Bordeaux & St Emilion, France - Greedy Diva's Gluttonous Travels

Caneles de Bordeaux at Restaurant Le Saint-James

These, my friends, are caneles and they became my addiction in Bordeaux.

Well, when you start quaffing wines at 11am each day, you need a little something to keep you on the straight and narrow. So these little gooey, vanilla-y, custardy cake things became a daily necessity. 

Vineyards outside Saint Emilion

OK, so this blog post is a little long in the tooth. We were in Bordeaux in November. I'm not going to explain myself other than to say "major wedmin". But on with the show...

I was surprised by how beautiful Bordeaux is - since the grand classical and neoclassical facades were polished up to a gleaming white, it has the beguiling beauty of Paris with lots of great shopping and restaurants to boot.

However, we stayed near Saint Emilion - which is a stunning little village full of wine shops, cafes and a maze of stone buildings nestled among the golden vines of the Bordeaux grapes. I highly recommend it as your base.

St Emilion

Our fabulous new B&B, Carre Vigne, in Saint-Hippolyte (just a few minutes drive from Saint Emilion - www.carrevigne.com)  was a spacious and stylish home away from home, established as a separate quarters at the back of the welcoming house of the gorgeous Emmanuelle and Bruno. 

Our gorgeous room at Carre Vigne

Emmanuelle is the greatest host. Such a warm and welcoming person, she takes a genuine interest in your travels and, partly owing to her job with the local tourist office, can offer fabulous restaurant tips - we loved all of them. Bruno works at the local Maison du Vin in Saint Emilion, so you need look no further for winery tips either.

Carre Vigne

Emmanuelle delivers a fresh continental breakfast to your room each morning (or take it on your own little private decking overlooking the vines in summer). The room is smartly furnished, with all the comforts you could want, including comfy beds, crisp linens, flat screen TV, free WiFi, coffee machine and a lovely modern bathroom with a large shower and big shower head.

Fine dining at Restaurant Le Saint-James - the lamb

For some modern fine dining, don't miss Restaurant Le Saint-James near Bouliac. We loved our set price lunch by Michelin star chef, Michel Portos, in the bright and sunny room with panoramic views overlooking the vines. Check out the sample of photos - the food tastes as good as it looks:

I love the canale shaped sugar cubes

For something more casual and rustic in St Emilion itself, we had a ball at L'Envers Du Decor, a terrific little wine bar, where you can sample lots of local wines by the glass or the bottle at very reasonable prices, while feasting on some excellent plates of lamb or steak.

Steak at L'Envers Du Decor

Definitely venture into Bordeaux for some of the most gorgeous chocolate shops and delis I've ever seen, some great shopping, and loads of good restaurants.

2 of my favourite things combined - chocolate shoes

 A chocolate an macaron palate

Also not to be missed in Bordeaux is the huge, colourful Des Capucins food market, where you can pull up a seat at a stall and feast on huge plates of local Arcachon Bay oysters over a refreshing wine.

Bordeaux is filled with lots of great cafes and restaurants

We also loved the wine tasting at Max Bordeaux in Bordeaux, where you can pay $20 or more for a tasting card which you slot into dispensing machines to sample wines from all parts of the region including tastes of some of the most expensive grand crus.

Tasting at Max ___

For $10, we were taken on an excellent tour of Chateau Figeac just outside St Emilon, and given a taste of the 2006 Grand Cru at the end.

Chateau Figeac

In the cellar

For exquisite food (albeit in modest surrounds), Auberge Saint Jean is surely on its way to a Michelin Star. Sit overlooking the river in Blaignac, a short drive from Saint Emilion, and enjoy 3 creative courses for 38 euro or the 5 course degustation for 48 euros. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera but check out the website for some great food snaps. Very nice (if slightly less memorable) fare can also be had at Le Clos de Roy, near Saint-Emilion.

