking pink" this summer at La Grande Maison in celebration of the Gay Icons Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London, sponsored by Rosé d'Anjou. In honour of the event we have cases of Rosé d'Anjou wine to give away to all our lucky guests. The first guests to arrive at La Grande Maison to produce their ticket stub from the exhibition will win a case of six bottles of this delicious pink packed with summer fruits. Subsequent guests will receive a free bottle of Rosé d'Anjou with every room booked (on production of their ticket stub or proof of visit on arrival).

Rosé d'Anjou - making a meal of it.
Local Charentais Melon with Bayonne Ham & Rosé Shots

A few facts about Rosé d'Anjou:

Annual production: 155,000 hl Basic yield: 60 hl/haGrape varieties: Grolleau (the most frequently grown variety in this AOC area), Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay and Côt Dominant growing practices: Density of 4,000 to 5,000 plants/ha. Single or double Guyot pruning. Residual sugar content: at least 7g/l (generally less than 20 g/l).

Tasting - Sensory characteristics: Bright, crystal clear robe of raspberry red or with glints of salmon pink. Notes of small red fruits (strawberry, redcurrant), rose, English candy, with a freshness, finale of mint and white pepper. The perfect wine for gourmands, tender rosés are round and mellow on the palate with a liveliness that compensates for the sweet sensation and refreshes the finish.

Serving temperature: Serve chilled to 6°C

Ageing potential: Should be drunk in its early years, although certain generous vintages can hold surprises in store for several decades.

A hint of Rosé - La Grande Maison tables decorated with local roses from our garden close to
Doue La Fontaine, Rose Capital of France.

Olivier Lecomte, President of the Rosé d’Anjou wine-growers syndicate, says: ‘Portraiture is an art which is easy to relate to, cutting across racial, social, sexual, educational and economic barriers whilst enhancing cultural appreciation and awareness. Viticulture shares many of the same values - it blends grape varieties, personalities and culture to create wines which are designed to be enjoyed in a diverse number of ways.’

Missing a very Vine Dog?

2009-06-23T15:50:00.010+01:00

Just about to sit down for my lunch today when this little fellow pitched up at the gate. We often rescue dogs from the vineyards and if they have no identification we take them off to the vet and they read the chip so that we can then deliver them to their rightful owners.

I put this friendly pup on a lead and took him off to our vets in Doue La Fontaine. By this time I was growing very fond of him and a bond was beginning to grow. He seemed so timid and thin I don't think he had eaten for a while and was certainly ready for a drink.

Sadly he had no chip, tattoo or collar. So the vet told me I must go directly to the Dog Refuge; as if I must not stop off and do anything else en-route but deliver this dog to it's fate. I bundled him back into the car. The refuge was really the last place I wanted him to go and I felt sad about his future. At the 'accueil' I was met by Madame who asked me where I had found him. No we cannot take this dog, we do not have space and anyway you did not find him in this commune, she explained pointing to the list of communes from which they do take dogs, if only they had the space. Alors you must go to your Maire (the Mayor) and declare that you have found a dog.

Once again Chips (he now has a name) and I got back into the car, direction Les Verchers Sur Layon. I hoped the 'Maire' would be open as I had just seen Madame the Mayoress only hours earlier with a carpenter being measured up for new windows! Luckily Catherine her secretary was there and to the rescue. Within seconds she drew up an 'Annonce' to mail out to all the other communes and vets with a description of Chips. A quick phone call later and a chap called Carl turned up with a bag of croquettes and took Chips off to a little kennel (apparently all the best Maires have them!). Ah he is for the 'chasse' he declared (a highly prized hunting dog) . I have a glimmer of hope that if he is not claimed someone locally will take him in. Otherwise he will stay 8 days at the Hotel de le Maire before being sent off to the refuge in Angers. I have a feeling we might just be going to see him before the week is out.

Now about this cat we just found on the roof of the Bakehouse......

The Visitation of the Miraculous Rainbow Ceiling

2009-06-13T09:05:00.011+01:00

It appeared as if from no where. There it was this most amazing rainbow on the ceiling of our living room.

So I checked it out on Wikipedia- A rainbow is phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture They take the form of a multicoloured arc, with red on the outer part of the arch and violet on the inner section of the arch.

A rainbow spans a continuous spectrum of colours. Traditionally, however, the sequence is quantised. The most commonly cited and remembered sequence, in English, is Newton's sevenfold red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. "Roy G. Biv" and "Richard Of York Gave/Gained Battle In Vain" are popular mnemonics. Another one is "Read Out Your Green Book In Verse".

Rainbows can be caused by other forms of water than rain, including mist, spray, and dew.

This one lasted only two minutes and then vanished as quickly as it came. There were no droplets of moisture, rain, mist or spray in the room. So how on earth did it get there? My search led me to a CD lying discarded from it's case on the table. Clare Teal - "Get Happy". Our true rainbow girl!

Thanks for the photos Jay. They are beautiful!

2009-06-07T10:25:00.011+01:00

Hi Micaela & Sue!

We got back to Chicago yesterday without any fuss; very simple.

I wanted to thank you again -- it was a lovely experience staying
there with you both, and your hospitality and generosity were amazing.

I took some photos of your garden while there -- and have attached a few
low-resolution jpgs.

Jay

PS -- I'm still thinking about those wines! The Chinon and the cabernet franc!

P.P.S : I'll visit our wine merchant this week and confound them with your wines (!) and see what they have to say. "A white Chinon?" they'll gasp. Just like the red Sancerre.

amitié
Jay

A Busy Weekend in the Loire Valley

2009-06-02T07:42:00.016+01:00

Wow - what a busy weekend that was. Full of variety. Wine, good food, a little culture, dancing and laughter. First up came our visit to the private chateau of ................... So private I can't even mention the name or the owner suffice to say we were invited for apero's as a thank you for the work we had done in protecting the local countryside with the group Plaine Campagne. The 'grande dame ' of the house gave us a tour of the chateau and vast grounds through which the River Layon runs.

Our group Plaine Campagne outside the Chateau

We were all then invited into the salon for chilled sparkling rosé and canapes. Such a beautiful evening with the sun shining and clear blue skies it could not have been better.

