Beauvais Wine (un) fair

Last weekend was the annual wine fair in Beauvais sur Matha, a small town in the Charente Maritime region of France about a 20min drive from our holiday properties. For the first time in a couple of years the weather was just right, sunny but not too hot. We have been going for around fifteen years although the fair itself has been going for 22.  We always head off fairly early, aiming to arrive for 10ish - the idea being that it is quieter and the producers are keen to chat and discuss the depth of their wines. By the afternoon and after having sold plenty and consumed their lunch of wine and cheese, they are tired and more occupied by the hundreds of people tasting their wines to be keen to talk. We tour around the town square tasting more than 50 + wines but also receiving tastings of Cognac, Champagne, cheese, bread, paté and snails, to name just a few of the hearty free portions of French produce there is on offer- you can understand why we are regular visitors.

So, is it a hard sell or a tourist trap ?   To find out everything about the Beavais wine fair and why it was so unfair visit our web site

Cagouilles Charentaise

Not long after we had arrived in France some 18 years ago we were invited round to our French friends home for dinner. It was Autumn and had been raining quite a bit more than was normal, so we were looking forward to a friendly meal around a log fire as the nights became longer and a good evening to practice our French. Our friends, Eric and Marie-Agnes Cartaud are local wine producers and own a number of hectares of vines. They had collected 'some' snails and were having a family meal, we were told we simply must attend so we could try the local dish. After receiving this extra information on what was being served for dinner, we wern't overly keen but to refuse would of been unthinkable, so we went along telling ourselves we could try one or two to be polite then we would enjoy the rest of the dinner.

The snail was introduced into France and the UK by the Romans as a food delicacy however it was the famine of 1816 that brought snails into the diet of the Charente Inferior (as the Charente Maritime was known as until 1945) on a regular basis as the main source of protein for the local population. As a traditionally agricultural and relatively poor region of France, when the crops failed the people had no choice but to find food where they could. Over time this one time necessity for eating snails has turned into a favoured meal that is enjoyed by all the family and turned into quite a celebration. The Charentaise people are even known as the 'Cagouille' by other French and we even have our own 'snail' themed folk group
  'Les Binuchards' .

We get a great climate here in the Charente Maritime, we don't get a huge rainfall and snails are easiest to find when they are crawling around in the damp vegetation after a rainstorm, so when it does rain, the snail baskets come out and whole families will take a walk along the lanes and through the vines to capture this delicacy as a good excuse for a family get together and great meal. We soon learnt that Vineyard snails are the best and most sort after, lucky for us our host owned dozens of hectares of vines.

There are numerous ways to prepare and cook snails. Each region has its own recipe and every family worth its salt has an individual family recipe going back generations. The garlic butter and parsley recipe is perhaps the best know way to eat snails outside of France, which is how we started our meal. We were given a small prong to hook the snail and then pull, and pull, until the snail body detached from the inner shell and sprung back into its curly shape. This is not what happens when you buy them from the supermarket ! They have been removed, trimmed, cleaned, cooked and put back into a pristine shell (sometimes not even the shell it came from if it wasn't attractive enough !) After getting over the 'cold and slimy' image we had in our minds, the experience of eating snails for the first time was really quite enjoyable. The taste is of what they have been marinated and cooked in, the texture that of a mushroom stalk, there really isn't anything to dislike; needless to say we tucked into our garlic butter snails and smiled as the French giggled at the 'English' eating snails.

                   The Petit gris snail is the most common one in this area but actually only contributes
                                                       to 2% off total snail consumption

The French 'experts' like to think they are the only people in the world who make wine, produce cheese and eat snails; unfortunately they are quite wrong and the English have been eating snails since Roman times if not earlier, it just never really caught on as much as it did in France; still you can find many a top chef preparing and serving snails in their restaurants and we certainly hadn't eaten them before, so it was another great 'French' experience that we were tucking under our belts after our move to the country.

We felt quite proud that we hadn't embarrassed our countrymen and had  held our own around the table and were looking forward to the rest of the meal - what next, perhaps a nice roast of pork with mogettes (dried white haricot beans cooked in a stock of carrot, lardons and onions) and a home grown 'salad' with one of Maries delicious vinagrettes; but no, out came la 'piece de résistance' a huge casserole pan of Cagouilles Charentaise cooked in red wine, tomatoe and pork mince. In fact this particular recipe was delicious and we tucked in, well I did, Wendy was not so keen on snails in general, but politely ate a good plateful. About half way through the meal, we found everyone counting each others empty shells. Apparently children must eat at least 30, ladies 50 and men at least 100! The French children had easily consumed their fill, not only gobbling up the snail flesh but draining the juice from the shells afterwards too. I don't think I made the 100 mark but we had eaten well and held our own and along with fresh bread, homegrown salad, apple tart made by the children earlier and all washed down with lots and lots of Erics Cartauds own wine, we had a fantastic evening and enjoyed a very special French family meal.

