Wine tourism · 02. January 2024

Auvergne is an area we don't necessarily think about when it comes to wine. However, there is a small vineyard in the Forez region, in the south of the Loire department: 150 hectares are planted at the foot of the Forez mountains, northwest of Saint Étienne, and allow the production of red wines under AOC Côtes du Forez. Although I didn't really fall in love with the vineyard landscapes of that area, the wines are really worth trying. Here is why.

Wine and food · 08. September 2021

Autumn is back, and with it, the harvest season - grapes of course, but apples as well! This is the time to taste and bake a Loire Valley dessert: the winemaker's tart, originally from Chinon, is a light and crispy apple pie covered with wine jelly. I regularly serve it during the wine tastings and the picnics I organise in the vineyards. You will find it in many bakeries and pastry shops in Touraine.

Wine and food · 24. November 2020

The end of year is near, and the cool temperatures of winter are setting in. What better way to comfort ourselves than with the sweet flavors of gingerbread? I tested a recipe by French chef Julie Andrieu and was very happy with the result: the gingerbread was not too sweet and each of the spices used in the recipe can be identified when tasting the gingerbread, which is very soft, due to some sweet wine used to soak the cake after baking it. Here is the full recipe. Enjoy!!