Saturday was devoted to the Music Festival in Rablay Sur Layon. Joel Menard of Domaine des Sablonettes was supposed to be giving a commented wine tasting of his Anjou blancs but it was rather drummed out by Acousmik! Who were amazing!

No-one seemed to mind though and it set the evening off in fine party mood with everyone finally getting up and dancing.

The festival runs into Sunday and there is plenty of good fresh food, wine and beer to sample and the Village des Artistes to visit for paintings, pottery and gifts. If you are interested in coming next year it usually runs the last weekend in May. An event not to be missed.

Sunday saw the Portes Ouvertes at Domaine des Noades in Argentay a short walk across the vineyards from La Grande Maison. Jacky Ripoche, the winemaker, gave our group a tasting of his 2008 Saumur AOC Whites, Reds, Rose, Moelleux and Petillant Wines. Jacky took over the vineyard 8 years ago and year on year has made noticable improvements to the vines and the wines.

As with most Portes Ouvertes these days a little food is on offer to soak up the wines. We had the traditional fouaces from the bread oven. Delicious served with rillettes or goats cheese.

Even our dog visitor "Riot Winston" seemed pretty happy?

English Cottage Garden in the Loire Valley

2009-05-26T20:11:00.012+01:00

A few more iris's have now come into bloom in the gardens of La Grande Maison and most of the roses are now in full bloom too. The sun is shining, the springers are basking in the sun and all is well in our little corner of the Loire Valley Vineyards.

The White and Purple One
The Yellow Ones

Rose - Etoile de Hollande

Stunningly pink poppies.

This one is called Patty's Plum.

Chives growing in the Potager

A Field of Pink and Red Poppies

News from the Chinon Wine Press

2009-05-22T08:53:00.006+01:00

So little time to write these days as we are busy running our Wine Tours and preparing fabulous Wine Sampling Supper for our guests here at La Grande Maison. Thought I would quickly share with you some of the photos from the Salon des Vins in Chinon last weekend.

60 of Chinon's finest winemakers came into the town and offered tastings of their wines from stalls dotted around the village. Each little wine outpost came with music and food to sample. A superb way to discover the town and it's wines.

Bernard Baudry 2008 and 2007

We were excited to be able to taste many of the newly bottled 2008 Chinon's from the likes of some of our personal favourites, Bernard Baudry, Olga Raffault, Charles Pain and Laure Dozon.

Laure Dozon also produces a Chinon Blanc

Olga Raffault Chinon 2006

Tasting notes will no doubt follow for those of you who are interested. Just need to sharpen my pencil first!

Storm Damage on the Meridian Line

2009-05-17T08:40:00.006+01:00

The heavy winds of Friday night caused some pretty substantial tree damage in Parnay @ Meridien 0 - 15/05/09.

This large spruce came down blocking the entrance to Chateau du Marconnay and taking out two of the tuffeau walls in the process and only narrowly missing the neighbour's roof!

Sad to see such old old trees fall too!

The United Colour of Irises at La Grande Maison

2009-05-14T10:29:00.010+01:00

May is a fabulous time of the year to come and visit France. Everything springs into life and one of the early flowers to appear all over the Loire Valley is the Iris. Of course everyone flocks to Giverny (North west of Paris) to see Monet's house and wander around the beautiful gardens of full of irises and poppies. This year I wanted to share with you some pictures of the irises that are on display at the moment at La Grande Maison.

Pale Pink and Orange

White Iris

Pale Blue

Dark Purple

Yellow and Orange

Purple and White

The bank of irises outside La Grande Maison

If anyone knows the full name of each of these varieties then I would be delighted if you could let me know and in the meantime I'll do a little research!

The Grass is Greener...in the Saumur Vineyards

2009-05-10T08:25:00.009+01:00

We don’t usually let the grass grow under our feet and right now we are really happy with the way the grass is growing in the vineyards around La Grande Maison. Six years ago when we arrived the vineyards surrounding us had bare earth and an erosion problem. Now they are grassed between rows and the improvements are numerous. Despite our two Springers running through the vines daily the vineyards are still home to all the usual hares, partridges and pheasants. This year we’ve spotted more Montagu’s Harriers, Stone Curlews and Swallow Tail butterflies than ever before. The vineyards are more alive now than when we first arrived.

Chateau de Fosse Seche LPO Bird Refuge

Vineyards, like their subsequent wines, have a range of characteristics, much like their producers. There are still a few vineyards around Le Puy Notre Dame with bare and compacted earth but we have noticed, thankfully, that these are becoming fewer.

Chateau Tour Grise Biodynamic Vineyards

Chateau Tour Grise is biodynamic and boasts the most vibrant vineyards around, teeming with activity above the soil, plenty of humming and buzzing in the air, you just have to imagine what is going on underground.

Sadly their neighbour has a bare, dead, compacted vineyard. It is difficult to spot anything living.

At Tour Grise the “weeds” immediately beneath the vines are cut by machine and the soil is turned to minimise competitive weed growth and maximise rain absorption. Phillipe cycles to his vineyard, sometimes on his home-made tandem, with his wife Francoise facing backwards enjoying the view. He has vision and individuality and so do his wines. Their sparkling wines for example are made with re-cycled CO2! (You’ll have to visit them to find out how). Light and fruity summer time drinking, fun wines at fun prices like the Zero Pointe Rosé, a Vins de Pays.

Tour Grise mechanical method of weed control

Serious wines at serious prices are produced at the Saumur vineyards of Chateau de Fosse Seche. Currently in conversion to organic status they don’t have the problem of being bordered by a vigneron with an opposing philosophy i.e. soil mis-management. They are in the enviable situation of owning 45 hectares immediately surrounding their property with 17 hectares under vine. The vines are not on tuffeau here in this little pocket of Brossay but have a unique terroir for the Saumur region, flint (jurassic silex). The vineyards are worked mechanically to reduce weed competition so there is no use of chemical weed sprays.