                                                 Eric and Marie-Agnes Cartaud and their girls

We like to think our participation and enjoyment of this very French and very Charentaise tradition played a part in our integration into this community; whether it did or didn't we certainly learnt a great deal about our hosts in our new home in France and how through food and wine and laughter we can all get along famously whatever our nationality or our language. After 18 years here in the Charente Maritime we are certainly part of the community, our boys speak fluent French with a Charentaise accent and our French is not too bad either. Our boys go out and collect snails for fun after a rainstorm but we don't keep them to eat, we leave that to the experts - the French.

Content by Chris Blakeman

The joy of yeast infections.... and Pinot noir.

If you have read my recent blog on my love affair with Bordeaux and Burgundy I left you with the choice of what to put in your cellar. It was either the difficult to find, expensive and fickle Burgundy's or the much more reliable and easier on the pocket Bordeaux's. My considered opinion was that with Burgundy, despite its huge variation in quality and inflated prices its principal red grape - Pinot Noir can deliver much more rewarding drinking in the short term; I have found most of my classed Bordeaux's are nowhere near ready to drink and may, if I'm lucky, just be ready to share with my now 11 year old when hes old enough to imbibe.

So, what should we put away in the very short term to enjoy ? Well I have recently fallen madly in love with a Pinot Noir from down under - no, not Oz, keep going and you will find another deep south outpost mostly known for its Sauvignon. The home of Sauvignon,  the Loire is only now just waking up to the world wide taste for fresh zingy well crafted wines of this ilk; they are not quite there yet but watch this space for modern Sauvignons from France. ( hopefully a few more of which I will discover at the 22nd Beauvais sur Matha wine festival on the 1st June )

The wine that has so charmed me is Coney Pizzicato Pinot Noir from the North Island New Zealand - not somewhere in the Otago but in Martinborough. This wine is one of the best Pinot noirs I have ever tasted and I've had more than my fair share as a wine judge for the IWC . How they get this young wine to express such maturity is a marvel of wine making; while retaining its classic Pinot perfume with  natural sweetness, it also has cherry/ violet notes, good weight with delightful umami; so much so, I think it has benefited from Brettanomyces  Once you have tried a wine with this so called 'yeast infection' you will be forever seeking it, out I know I do (something I had to explain carefully to my wife !). Sadly such epicurean delights don't come cheap as it sells for around £20 a bottle (Majestic) but I would rather have one bottle of this Pinot delight than a dozen insipid run of the mill Bourgogne reds in my wine rack .

Sadly I missed this vineyard when we visited Martinbrough Last spring, surprising, as Martinbrough is such a small place; the kind of charming rural town that shuts down on a Sunday night. Instead I spent my time drinking the famous Pinot noir from Ata Rangi - fantastic stuff but 3 times the price. Great ageing potential but I want to drink my Pinot now so its Coney for me thanks mate.

Now a quick update of the state of  UK Supermarket wine after my recent visit over Easter. Well wine lovers its more bad news. Since my last visit to the UK (October),  there are even more generic bland industrial wines on the shelves to fit the sub £10 bracket.  I don't think the supermarkets think we want interesting crafted wines anymore as they appear to of completely dropped these in favour of the bland factory wines that they can easily buy and sell at huge mark ups as long as its palatable and has the required alcohol content;  did you see the tv ad where a 'typical shopper' says " I don't care what it is I just like it " this should send a shiver down any wine lovers spine and just shows how a supermarket will lower its self to the lowest common denominator if we allow them to. So - demand more ! more taste, more diversity and better value for money .  Don't get me wrong I love British supermarkets, they are the best in the world, we just need to demand more from them when it comes to wine, don't let them leave it to the accountants who wouldn't know a good yeast infection if it hit them where it really hurts (and I don't mean their pockets !)

By Chris Blakeman

Botrytis

When I first started my wine career in the early 80's, we learnt about 'botrytis' which is basically a rot that can develop on grapes in certain micro climates. It dehydrates the grapes, sucking out the water but leaving the sugars behind which results in luscious and balanced dessert wine. The process is sometimes referred to as noble rot.

On our visit to the UK just before Christmas, I visited all the local Dorset wine merchants and found the few independant, traditional wine merchants to be doing well serving their local community with fine wine. However, to my alarm  I found the supermarkets (the big names) to have gone down the 'generic' route - where profit is more important than quality or variety. I was faced with row after row of  every  'Blossom Hill' (or equivalent) available in the world.   Don't get me wrong, Blossom Hill, Hardys and Lindemans have their place, but do we really want 15 different types of them with no other choice ? I certainly do not.

