AMATEUR ADVENTURES ON THE WINE ROUTE

So our first adventure was to the Loire Valley, to the areas of Nicolas de Bourgueil, Bourgueil, Chinon and Savennieres. These areas of the Loire Valley are probably less known than the areas of Pouilly-Fume, Sancerre and Vouvray.

We stayed in a cute little Chambres d’Hotes (which is like a guest house) in Rigny-Usse, in a lovely little stone building. Our hosts, and elderly couple, were so lovely and accommodating. The accommodation was gorgeous and breakfasts they provided were fantastic – each morning 4 or 5 different breads (that the lady had made herself) as well as home made jams and locally made apple juice. So charming.

But anyway, back to the wine. We really knew nothing about these areas of the Loire and had no idea how expansive the Loire Valley is – we only covered a very minute portion. However, now we know a little more about the region, but there is so much more to learn. The main grape variety for red wine in the areas we visited is Cabernet Franc. When made badly it tastes like alcoholic Ribena with a splash of phemaldehyde. But when it’s good, it’s spicy and peppery, with ripe blackcurrant and cherry and a little aniseed, and with a light palate weight. If well made these wines age beautifully, most are ready for drinking within a few years.

Savennieres is a beautiful area, cute little town with some amazing chateaux. We visited the Clos de la Coulee de Serrant to taste Nicolas Joly’s biodynamic Savennieres. Firstly their chateau is amazing, and secondly, so is their wine. Two friends of ours in Australia had introduced us to Savennieres and we fell in love with it. Savennieres produces extremely minerally, long-lived white wines from Chenin Blanc grapes, and all producers are biodynamic. Nicolas Joly’s wines are fantastic; we only wish that we could bring more back to Australia.

Ahh, Bourgogne. We had really been hanging out to visit Bourgogne – we love Pinor Noir and Chardonnay, and here you will find the best (and the biggest prices!). Buuut, it is not easy. Understanding all the wines of Bourgogne from all the different producers and areas is very complicated, and we are only just beginning to grasp it.

We arrived during the middle of harvest, so the chance of tasting some wines from small producers at their vineyard was pretty much zero. We were lucky enough to stumble across some great caves (bottle shops) that provided tastings of some wines from the area. The one most of note was a small shop we found in Puligny-Montrachet, run by a young passionate guy who took us through a tasting of some Mersault and Puligny-Montrachet. We ended up hanging around with him for about 2 hours, as when he realised our level of interest in the wines, he kept bringing out more wines for us to try. He was a really interesting guy with fantastic knowledge of Bourgogne, and from just sitting there with him and trying different wines and talking about the areas we really learnt a lot. He even called "nu nu" (short for arnaud ), a young winemaker to come on down for a drink and try some of his Puligny - Montrachet. He's only been making wine for 2 years, prior to that he was helping his father grow fruit for wine makers. His father died suddenly and he was left with a vineyard and a shitload of responsibility. Apparently he's in the vineyard 7 days a week, day and night and you can taste it in the wine. he's definitely one to watch!

The area of Bourgogne is quite pretty, especially during autumn with all the different coloured leaves. It is great driving through all the small towns (which are really cute) and along the small roads next to the walled vineyards. Just driving around one begins to get a bit of an understanding of how complex this area of wine making is. Vineyards here are passed down through each generation, and are divided up according to how many children it is shared amongst each time it is passed on. So some producers have extremely small plots, and it is amazing to think that two producers whose vineyards are in the same parcelle make two totally different wines. The French talk about terroir in relation to wine, but in Bourgogne, it is really more than that.

THE CITY OF LIGHTS

We had a good time in Paris, but we also felt a little under whelmed initially. We hit the ground running once we arrived with so many things on our list to see, eat and drink. However, after the first few days we realised that the restaurant and bistro food that we were eating was much the same place to place. Although we love foie gras, terrine, pate, rillettes and slow braised meat, we felt “bistro-ed out’ after our first few meals. To us Paris did not have the same vibrancy, innovation, lightness and variety in food that we found in Spain and Japan. However, we found great enjoyment in the variety of French cheese and wine at our disposal. Also, we were staying with friends, which meant we had somewhere to cook, so we made the most of the produce available at the markets around Paris.