Jurassic flint at Fosse Seche

The wines are all outstanding but you wouldn’t expect less from Guillaume Pire the young talented wine maker. Chateau de Fosse Seche is the only Saumur Rouge served in Michelin starred restaurants (as far as we are aware) and they definitely warrant that status.

Organic vineyards of Fosse Seche in front of the 16thC Pigeonnier

Vin et Vinyasa August 2009 - Yoga and Wine Retreat at La Grande Maison

2009-05-05T07:09:00.006+01:00

Aubrey practising Yoga on the beach in Thailand

Our Yoga and Wine Retreat Holidays enable you to find your balance in life and enjoy a glass of wine in the process too. Stay at the beautiful La Grande Maison in the middle of the Loire Valley Vineyards. Each morning after a healthy breakfast Aubrey will lead you in a Vinyasa Yoga Session. Three of the sessions will be followed by a picnic in the vineyards before being taken on an Organic/Biodynamic Wine Tour that afternoon by a qualified Wine Guide.

Cycle the Vineyards from La Grande Maison

After two of the morning Vinyasa Yoga Sessions you will have the opportunity to explore the local area yourself. Bikes are made available for you to follow the cycles routes through the vineyards to the local village of Le Puy Notre Dame.

Aubrey running a Yoga Session in Thailand

Aubrey will then be on hand to take 5 evening Meditation Sessions before you head out to an evening meal at one of the local restaurants. Aubrey practices and teaches a heat-building, flowing Vinyasa (breath-focused) style yoga combined with offering healthy alignment instruction intertwined with yoga philosophy and meditation. She studies with internationally renowned yoga teacher, Mitchel Bleier, his partner, Tracy Bleier, and Donna Jackson of Saraswati's Yoga Joint in Connecticut where she did her teacher's training course.

Aubrey believes the key to a happy and healthy lifestyle comes from finding your personal balance, which yoga can help everyone access. Aubrey is currently traveling the world teaching yoga, guiding scuba diving and publishing travel articles. She has most recently lead yoga holidays in Thailand, the Swiss Alps and Gozo.

We are very fortunate to be able to welcome Aubrey to our vineyard retreat in the Loire Valley France in August this year. Email resv@lagrandemaison.net for further details.

Bio Plants for the Potager at La Grande Maison

2009-05-01T08:06:00.005+01:00

Last Friday saw the Portes Ouvert for the Crois Rouge Francaise at L'ESAT in Doue la Fontaine. There was an extraordianry choice of 'plants issus de l'Agriculture Biologique pour votre potager" (organic vegetable plants) for sale. We came away with Green Zebra and Striped German Tomatoes which we will be serving this summer along with lemon, purple and green basil, aubergines, cauliflowers and peppers. All looking extremely fresh and well cared for by some of the 40 mentally handicapped staff than run the nursery.

We also discovered that the same team produce wine at L'Arche de la Rebellerie a vineyard in Neuil Sur Layon producing organic reds, whites, coteaux de layon and cremant. This talented crew also produce delicious 'confitures' and offer apricot, cassis, strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant jams which of course we couldn't resist either. The jus de raisin was not bad either so guess what we'll be having on our breakfast table!

Appreciating Cabernet Franc

2009-04-28T11:29:00.006+01:00

Opened a bottle of Les Varennes du Grand Clos 2004 from Charles Joguet (Chinon) with dinner the other evening and how well worth the 5 year wait it was! Dark rich black cherry robe, you can almost smell the cherries. An oppulent mouthfull of red fruit with soft tannins and surprise bursts of caramel going on in the background. This in my humble opinion is how a real single varietal French wine should taste. C'est magnifique!

It was at this moment and in tasting this delicious wine that I realised the difficulties the 'general consumer' has in fully appreciating Cabernet Franc. Now 2004 is young for a good Chinon. In fact it is recommended to drink 2012 but it's now 2009 and folks you just don't want to wait. In general the up to the counter wine tasting public are given 2007 / 08 wines to taste and to be honest without food this is a tricky task. The assertive tannins can sometimes mask the rich plummy fruit that this rich stand-alone varietal has to offer. As wine professionals our job is to educate the consumer to be patient.

It is not necessary to worship at the shrine of the £4.99$ supermarket plonk that has been mass produced, filled with fruit flavourings and tankered from the otherside of the world. Take a little time out to think about what you are drinking, how it has been produced and who has produced it. Here's an idea. Buy a good case whilst you are in the Loire Valley on your Wine Tour- taste one when you get home with a menu to match - lay the other bottles down and repeat the same exercise each year for the next five years. Invite friends and compare notes you will see the results for yourselves. Good luck and hopefully you will start to understand a little about good French wine.

Sunset over the vines at La Grande Maison

Vines at the End of the Rainbow with a Little Food and Wine Matching too.

2009-04-21T09:45:00.010+01:00

Just had to share this dramatic photo with you. Kindly sent in by Susan and Aileen recent return guests from Dublin. The picture was taken from the orchard at the rear of La Grande Maison. A beautiful rainbow arc over the poplar tree and into the vines.

Susan also wrote a little about her Wine Tour, " We really enjoyed learning a bit about the wine. So far we have enjoyed the Quid Novi - Anjou Blanc ( with grilled hake and a salsa verde with basil, coriander and capers) and the Royal Rouge - Red Sparkling (as an appetiser and with chocolate). It is really nice to be able to make choices that match the food)."

We love it when folk take wine back with them to sample with their own dishes and it is a lovely to way to extend that holiday feeling.

April is an exciting time in the gardens of La Grande Maison too. We really pruned the wisteria (by The Gate House) back hard last year and happily it has really recovered and is showing a beautiful display this year.

.....as is the clematis that climbs over The Old Bergerie.

....and the lilac by The Vine Lodge

The apple tree in the orchard is in full bloom too. This is a lovely to spot to picnic overlooking the vines with a glass of rosé.

A Portes Ouvert for Easter at Domaine de Bablut in Brissac

2009-04-11T08:12:00.007+01:00

11th, 12th and 13th April Easter Weekend sees the Portes Ouvert at Domaine de Bablut in Brissac We are especially excited to be able to try Christophe's latest release Petit Princé 2007 a Chenin Blanc that will not be released until the end of the year but will be available to buy this weekend only! This proved to be dry Chenin Blanc with floral aromas of tilleul, aubepiné and quince, delicate and elegant. I expect it will go well with fish, fruit de mer and wine meats in sauce.