There are still some good national chains around such as Majestic wines and many towns are also lucky enough to have a traditional family owned wine merchant to supply their needs; however it seems to me that since the national off licence chains such as Threshers, Unwins, Wine rack etc  closed over 2500 shops in the last 3 years, the supermarket chains have realised their is no national competition and have gone totally down the profit only route. Now we see adverts for wine saying ''I don't care what it is but I like it''  I really hope that this is not a true reflection of what the British consumer thinks about wine.

The national chains have no one to blame but themselves for their demise as they tried to play the supermarkets at their own game. They alienated their true market of loyal wine loving customers by stacking high and selling profit led wines like Blossom Hill, rather than keeping the quirky, interesting stock that their clients wanted. Rather than competing by offering what the supermarkets couldn't, they tried to compete which just was not possible.

The present situation was all predicted over 20 years ago by the government think tank on future alcohol sales. When I worked for Grand Metropolitan (owners of Peter Dominic group) I was shown a report which predicted a £12 billion increase in the sale of alcoholic products in the next 15 to 20 years and supermarket chains gaining 98% of this increase  - not far off the mark at all !

There is hopefully light at the end of the tunnel. Waitrose and Marks and Spencers have won accolades for their wine range. It seems they have realised there is a gap in the market to fill, after all the likes of me still want to be able to buy a Coteaux du Layon (a botrytis affected wine) from a small producer in the Loire, because for me wine is a passion and an interest and I do 'care what it is' and where it came from.

The whole market seems to be in a state of flux and I can only hope that the supermarkets will see the error of their ways and that this 'rot' that has infiltrated the industry turns into something good in the end.

By Chris Blakeman (origially published Feb 2011)

By Chris Blakeman

Andrés restaurant, La Rochelle

When visiting La Rochelle our families just have to have lunch at Andrés. Located at the foot of the towers in the old port of La Rochelle, the maritime atmosphere of the Bar André welcomes you all year round not just in the summer like some of the other restaurants. You can rest assured the staff are experienced and the food extremely fresh and well prepared. 

An institution since 1947,  Andrés is an unmissable restaurant packed with regular customers and those passing through. The spacious dining rooms with their varied maritime décor and terrace overlooking the port create a space which is entirely unique. The chef and his team specialise in 'fruits de mer' platters, oysters and seafood.

It is our own personal favourite when visiting La Rochelle. The boys love sitting in the 'back' room next to aquarium of lobsters and crabs in winter and then in summer we always choose a terrace table in view of the anchor especially when we are eating with friends and are planning a long leisurely lunch - we let the boys run over and play on the anchor in between courses. The staff are fantastic with the children and will happily bring an extra bowl so they can taste some of my huge terrine of fish soup. 

For the childrens menu, pick the fish - its a beautifully cooked and prepared piece of fish with a delicious sauce, although Thomas' favourite are the moules (they do do a ham and chips for the less adventurous children too though, so mum and dad don't have to miss out on their seafood extravaganza !) If you don't have the time to spend too munch your way through a seafood platter, they do a fantastic 17 € three course menu at lunch times, which is great value and just as delicious.

By Chris Blakeman (originally published Oct 2010)

By Chris Blakeman

La Goule Beneze restaurant, St Jean d'Angely

Wendy and I love eating out and since having our boys we have a goal of taking them to a Michelin starred restaurant preferably before they reach adulthood (and for them to enjoy it !) To reach this goal takes time and training, at 9 and 6 they still arn’t quite ready – the only reason being we don’t think they would quite appreciate the food just yet; still we arn’t far off.

We spent an absolutely wonderful evening at La Goule Beneze last summer with our two boys, Benjamin then 8 and Thomas then just 5 years old. It was our 18th wedding anniversary and we couldn’t think of anything more lovely than having a very grown up meal with our two beautiful boys. They enjoyed ‘dressing up’ in their ‘party shirts’ and Daddys aftershave and Cathy and Dominique, owners of La Goule Beneze hotel and restaurant welcomed us as always with their warm smiles. The boys were on their best behaviour and were full of grown up conversation, it was a wonderful reward for the years of ‘training’ and occasional embarrassing meltdowns we have had in getting our boys to enjoy and appreciate as much as we do, eating out in great restaurants.

La Goule Beneze is a small family owned restaurant and hotel on the edge of St Jean d’Angely, so just a 10 minute drive from our child friendly gites .  Being an hotel  it is obliged to offer a childrens menu yet the owners have excelled themselves and offer a superb ‘grown up’ menu of paté or crudites to start followed by fresh fish in a delicious sauce or homemade meat patty and tiny vegetables turned to perfection all in child sized portions followed of course by a delicious dessert and all at an excellent price (7€50).