Chicken at Le Clos de Roy, near Saint Emilion

Duck with cherries at Le Clos de Roy, near St Emilion

As a day trip, I also recommend a drive to the pretty Sauternes region where you can taste the good stuff in all its sticky, golden glory. The Cognac and Armagnac regions are also nearby.

It may have taken me a while to blog about it, but our stay at Carre Vigne and the Bordeaux region would have to be one of the best parts of our trip.  The area is stunning, the wine is tremendous and the food was some of the best of our travels. If you live in London, or find yourself heading to France, do all you can to pay this area a visit. Since I'm now in Australia, I'll have to make do with my holiday snaps for the time being...

Where to stay:

CARRÉ VIGNE,  6 Pailhas, 33330 SAINT - HIPPOLYTE

GPS : N°44 52 0132; W 0°07.277
44° 52\' 2\'\'N, 0° 7\' 16

Tél.: 06 01 39 47 07
E-mail : contact@carrevigne.com
Web : www.carrevigne.com

Lyon & the Beaujolais, France - Gluttonous Travels (The wine trails, stop 3)

The market at Villefranche-sur-Soane

Our whistle stop tour of the wine regions of Italy and France would not have been complete without a soujourn in proximity to France’s oft cited “gastronomic capital”, Lyon.

Charcuterie at L'Epicerie

Just north of Lyon, the Beaujolais countryside is a pretty patchwork of amber and red vines, green woodlands, rivers, lakes and windy trails of neat, sandstone villages and grand chateaux. It has a totally different character to the high, rolling hills of Piedmont and the crumbling stone walls we would later discover in Bordeaux. The call of the famous Lyonnaise bouchons, cheese, charcuterie and Bresse chickens beckoned.

Where to eat:

The cheese platter at L'Epicerie

Our favourite traditional bouchon was L’Epicerie (recommended by our hosts) in the nearby town of Villefranche-sur-Soane. An easy going, lovely pot of Beaujolais Village will set you back a whole €4 as you soak up the character and charm of the bouchon, with its wooden décor, a clutter of pictures and posters on the walls and a menu filled with piggy and other meaty delights from charcuterie to boudin noir, to huge chickens and andouillette, to layer upon layer of cheesy gratin, quenelles and oozy cheeses.

Quenelles at L'Epicerie

As we explored the villages, we stopped for massive salad – a whole lettuce with bacon, poached egg and crispy croutons at Du Bouchon Beaujolais in Vaux-on-Beaujolais. The atmosphere is odd – dimly lit with music clips blaring from a TV screen in the corner – but the big plates of hearty, traditional fare are good.

Massive salad at Du Bouchon Beaujolais

We also tried Michelin Star chef George Blancs’s casual restaurant, Embarcadere, in Jassans Riottiere. Service is as you would expect in a fine dining establishment, but our food was disappointing – my beef was chewy and lacking in flavour (not a patch on the steaks we’d had at the agriturismo Ulivi in Italy a few days earlier) and despite packing some good flavour, for its hefty price tag TPG’s Bresse chicken breast was tiny compared to the size of the Bresse chickens we’d seen at the local market earlier that day, and compared to the fabulous meaty chickens of at least equal quality we’d already sampled for far less money on the trip. We could have eaten better for less elsewhere. Don’t bother with this one.

Exploring at the colourful markets

By the time we reached Lyon, we were almost all sausaged out but if you do want to eat in a bouchon there book well in advance and you might like to try Le Garet and Le Café Federations (recommended by Eat Like a Girl), Chez Georges, the huge Brasserie Georges, 2* Le Bec or L'Ourson Qui Boit. But in the end we stumbled fatefully across the fabulous little Bistro Au Bon Temps – which just hit the spot. Cosy, poky and charming, it was the perfect setting for our post shopping recuperation over a calamari and tomato salad, an endive salad, TPG's creamy chicken and my braised duck and lentils, finished off with an oozy St Marcellin cheese.

Duck at Bistro Au Bon Temps

Another good stop is the large Saturday morning market at Villefranche-sur-Soane where you can pick up local cheeses, charcuterie and baked items, while browsing the rows of giant, colourful vegetables, Bresse Chickens, ducks and other temptations.