Releasing the aromas from the barrel!

We also discovered Christophe Daviau's - Topette A Lundi, a light easy drinking red Cabernet Franc in a screwcap that you can save 'til Mardi - as if?

The lauch of a new cuvee for Daviau - Petit Princé 2007

A Selection of Loire Restaurants from Saumur to Amboise

2009-04-08T07:41:00.010+01:00

Speaking to Madame Laroche owner of the Auberge Bienvenue in Doue La Fontaine the other evening she gave me her update of the new TVA (VAT) ruling for restaurants in France. She tells me that the 5.5% TVA is sure but will not come into effect until 2010 and then it will only apply to the food element of the meal and not the wine. So we will have to wait a while longer.

Never mind though as the food there was superb as usual. The menu Selections du Terrior is already very good value at 24 euros for 3 deliciously presented and prepared courses along with the surprise "amusee bouche" that appears. We chose a local wine from our friend David Lecomte at Chateau Du Passavant, an organically produced Cabernet Franc - Les Neprons 2004 which went superbly with the Entrecote Francaise Au Tanin D'Anjou et Fruit Rouges.

Another longstanding favourite of ours if you are heading to Saumur is Le Pot de Lapin. "Bistro à vins avec cuisine traditionnelle du marché" Olivier Thibault offers a superb selection of local Loire wines many of which you can sample by the glass for only 3 euros. The menu is all chalked up on a large slate board and you can choose from a simple selection of tapas to a more hearty full three or four course meal prepared from fresh local ingredients. There is also a great selection of wines from the south of France including an Domaine Olivier Pithon from Rousillon La Coulee 2006 (Jo Pithon's brother - another superb Anjou producer) a delicious blend of Grenache noir, Carignan and Syrah. Yum!

A little further along the Loire River and a great stop for a day trip is Amboise home to Clos Lucé the last home of Leonardo Da Vinci. We stopped in at the newly opened La Reserve and had the Italian influenced menu de jour for under 12 euros, a french slant on mozzarella and tomatoes, lasagne and panacotta washed down with a small pichet of local Touraine sauvignon blanc. Extremely good value and a tasty lunch break.

Les Machines de L'Ile Nantes

2009-04-07T09:09:00.005+01:00

If you fancy a ride on a giant mechanical elephant during your stay at La Grande Maison then head to Les Machines de L'Ile in Nantes. Le Grand Elephant standing 12 metres high and weighing 50 tons takes you on a 40 minute ride along the quayside of the Loire River. It trumpets, sprays water from it's trunk and is an amazing technological feat of engineering.

In fact the whole gallery is worth a visit. Sue couldn't resist volunteering to ride the giant retro propulsion calamar but then she is a big kid at heart!

Poisson d'Avril !!

2009-04-01T12:11:00.003+01:00

French Government to Ban Drinking at Pavement Cafes?

Report by Decanter Magazine

A Spring Wine Tour in the Loire Valley

2009-03-30T11:29:00.000+01:00

What better time to come to the Loire Valley and taste wine than in the Spring. For a start many of the wines are still in barrel so we have an amazing opportunity to taste the wines still in production. The sap is just starting to rise in the vineyards, the trees are in blossom and the Loire River is all sparkly and starting to reveal it's sandy banks.

Barrel tasting the Saumur Rouge 2008 with Romain at
Domaine Guiberteau St Just Sur Dive
Romain's Chenin Blanc the Breze 2006 was superb and
we excitedly await it's release in May 2009!

Celine Dubois in the labeling room at Clos Cristal
organic winery owned by the Hospices de Saumur

The Tresor Room at Bouvet Ladubay.
The Sparkling whites produced in oak picked up the gold medal
at the Salon de Vin this year.

Natalie Mabileau pours a tasting of the St Nicolas de Bourgueil
LES ROUILLÈRES 2008 directly from the tank!

Bruno the winemaker at Domaine de Mihoudy
in Aubigne Sur Layon sampling the Bonnezeaux

The Barrel room at Chateau des Fesles
Recently bought by Chais de France but contrary to rumours
Bernard Germain and Lisa Heidemans are still at the helm
along with Gilles Biguet the original winemaker.

La Grande Maison - Wine Tours in the Loire Valley France

La Grande Maison est Ouvert 2009

2009-03-22T16:01:00.008+01:00

Tomorrow we re-open for the 2009 season.

Goodness I can't believe the holidays are finally over or have they just begun? La Grande Maison has raised her head from the winter dust and is all sparkly again. The Vine Room has had new windows, the signs have been repainted, the potager replanted, the cave restocked, the lawns mown, the windows washed...shall I go on?

Humble and Willow are ready to welcome all our new guests, the sun is shining, the hoopoes have arrived, the sap is rising in the vines and we have our first Wine Tour tomorrow!!

Humble Pie (HRH)

Look out for the Grape Pickers sign on arrival.

Now taking reservations for 2009
for our Chambres et Belle Salle A Manger!

Treves and Cunault from the Loire River

2009-03-16T15:36:00.011+01:00

Sue takes to the helm.

There is no better way to appreciate the villages along the banks of the Loire River than by boat. So this weekend (our last weekend off before La Grande Maison re-opens for the season on the 23rd March) we headed off to our little cottage in Treves and waited for Pascal to deliver the latest addition to our fleet "Little Tern". We couldn't wait to get her out on the water and sailed straight away down to the tabac in Cunault for lunch.

Approach by water to Cunault

Elise our friendly neigbour in Treves has just taken over as the chef at La Cale. So if you want a spot of reasonable lunch then 11 euros gets you, for example, a salad of rillauds as a starter, salmon in a beurre blanc with vegetables and a plate of cheeses or a dessert . Washed down with a small pichet of local rose for 4 euros we sailed home very content.

Micaela tackles the tricky navigation over the shallows!!

Home in sight as we pass the Treves Tower

Where have they gone? I wanted to take the bigger boat!