The adult menu is delicious too. There are a variety of different set price ‘menus’ to choose from starting at 16€50 and rising to 36€50 and the a la carte too but as always in French restaurants the ‘menus’ offer the best value. We have eaten at this restaurant many times and both the service and food have never been less than exceptional and their pear profiteroles in butterscotch sauce is to die for !

The restaurant is small and intimate; crisp white linen table clothes, crystal glasses and soft music may not be everyones idea of a child friendly restaurant but I can guarantee Cathy and Dominique will welcome you and your children with a warm friendly smile which makes it one of our personal favourites for a ‘grown up’ meal both with and without our boys.

By Chris Blakeman (originally published March 2012)

By Chris Blakeman

Christmas wines

Festive drinks -

Sparkling:

I have always been a fan of English wines even  though they have rarely lived up to my expectations. We recently tried a bottle of  Nyetimber English sparkling wine  which was the perfect Christmas aperitif. A mixture of fine bubbles,  flavourful elderflower and fresh sherbet gave a light refreshing perfect pre lunch drink. If you have never tried English wine this is the one to start with. To compare it to Champagne is unfair on the champenoise as it is utterly unique in its style and flavour. You may think it a little expensive at around £30 a bottle but you’ll be hard pressed to find a champagne at that price level any better.

Sherry :

Another ideal pre dinner drink is a dry sherry. Tio pepe brand is a good one to start with and easy to find in the shops, it is very high quality and can be bought for around the £9 mark. Other dry sherries to look out for are the Manzanilla style sherries which have a salty tang from being matured in close proximity to the sea. Sherry these days is some what unpopular in Britain and prices are low when considering the quality, however in Spain, dry sherries couldn’t be more fashionable so take advantage of the keen prices in the uk, you won’t be disappointed. Just remember to serve cold.

White wine:

The vintage of 2010 in Burgundy was excellent, but don’t spend too much (over £20) as the higher priced wines won’t be ready to drink yet. By spending between £10 – £18 on a 2010 Burgundy you’ll get a superb Chardonnay with buttery notes and gentle oak flavours. For my Christmas lunch, we’ll be drinking the best New Zealand Sauvignon I can find, no need to break the bank with Cloudy Bay, it is divine but vastly overpriced – Oyster Bay and Villa Maria are favourites in our house. Spend between £7 – £10 on a 2010 or 2011 (no older) New Zealand Sauvignon for  goosberry and citrus notes with a vibrant acidity.

Red Wine:

For many people the New world is the popular choice for reds due to the easy to understand labels but if you fancy a change here’s a foolproof way of choosing a French red to go with Christmas lunch and stun your friends and family. Many of you will know that Burgundy is one of my favourites but it is a fickle mistress so to be sure of an excellent bottle to go with our turkey or duck we need to go to Bordeaux. Seek out the 2005 and 2006 vintages from St Julien, St Estephe or Pauillac .  Spend between £10 and £20 and at that price level, these wines are drinking beautifully right now. In the £7 to £12 bracket you may find some 2009 from Bordeaux which are also drinking nicely too (whereas generally a £20 2009 wouldn’t be drinking until 2015)

Don’t forget to look out for reduced wines in the quality or ‘finest’ range section as these will of been reduced because they are drinking perfectly now, not because they are past their best.

Dessert wine:

Why not try a demi sec champagne such as Pol Roger which will provide a palate lifting zing for the rich pud or match it with a Palo Cortado sherry which has dry nutty tastes.

On a separate note some friends of ours learnt a valuable lesson recently. 30 years ago they won a ‘bottle of wine’ in a bet; they put it away and forgot about it. After a recent clear out they brought it out, then with Christmas coming up thought they would ask my advice as to whether it was still ‘ok to drink’. I asked what the wine was – a  Magnum of 1981 Krug champagne which would of cost around at least £150 then, now a magnum of  nonvintage Krug retails at around £300.  A magnum of 1981 which had been kept in perfect conditions would retail at around £800; this however had been kept upright in a wardrobe in the bedroom   after giving them a severe telling off for not having drunk it 20 years ago they decided to open it and share it with us. So on Wednesday afternoon we had some Christmas cake, mince pies and opened a magnum of Krug.  The cork had dried out considerably but there was still some fiz and some beautifully tiny bubbles and reasonable stringing, although this did fade and there was no mousse as would be expected on such an old champagne; the colour was amber a sign of its age due to some oxidisation and the taste – well, it really should of been drunk a long time ago but it had retained pleasant rounded acidity  - a sign of its quality,  nutty and rich – we finished the lot and had a very pleasant afternoon. Would I of paid £800 for it – definitely no, it was a grand lady who had seen better days, but it still gave us  a wine tasting thrill. The lesson in the story is l

ife is for living and don’t put things off for too long !

Whatever you choose to drink on Christmas day, have a wonderful time. Merry Christmas.

By Chris Blakeman (originally published December 2012)

By Chris Blakeman