One thing that Paris definitely did for us was to contribute greatly to our expanding waistlines. Here are a few of our favourite experiences that assisted in doing so:

Racines – a "cave a manger" (this is a wine shop that sells wine to take away, but you can also have something to eat and drink there) selling all natural wines, which really challenge the palate and the mind. The meals are simple and delicious using high quality ingredients. One of the highlights of eating here is siting down to a very generous serve of Lardo di Colonnata. Oh yeah, and if you want a good espresso in Paris, this is the only place to go.

La Cremerie – another "cave a manger" selling only natural wines. The building used to be an old dairy, and many of the original features, including the marble benches and walls, and hand-painted silk-lined ceiling still remain. Here you can enjoy a plate of saucisson, and the highlight for us was the very generous serving (could probably serve 6 people, but we managed to eat it all without too much trouble) of burrata (an amazing cows milk mozzarella, enriched with cream).

Le Verre Vole – this cave a manger is also selling natural wines (seems to be the big theme in Paris currently). The menu is a meat-fest, including foie gras, terrine, boudin noir and andouillette (intestines stuffed in intestines….mentally challenging, but tasty).

Pierre Herme – if you want to taste the perfect macaroon or the most perfect cake, you must come to Pierre Herme. Everything he makes looks like a piece of art and everything we tasted was incredible. We went back here 3 times – I think that says it all!

Spring – is a cute little 16-seat restaurant, which does a set menu, changing daily. We enjoyed this place more for the concept than the food. The entrée of escargot and foie gras ravioli in a broth with fresh radish and carrot was lovely. The main course of lamb with celeriac puree and eggplant was nice. But the dessert of baked apple was appalling. However, we did enjoy ourselves, as the service was very attentive and professional, but relaxed and we drank a lovely bottle of 2000 Corbieres.

By far the best thing for us in Paris was staying with friends – we felt like we were really living in Paris. And it also gave us the opportunity to go to the markets and buy local produce (Luke went particularly crazy for the wild mushrooms – girolles, trompets, pied de mouton, chanterelle and ceps), local meats such as wild shot duck and guinea fowl and cheeses from small producers. It has been fantastic to see the variety of cheeses available and to taste the difference between the industrial French cheeses that we get in Australia and the artisinal cheeses made from raw milk that are so abundant in France. Although we are a little cheesed out at the moment (due to over indulgence) it is one thing that we will definitely miss once we return home.

PINTXO BAR HOPPING IN SAN SEBASTIAN

This is the thing to do in San Sebastian. Pintxos started out as a small snack before dinner, with bars lining up their offering along the counter. Now bars have a more substantial offering with blackboard menus as well, and you can make a whole night of going to various bars and having a small taste at each. Some might call it carnage, some might call it fun, but whichever way you look at it, it is definitely an experience. These small bars are packed to the rafters, and it is every man for himself. You really have to muscle your way in to get served (not so easy when you have limited Spanish, but Luke did a great job), and how they keep track of what food goes where, I don’t really know. And the bills are worked out on an honesty system of you telling the staff what you ate and drank – too bad (for them) if you’d had a bit too much to drink!

What we enjoyed the most:
La Chuchara de San Telmo – everything we ate here was fantastic, from the grilled octopus with salted cabbage, to the Iberico pork ribs glazed with balsamic and honey, to the seared foie gras with apple.

El Lagar – for the amontillado sherry and the fried egg served with ratatouille and morcilla.

Bar Ganbara – for the sautéed wild mushrooms and the bacalao croquetta.

Patio de Ramuntxo – try the razor clams and a nice glass of Manzanilla sherry.