The following day we were a little more daring and sailed around the island of Treves and out into the main river where the current was much stronger. If the river seems large from the banks then try sitting in the middle of it! However it is so beautiful and serene and there are plenty of herons, egrets and other birdlife to spot. We celebrate our 'maiden voyage' proper by mooring up on a beach and watching the sunset over Saumur Chateau in the distance with a bottle of Cremant. The end to a perfect day and the most beautiful spring weekend in the Loire Valley.

Chilled Wine on the Beach!

Good News for Diners and Internautes in France

2009-03-11T19:35:00.004+01:00

Good news for both diners and wine writers on the internet in France this week.

First of all comes the news that TVA (or VAT) will be reduced in restaurants from 19.6% to 5.5% making it more affordable to dine out especially for our guests already suffering with a failing pound against the euro. This means that for example a dinner for two at 100 euros which would normally include about 20 euros in tax would now be a 5 euros tax making a 15 euro saving. Not bad ehh :)

Dining Out At the Tresor Belge

Our second piece of good news this week is that prior to recent scares that the French Government was about to ban advertising and writing about wine (and alcohol) on the internet that they have now taken a back step and it is legal again! Allegedly.....this is good news for all the wine writers, tourist sites and wine promoters who momentarily thought that their wine sites were about to become illegal in France.

The End is Nigh for Freedom of Speech in France ?

2009-03-09T18:46:00.003+01:00

'What future is there for wine if we are not able to talk about it?"
Sign on the D77 into Le Puy Notre Dame late this summer.

Read more on Jim's Loire

Wine Quote of the Week from La Grande Maison

2009-03-04T20:51:00.004+01:00

La Bar Mme Bovray Hotel Flaubert Trouville

"Vin - Sujet de discussion"

Gustav Flaubert
"Wine - Subject of Discussion"
Gustav Flaubert

The Shut Duck

2009-02-28T12:27:00.003+01:00

Little did we know that whilst listening to Heston Blumental speak about the wonders of his cuisine at the Omnivore Food Festial in Deauville this week that he had just taken the serious decision to shut his restaurant, The Fat Duck, due to a food poisoning scare. You can read the full story on the link below.

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/27/heston-blumenthal-fat-duck

Heston Blumenthal speaking at Deauville

I think he has reacted swiftly and responsibly to try and find the cause of the outbreak and hope that he can re-open again soon without damaging his reputation. Although it could be argued that he has been tampering with food, we will await the outcome before casting 'nasturtiums'

Bon courage Heston!

The Fat Duck meets El Bulli...in Wonderland

2009-02-24T21:09:00.012+01:00

Mention the name Heston Blumenthal and the words FOOD and CHEMISTRY spring to mind. Taste, aroma and flavour perception seem to be what modern cooking is all about these days and there can be no doubt that he is a genius alchemist at the cutting edge.

Les Cafes Confidences with Heston Blumenthal

So how fortunate we were to hear him speak for an hour at the Omnivore Food Festival this week. Especially as he talked about his latest creation inspired from his favourite childhood book, Alice in Wonderland. The dish entitled The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party is Blumenthal at his creative best and took two years to develop.

Mad Hatter's Fob Watch
Photo : Micaela Frow taken from slide show c. Heston Blumenthal

For the exact description of the recipe you’ll have to get a copy of The Big Fat Duck Cook Book (which will be hard as it has already sold out!). It is so complex it defies me attempting to explain but the first stage is the production of the Mad Hatter’s Fob Watch.

Photo : Micaela Frow taken from slide show c. Heston Blumenthal

The Mad Hatter’s Fob Watch (stages of production involve freezing, spinning the stock out to leave a flavourless ice and straining through muslin - enough said) is an intense broth tea bag that is then wrapped in edible gold leaf.

The Mock Turtle Soup
Photo : Micaela Frow taken from slide show c. Heston Blumenthal

The Fob Watch Tea Bag is placed into a teapot and the resulting bouillon then poured over the rest of the dish to form a Mock Turtle Soup flecked with gold. Unbelievable? Well his next project will include employing a magician to help him in his cookery.

If an hour with Heston Blumenthal, sorry Sir Heston, isn’t enough to blow your mind then how about a presentation from probably the most influential chef in the world. Ferran Adria is the inspiration behind the Spanish restaurant El Bulli.

Introducing the legendary Ferran Adria at OFF4

With over 2 million booking requests for only 8000 covers per year and no waiting list this is the restaurant to head for if you can’t get into The Fat Duck. Ferran speaks from the soul and his life is dedicated to researching new dishes, flavours and methods of presentation many of which were influenced during his culinary visits to Japan. In fact the idea for El Bulli, he says, came from visiting a restaurant in Japan that had only one table and could not be booked in advance.

Preparing a dish entirely comprised of seeds. The creation of life.
Photo : Micaela Frow taken from slide show c. Ferran Adria

Dining at El Bulli has been called Art in 4 Acts and is an entirely different dining experience extending to the waiters advising how to eat each dish and a preferred order to gain maximum flavour. Eating with your hands is encouraged as it is more ‘thoughtful’ apparently.

Preparing a dish entirely comprised of edible flowers.
Photo : Micaela Frow taken from slide show c. Ferran Adria

A rare opportunity as Micaela gets to chat to Ferran Adria of El Bulli

Adria's dishes are inventive colourful, minimaliste, inspired and if meeting Ferran doesn’t make you feel good, then I’ll eat my hat.

La Dive Bouteille Deauville 2009 10e

2009-02-23T12:31:00.006+01:00

Monday 23rd February and on our way to the OFF4 Omnivore Food Festival in Deauville which this year incorporates the 10 Edition of La Dive Bouteille. A fantastic opportunity to sample ‘vin naturel’ from some 120 vignerons of France and a few from a little further afield, but more about that later.

The Loire Valley always has a very visible presence at this salon with some 42 producers from Muscadet, through Anjou, Saumur, Saumur Champigny, Touraine, to Sancerre. Including many old friends the Oosterlink’s from Domaine Juchepie in Faye d’Anjou, Eric Dubois from Clos Cristal, Sebastian Bobinet from Saumur Champigny , Antoine Foucault, le Collier and of course the now infamous Catherine and Pierre Breton of Bourgueil & Chinon whose wines I seem to find on everyones' wine list these days in France.