This is clearly not an area to diet (although I did manage a run through the vines one morning, inspired by the hordes training for the local marathon). A lovely area to visit – and you might like to time your trip with the Beaujolais Nouveau festival, for the first release of wines in mid November each year.

Where to stay:

The welcoming view of Chateau de Longsard

We arrived after the long drive (and several painful road tolls) from Barolo, carving our way through the stunning French Alps, to the welcome and impressive sight of Chateau de Longsard, just outside Villefranche-sur-Soane.

Our spacious room with views over the gardens

Owned by the Count and Countess Olivier du Mesnil du Buisson, the chateau has a long history, dating from the 16^th century. There are 3 spacious rooms like ours in the main chateau, although with the restored coachhouse, the property sleeps 36. The grounds are beautiful – I felt very Pride & Prej as I kicked back with a book by the window overlooking the French gardens with manicured box hedges, leading onto English style country gardens then onto the vineyards beyond. You can also take a turn around the property, past 250 year old cedars, lime tree alleys and an Egyptian obelisk given to previous owners in 1892.

The view from my armchair 

Our room fast became my happy place, with its soaring ceilings, ornate fire place, comfy armchairs, beautiful views, 4 poster bed, gorgeous white bathroom (complete with spacious bathtub) and a mixture of antique and modern furnishings.

Beautiful, old dictionaries

After waking from a replenishing sleep under the 18^th century wooden beams, our hosts, the Count and Countess – Olivier and Alex - had prepared a scrumptious breakfast of fresh croissants and bread, fruit, Alex’s lovely home made jams, cereals, yoghurt, local hams and cheeses, OJ and a hot pot of coffee timed for our wake up. Although they have lived in the area for 20 years, Alex and Olivier are well travelled and relics from their many years abroad add interest and character to the traditional chateau.

The breakfast room

Antiques and relics from abroad,
by the fire in the drawing room

This is a really special place to stay, with its own small winery, and not only is it just 20 minutes from the bouchons of Lyon, but it’s right in the middle of the sleepy Beaujolais villages where your food and wine explorations can begin.

To get there:

We drove cross country, but you could fly or take the train from Lyon and then take the short drive to Chateau de Longsard and the Beaujolais villages from there.

Chateau de Longsard, 4060 route de Longsard, 69400 Arnas, Tel: (33) 474 655 512, www.longsard.com

Greedy Diva was a guest of Chateau de Longsard. Rates start at €130 per night, including breakfast.

Burgundy - Greedy Diva's Gluttonous Travels

When I told my French boss I was going to "Burgundy" over Easter, she stared at me blankly. Even worse (for both career and my French expertise) that when I adopted my best French accent to explain I meant "Bourgogne", she looked even more baffled. Then, I spelled it out - at which point she exclaimed "Oh, Bourgogne!". It sounded to me like exactly what I had just said, but apparently not. Fortunately, in Burgundy, if you know how to hold out your glass for more wine, you'll get along just famously, no matter how bad your French pronunciation.

TPG and I recently spent a week in Burgundy, including 2 luxurious nights at the Abbaye de le Bussiere (see earlier post). My memories of Burgundy will always be inextricably etched to the wine, the food and the beautiful green scenery. It's a stunning place to visit, and so easy - take the train from London via Paris to Dijon, hire a car, and you can mooch around the well sign posted winery trails with little or no planning, being guided by signs for towns you'll recognise from your favourite wine bottles - think "Meursault", "Ladoix" and "Beaune". It's a wine lover's paradise.

Burgundy is one of France's biggest and most famous wine producing regions. My favourite wines are Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs - which means you've hit the jackpot if you happen to share the same predilection and find yourself in Burgundy. The wine region includes not only the fabulous Cote-dO'r wines, but also those of Beaujolais, Chablis, Cote Chalonnaise and Macon.