We specifically wanted to taste the Chenin from Romain Guiberteau, neighbours of ours in St Just sur Dive. Sue gave the thumbs up to the 2007 Saumur which was clean, fresh and acidic but with lots of grapefruity lemony zing 13.5% whilst I loved the 2006 Breze which had a nose I could wear all day as a perfume, slightly oaked with great length but not overly powerful. We will definitely be re-visiting Romain again this year on our Wine Tours.

A few other finds we discovered along the way. (more detailed tasting notes of each to follow later as the blog gets updated)

Noella Moratin from Pouillé in Touraine, one of the few female wine makers of the area, producing a cousin of chenin with her 2008 Menu Pineau with 20g residual sugar, very light, refreshing and citrus fruity and well worth trying for it’s originality and value. Chez Charles her sauvignon still under going it’s malolactic fermentation with a high level of residual sugar to balance 2008’s acidity was a surprise and an unusual find.

Matthieu de Genevraye Clos Ouvert from Chilli - Otonio 2007 very blackcurrant fruit and liquorice, excellent length produced with minimal intervention.

Le Loup Blanc - Nicolas Gaignon Languedoc

Soif de Loup 2007 Vin de Pays simple fruity, light (but not in alcohol) and very drinkable beautiful garnet colour 13.5%. Would quench our thirst along with the wolf’s.

Le Regal de Loup 2006 Minervois AOC 50% Carignan 20% Syrah, 30% Grenache aged in oak barrels very smooth 13.5%

Les Trois P’tits Vin de Pays Delicious with smooth tannins.

La Méré Grand 2006 Minervois AOC a more classic style aged in barrel more tannins displayed, great on it’s own but probably splendid with red meats.

Up next : In Conference with a not so Little Chef - Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck and Micaela get’s to meet her culinary hero Ferran Adria of El Bulli.

Going Underground at La Grande Maison

2009-02-19T13:32:00.013+01:00

How did that happen? We've been at La Grande Maison for 6 years now, as of yesterday. Where did the time go? There is always masses to do on the house to maintain it's state of 'arrested decay', a new window here, a chimney re-built there, potager to dig over and re-plant, endless guttering to re-new and rooms to re-furbish. Hah - all in a days work!

This week though we have been working on a new project for the caves and creating a new tasting room where we can sample some of the superb wines that the Loire Valley has on offer. Come on down and we'll give you a tour around.

The New Tasting Area

In the 17th Century La Grande Maison was a fortified Wine Estate and owned all the vines in the surrounding area from which it produced it's wines. It was owned by Gilles Louis Antoine Aubert du PETIT THOUARS & Marie Gohin, Dame de Boumois and Arthenay who also owned Chateau Boumois on the south bank of the Loire near Saumur.

A section of the caves directly under the vineyard.

A bit of interesting history here. One of their sons, Arisitde Du Petit-Thouars participated in the American War of Independence 1779-83 and later sailed to Botany Bay, Australia in search of the lost French explorer La Perouse. He captained the ship The Tonnant in the campaign of Egypt with Napoleon Bonaparte but was killed in the naval battle of Aboukir on the 5th August 1798. During his time in the USA (c. 1794) Aristide Du Petit-Thouars was also involved in the construction of about thirty houses on a site called Azilum in Philadelphia. An enterprise promoted by the financier and Senator of Pennsylvania, Robert Morris. Amongst the buildings was one referred to as La Grande Maison, and later as “The Queen’s House”, in the hope that Marie Antoinette and her children would escape from France and come to occupy it.

Underground section of the Pigeon Tower or 'Fuye'

A second son, Aubert Du Petit-Thouars was obviously a bit more of a pacifist specialising in botany and a herbist of 2,000 exotic plants. He became Director of La Pepiniere du Route in Paris and was a member of the Academy of Sciences. It is said that he also sailed with his brother to Botany Bay in his exploration of plant life.

Another section of the tunnel and more wine!

So how come La Grande Maison has a pigeon tower? As a noble family of certain rank the du Petit Thouars' would have been allowed (with the permission of the crown) to build a 'fuye' or pigeon tower. This extends underground by some 10 metres and 7 metres above ground. The number of slots in the pigeon tower would have represented the hectarage of the vineyard in the 17c. A handy way of counting how much land you had when you came to pay your taxes. No wonder they hid it underground!

The tunnel from the “fuye” leads to a spectacular wine cave where you can still see the remains of the old wine press and barrels.
Many of the other tunnels have the names and dates of people who carved them out in the tuffeau walls where they might have been hiding during the 1st World War. This carving is from 1916.

Plenty of wine in the store too!
www.lagrandemaison.net

Wine Quote of the Week from La Grande Maison

2009-02-17T21:35:00.004+01:00

"When I drink, I think; and when I think, I drink."

Francois Rabelais

CHINON
LOIRE VALLEY
FRANCE

How to Cut Tuffeau Stone in One Easy Lesson - Taille de Pierre

2009-02-07T13:57:00.000+01:00

Our very patient tutor, Louis Legeas, president of the l'APEV and all things stone cutting spent 'une journee d'initiation a la taille de pierre sur du tuffeau' with us Saturday last. Here is my starting block all marked out and ready to be transformed into a vase?!?
The course was held at the Ecomusee du Veron in the Touraine region close to Chinon. So armed with a packed lunch and a chisel we headed off in the ice and snow for a day of dust and using of old tools.

Here is a photo of me doing something with one of the old tools....and here is Valerie's work of art that she started the month before. I secretly think she has been working on something for Valentines day don't you?Sue managed to look pretty professional and craftwomen's like with her chisel. Something seems to be taking shape.

Not bad for 7 hours work eh?? Can't show you the finished result just yet though as we have to go back again next month to finish them off. We have already been able to put our skills into action at La Grande Maison though where we are using some of the stone cleaning tips that Louis gave us during the day.

Vintage Speed Boat for Sale 1969

2009-02-06T10:52:00.006+01:00

Today Sue and I are off to see our friend David in Les Rosiers Sur Loire. He has just opened a new brocante there called Lila's and has offered to display our Vintage Speedboat in the show room.

She is called Reliance - La Rochelle and she really is our "coup de coeur". Built in 1969 by a Dutch firm Spierlings Staalwerken NLD she is very James Bond 007 with her car steering wheel and indicators! Only problem is we are so busy running our Wine Tours and Guesthouse during the summer to that we don't have time to take her out on the water, so she is up for sale. It will be very hard to let her go. She seats four and has a really cool vintage Mercury 50 Outboard Engine and trailer. Perfect for water skiiing or cruising coastal waters.
If you know anyone who might be interested in taking a look at her then drop an email to us at resv@lagrandemaison.net - she is a UNIQUE VINTAGE CLASSIC in PERFECT CONDITION.

RELIANCE - LA ROCHELLE
1969
CURRENTLY MOORED OFF A VINEYARD IN SAUMUR!!!

Salon des Vins de Loire 2009

2009-02-04T16:32:00.007+01:00

Sue & I just got back from the UK in time to attend the last day of the Salon des Vins in Angers. A sudden death in the family launched our world into a state of disarray and we sadly missed the Renaissance and the start of the Salon this year but Sue managed to pay a brief visit to many of our favourite winemakers and friends at the show.

Saumur was firmly on the map again this year and congratulations go to our neighbours across the vines at Domaine Vieux Pressoir who picked up a gold medal for their Cuvée les Silices 2008. We are also thrilled for Frederic Mabilleau who picked up a gold for one of our favourite reds this year Les Coutures 2008 and also for his Saumur Blanc 2008 (Chenin) that he grows in the vineyards around Le Puy Notre Dame.

As well as the wines Sue was also impressed with a display of furniture made from old barrels. The company called 225 litres makes chairs, tables and lighting from used barriques. You can see some examples at 225 litres. What a great idea and a brilliant example of how a living can be made from recycling, bet they smell good too!

Wine Quote of the Week from La Grande Maison

2009-01-30T16:24:00.001+01:00

"Une barrique de vin peut faire plus de miracles qu'une église pleine de saints"

ADAGE

"A barrel of wine is able to make more miracles that a church full of saints"

Wine Quote of the Week from La Grande Maison

2009-01-22T06:51:00.005+01:00

"I have enjoyed great health at a great age because everyday since I can remember I have consumed a bottle of wine except when I have not felt well. Then I have consumed two bottles."

The Bishop of Seville

...and a very big thank you to Garrison and John who sent us this exceptionally beautiful painting of the Napa Valley Vineyards after their stay here last year. The painting was done by Garrison in acrylic paint and was sent with the message...

"John and I loved it and wanted you to have it as it
reminds us of all the beautiful vineyards surrounding La Grande Maison!"

If you want to see more of Garrison Broekema's work then log on to www.garrisonbroekema.com

THANK YOU JOHN & GARRISON
from San Franciso

Pruning Vines for Loire Valley Wines

2009-01-13T11:59:00.009+01:00

The snow is gradually starting to thaw and the pruning teams are back in the vines with their secateurs powered by compressed air. The tractor has been through first to trim the tops off the vines leaving amazing patterns in the snow.

The predominant method of pruning vines in this region of France is the single Guyot method. A cane from the previous years growth is selected. This is pruned to 8 nodes which will be tied down horizontally and produce the vertical shoots for this years growth.

A 'spur' is also selected and pruned to 2 nodes, these will produce shoots to be used as next years canes. Ideally the spur should be close to the head of the vine trunk and positioned along the line of the row to maximise plant 'energy' and trellis space and minimise damage from tractors.

Once last years vertical shoots have been cut from the main trunk the next team follows to pull out the shoots from the wires. These are then laid out in the middle of every other row before being mulched by a tractor. The mulch is part barrier against weeds and also replaces the nutrients lost in the growing process.Interested in coming on a 1 day Introduction to Viticulture Course? Please email resv@lagrandemaison.net for further details of our Vineyard Stay Courses for 2009.

Frozen River - The Sequel

2009-01-10T15:10:00.004+01:00

Down at Chenhutte-Treves-Cunault it is even colder than in the vines right now with the Loire River bordered by an icey frame that clings to the banks and shivers.Sue spotted several Great White Egrets on the bank. These huge pure white herons (much larger than the Little Egret) are usually found around the saline lagoons of the South of France in the winter. They are pretty scarce and we think they may have flown north confused by the snow storms they have been experiencing in the south.

The Layon River is also under a think sheet of ice that shows no signs of thawing at the moment.

Think we might have found a lost reindeer in the ice though!

Snowed In - Day 4

2009-01-09T19:38:00.004+01:00

We haven't been able to leave the house for 4 days now, well only by foot. It was fun to start off with, long walks in the vines with the dogs, dropping in on un-suspecting neighbours for chats, walking for 2 hours to Le Puy Notre Dame for simple provisions.

So it was great to be able to get out to the AMAP Organic market last night courtesy of David and Bella of Plantagenet Plantes who gave us a lift there to pick up our goods. It's not a regular market though. You order all your produce under a contract for 3 months in advance, you take all your own containers and re-fill them yourselves with the most amazingly fresh milk, yoghurt, and creme fraiche. Bread, eggs, goats cheese, vegetables, beer, honey and chickens are available and all locally produced and organic. No waste, no packaging, you recycle all your own containers and to top it all friendly cheerful producers who are proud of what they produce and happy to stand in the cold snow to deliver your goods. Brilliant!

Mad Dogs on the Piste!

2009-01-06T15:07:00.007+01:00

The mere scattering of snow from yesterday evening has been replaced with a couple of inches of the white powdery stuff over night. So playtime for everybody as the dogs go crazy in the garden.

Willow discovering the joy of snow.Sue goes skiiing on the vineyard slopes!

...and we go all Val d'Isere
LGM across the snow covered vineyards.