Food wise, beef bourguignon, coq au vin (the famous Bresse chickens are locals here), steak (Charolais beef), foie gras and magnificent cheeses (such as the Epoisses made by local monks) feature heavily on the menus. This is not a place to diet. Burgundy is a place to indulge in multiple course meals for lunch and dinner, and it would be a mortal sin not to have the old cheese trolley rolled out on both occassions. You might be craving lettuce leaves after a few days, but you'll struggle to find a cafe or somewhere for a light salad outside of the main cities like Beaune or Dijon - and don't even think about eating lunch outside of the 12-2pm time slot in the tiny villages.

Steak tartare in Dijon

There are many fantastic options for wine tasting, including cellars and caves offering degustations scattered all over the villages and wine trails. We visited many. My absolute favourite was a tasting at Maison Louis Jadot in Beaune where we were lucky enough to meet up with The London Foodie and Dr G to be guided through a wonderful 3 hour tasting by passionate General Manager, Dominique Mounier. Dominique walked us through what can often seem like a complex classification system of burgundy wines, before we hit Louis Jadot's cellars to taste many magnificent wines - including some straight from the barrel (a first for me). Louis Jadot takes grapes from vineyards all around Burgundy and its wines range from the inexpensive and easy drinking to the complex and fabulous. In fact, if you want to learn about the wine region, the wine notes on Louis Jadot's website are a good place to start.

Tasting from the barrels at Louis Jadot

Another favourite was a wine tasting accompanied by food at La Table d'Olivier Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet. For 40 Euros, you will taste from 13 different red and white wines from around the region - including from St Aubin, Rully, Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursalt, Volnay and Pommard. For a 10 Euro supplement (which is well worthwhile), you'll also be given some fantastic grand crus. Wines are "matched" (although I use the term loosely) to a basic, rustic meal. The food is not the highlight - the wine holds that mantle, but after some cheesey gruyeres (a staple in the region), we were given a tuna and vegetable terrine with smoked salmon, baked chicken in a tarragon sauce, a selection of local cheeses and chocolate mousse, all of which was perfectly nice (but not a patch on some of the gastronomic highlights you'll find in Beaune).

La Table d'Olivier Leflave

In Burgundy, you can find wonderful, fine dining or hearty, rustic fare. Lunch at Loiseau des Vignes, the Michelin star restaurant of Bernard Loiseau in Beaune, was a highlight. We sat by the window overlooking the elegant tables in the pretty garden as sun streamed in through the window. Service was unstuffy and friendly, the wine extraordinary (it's hard to go wrong) and the food was fabulous. For 30 Euros, our "market lunch" menu included cheesy gruyeres, salmon delicately poached and served in a creamy froth, followed by rich, juicy lamb braised with tomato and rosemary. Three local cheeses were then served before an insanely good dessert - chocolate mousse with meringue, chocolate sauce and little chocolate balls. It was one of the best desserts of all time.

Another high end favourites was Le Pre aux Clercs in Dijon. The 50 Euro set 4 course dinner menu at this fabulous Michelin Star restaurant is great value. The food is refined and delicious, service is excellent and the sommelier gave us terrific wine suggestions.

Terrine of asparagus and vegetables

Pike dumpling in crayfish soup

Saddle of stuffed rabbit, carrots, caramalised turnips, mashed potato

Fillet of sea bream with sauce of foie gras, oyster and egg

The gorgeous Fabrice Gillott chocolate shop is another one to look out for in Dijon. Think  sesame caramel chocolate bars, cassis macarons and hazelnut spreads. The range is exquisite - we sampled lots just for you (21, rue du Bourg, Dijon).

Even without the wonderful food and wine options, Burgundy is a beautiful place to visit. The fact that you can completely indulge your inner gourmand while you're there is a just the icing on the cake.

Mercurey

We travelled to Dijon (via Paris) on the Eurostar - and spent a day frolicking about Paris on the way home. Fares are approximately £180 return.  While in Burgundy, we stayed for part of our trip the beautiful Abbaye de la Bussiere which I reviewed earlier.