The Apres Ski club at La Grande Maison. The slopes of Arthenay provide the perfect backdrop for a little afternoon's light toboganning and all our friendly neighbours come in afterwards for steaming hot cups of tea and christmas cake.

Brrrrh.... but it's warmer than Canada!

2009-01-05T20:23:00.005+01:00

I've decided not to complain about the cold.

It's positively tropical out there right now compared to our friends in Canada who currently have a windchill of -41 oC.

We on the other hand have a mere scattering of snow but it's cosy and warm inside in front of the woodburner. So that is where we will stay until we re-surface on Thursday for our French classes and the AMAP Organic Market in Doue.

Brrrrh it's Freezing!

2009-01-04T11:51:00.007+01:00

It was -4 oC this morning and for all of you who are more used to seeing the vines in full growth then this is the frostier picture.

There is no stopping the dogs though and they still need their twice/thrice daily walk over the hill and down the track to the vineyards around Le Puy Notre Dame. Luckily they don't seem to mind the cold as much as we do.

This is a bit of a giveaway though. I think they really prefer it in front of the fire on a day like this and who can blame them?

HRH ands Wills 2009

Wine Quote of the Week from La Grande Maison and a New Years Resolution?

2009-01-03T11:55:00.005+01:00

"A woman drove me to drink,

and I never even had the courtesy to thank her."

W.C. Fields

Happy New Year from La Grande Maison

2009-01-01T11:50:00.003+01:00

Wishing all our family, friends, readers and guests a very Happy and Peaceful New Year 2009

To all our wonderful friends and wine lovers,

2008-12-18T12:28:00.019+01:00

HAVE A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR

Santa may be left out in the cold.....

.....but you'll always get a warm welcome with us at
La Grande Maison

Micaela and Sue wish you a fabulous festive season and look forward to seeing you again in the New Year. In the meantime remember that "If a life of wine, women and song becomes too much, give up the singing."

Joyeux Noël from La Grande Maison

Under the Hammer in Saumur

2008-12-16T16:15:00.014+01:00

Of course we only went along to the Hotel des Ventes to view the Fine Wine bidding. Didn’t we?

However once armed with paddle number 46 there was to be no stopping us. Viewing of the lots starts in the morning when everyone turns up with their price lists and eyes you suspiciously as you have a look at what is on offer. Then the doors are firmly locked, everyone goes away and lunches for 2 hours whilst slathering over the prospective lots. Doors re-open promptly at 2pm and the bidding commences. I think the man in the red coat must suspect me of espionage!

There were plenty of goodies on offer some of which went at very competitive prices. Including the Mouton Rothschild 1966 with a label by the artist Pierre Alechinsky and the Cos d’Estournel 1934 with a label that looked like it wouldn’t cling to the bottle for much longer.

We should of held out on the 6 Magnums of Chateau Latour 1959 at a reserve of 3,000 - 3,300 per bottle but we had to let them go to an anonymous phone bidder at 3,100 euros per bottle plus 19.6% tax! What a shame my birth year as well but thank goodness Sue took my paddle away.

Carried away with the adrenalin rush of bidding we did however end up with 12 bottles of Chateau Grande Puy Lacoste 1976, (could be a little old but worth a punt at 15 euros a bottle) a Chateau Carbonnieux 1979, a Gevrey Chambertin Le Bel Air 1985, all at what seemed like very reasonable prices until we realised they were without tax! Oh well 2005 was such an excellent year that the case of Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc couldn’t be missed either.
The excitement of opening a case that had been tightly nailed shut for 32 years was too much. Inside we found 73cl bottles with no indication of the percentage alcohol so we just had to try one. Once at room temperature we got out the best Riedel glasses and decanted the wine by candle light.
Our tasting notes go something as follows : Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste St Guirons 1976 5th Cru Bordeaux, 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Garnet with a brownish tint on rim. Initial nose of stewed fruit and a little woody on the nose. A huge mouthful, fruits of the forest and good length. Cedar, sagebrush and licorice root backed with vanilla but woody......a little old I guess but the complexity and structure was still there.
The cupboards will go bare this Christmas but at least we will have a well stocked cellar and it was brilliant fun to bid for, decant and then taste a little piece of oenophilic history all in one day.

Chocky Wocky Foie Gras

2008-12-12T12:35:00.017+01:00

From La Petite Maison in the tiny riverside hamlet of Treves (Loire Valley) you are only a stones throw away from St Hilaire St Florent where you will find the famous Sparkling Wine houses of Saumur. Bouvet Ladubay, Veuve Amiot, Langlois Chateau are all here. We popped into Ackerman’s not to taste the wine this time but to see the “Divine Chocolate” demonstration held deep in the tuffeau caves.

There was chocolate double dipped in chocolate, freshly made chocolate chantilly to taste on chocolate cookies, white chocolate decorations but our award had to go to the St Jaques served with a balsamic vinegar reduction on a tomato coulis with dark chocolate and the fois gras with chocolate noir and mango. Amazing sensations on the taste buds.

We were also surprised to find Ackerman Laurance producing a sparkling “Methode Traditionelle” called L’Origine using traditional sparkling wine corks secured in the bottle by cord and a wax seal. This is how they would have been bottled back in 1811. It’s 100% Chenin Blanc and no sugar is added at any stage during the production. A “fine bulles “ tasting of dried fruits with an aromatic persistance, golden in colour with a hint toasted brioche on the nose.
La Petit Maison is available for self catering stays and sleeps two. It is in the pretty village of Treves on the banks of the Loire which is dominated by the Tour de Treves and the romanesque church of St Aubin.

The Kitchen and Dining Room at La Petite Maison

The Bedroom and En-suite Bathroom at La Petite Maison

A little further down the river the christmas lights surround the church of Le Thoureil on the banks of the Loire.

JOYEUX NOEL 2008

Wine Quote of the Week from La Grande Maison

2008-12-08T19:11:00.003+01:00

"CE N'EST PAS LE VIN QUI ENIVRE. C'EST L'HOMME QUE S'ENIVRE"

CONFUCIUS

"IT'S NOT THE WINE THAT INTOXICATES. IT'S MAN THAT INTOXICATES HIMSELF"