2nd Salon des Vignerons et du Terroir, Saint-Jean-le-Blanc

This weekend (Friday 24th - Sunday 26th October at Saint-Jean-le-Blanc, suburb of Orléans the 2nd Salon des Vignerons et du Terroir 

Salle Montission 

Réservez dès maintenant votre week-end pour venir au 2ème salon des Vignerons et du terroir. 

Vendredi 24, samedi 25 et dimanche 26 octobre 2014. 

+ de 50 exposants vous proposeront de déguster leurs productions.

Entrée 4€ + 1 verre à dégustation gratuit

Horaires d’ouverture:

Vendredi 24 octobre de 17h à 22h,

Samedi 25 octobre de 10h à 19h
& Dimanche 26 octobre de 10h à 18h

Salle des fêtes de Montission Avenue Jacques Douffiagues

45650 St Jean Le Blanc (Orléans Sud)

Salon au profit des œuvres sociales du Lions Club Orléans Mondial. 

Vignerons from around France will be present. These are the ones from the Loire:

Domaine de la Belle Angevine (49750)

Domaine DAVID (44330)

CLOS des QUARTERONS, Amirault vignerons (37140)

Domaine FLAMAND DELETANG (37270)

POUPAT et Fils (45250)

Domaine MAIMBRAY (18300)

SOURDAIS Pierre EARL (37500)

Vignoble TEVENOT EARL (41120)

La CHAGNAT (18120)

Domaine Julien THUREL (45450)

Éric et Laurie MALLET (45430)

Les vignerons de la Grand'Maison (45370)

Domaine de la Grand Taille (37210)

Domaine de la LOGE (58150)

+

Chocolaterie Max Vauché (45000)

Loire ride for young cancer sufferers: Day 4 Nevers to Sancerre

Threatening storm clouds around Sancerre

After Day 4 of my ride we are now in Sancerre, so just over halfway down the Loire. The mid-point comes at the bridge across the river at Pouilly-sur-Loire. I included a shorter ride day, so we would have a chance to look at the vines. Apparently a few vines have been picked but the main harvest is due to start from the middle of next week. 

After a glorious start to September the weather has become decidedly unsettled from Wednesday – probably my fault for starting the ride that day. Currently it is stormy and humid. Hopefully the weather will soon take a turn for the better. Certainly the forecast shows that tomorrow there will just be a few showers with no thunder storms forecast unlike tonight. Then Monday and Tuesday it should be sunny with a wind from the north east to dry the grapes. On a very quick look around today (should stress that it was a quick visit) the grapes largely looked healthy but there is a little bit of rot about which would become a concern if the humid, stormy weather was to continue.

 Pinot Noir with a small touch of rot – 

entirely manageable if the weather improves

and the producer uses a sorting table or has good pickers

 2014 Sancerre ripening Sauvignon

Tomorrow I head north to Orléans and then west to Beaugency. To date we have raised £726 for Teenage Cancer Trust and 555€ for Fondation Gustave Roussy. Huge thanks to all who have generously donated so far.

It would be great to raise a lot more for this really important cause – if lots of readers of Jim's Loire donated just 5€ each or £5 it would mount up rapidly and make such a difference! Retweets and Facebook likes are great, but a small donation would be even better and would benefit young cancer sufferers.

Here's how you can donate:

For Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK: 
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JimBudd
For Fondation Gustave Roussy in France: 
https://igr.friendraising.eu/jim.budd
With anticipated thanks.

Loire dates for your diary: Forêt des Livres + Festival de Loire (Orléans)

The annual book festival La Forêt des Livres at Chanceaux-près-Loches will be held on Sunday 25 August. It will be the 18th edition.  

 

Touraine des Ecrivains: five authors including Descartes and Balzac

An imposing mansion set in parkland

** 

The bi-annual Festival de Loire at Orléans will be held from Wednesday 18th to Sunday 22nd September.  The organisers promise the largest gathering of river boats in Europe.

   

Details on Facebook and here.

2013 Salon des Vins de Loire: Valérie Deneufbourg (Orléans)

Valérie Deneufbourg

With her husband Valérie Deneufbourg has 12 hectares of vines in the Orléans area – three of Cabernet Franc for Orléans-Clery, six hectares of Orléans and three for vin de pays. The grapes include Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay (one hectare).

The Denefbourgs are from the Paris region and set up in Orléans in 2005. Unfortunately 2012 was a bad year for them. They were badly hit by frost in February and then by the April frost of 16th/17th. She managed to make 50 hls of Orléans-Clery and just 7 hls from five hectares of Pinot Meunier/Pinot Noir. There will be no white wine from 2012.

The wines are attractive and well made. The 2010 AC Orléans (100% Auvernat Blanc – local name for Chardonnay) was crisp and lemony. The red fruited 2012 Rosé is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris and had a 24 hour maceration before pressing. It will be bottled in early March. The 2010 Orléans-Clery is soft with spicy fruit and good length, while the 2011 Orléans red, a blend of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, is easy drinking with soft ripe fruit.

28 Rue du Village, 45370 Clery Saint André

Tel: 02.38.45.97.53

Email: unvinunerencontre@deneufbourg.fr 

     

Les Vins d'à côte: Orléans 2nd-3rd March 2013

Vignerons present at this forthcoming event in Orléans:

Béatrice et Michel Augé

Olivier Bellanger

Mikaël Bouges

Alain Courtault et Simon Tardieux

Joël Courtault

Christophe Foucher

Nathalie Gaubicher-Chaussard

Renaud Guettier

Emile Heredia

Noëlla Morantin

Pascal Potaire et Moses Gadouche

Thierry Puzelat et Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme

Jean-Marie et Thierry Puzelat

Jean-Pierre Robinot

Anne-Cécile Roy

Jérôme Sauvête

Laura Semeria

Cyrille Sevin

Pascal Simonutti

Philippe Tessier

Brendan Tracey

Hervé Villemade

Les Vins d'à côté: Orléans – Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th March

Les Vins du Coin become Les Vins d'à côté in Orléans for the weekend of 10th-11th March. They will be appearing@the Théâtre d'Orléans on the Bd Pierre Ségelle from 10h-18h. 

List of the 25 producers who will be present:

Le Lièvre Gourmand a 'franchi le pas'

Martini cocktail – part of the radis dish (below)

Last night was the first opportunity we had had to eat at Le Lièvre Gourmand since it skipped from the south of the Loire at Vailly-sur-Souldre to just onto the north side of the river on the Quai Chatelet in Orléans.

 "I suppose this must be it!" The very discreet Le Lièvre Gourmand

I'm delighted to report that nothing has been lost in the move – William Page's cooking remains as delicious and inventive as before. You choose three (45€) or four courses (55€) from seven choices plus dessert or cheese. Last night's were: Radis, Tourteau, Morue, Bar, Poulet Fermier, Lapin and Ris de Veau.

La carte   

My two stand out dishes were the radis with truffe d'été and martini cocktail and the ris de veau poêlé à la plancha with a salade de ris d'agneau.

ris de veau poêlé à la plancha

salade de ris d'agneau

To drink we had Henry Natter's 2007 François de la Grange, Sancerre as our aperitif  – good balance of fruit and crisp acidity. Then the rich and complex 1997 Clos Saint-Yves, Savennières, Domaine des Baumard which was an excellent match with out various first two dishes of crab, morue and sea bass. Then we moved to Australia – William Page was born in Papua New Guinea – for the 2003 Fotobolt Shiraz from d'Arenberg and the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Clare Valley from Tim Adams.     

 One word of warning – apart from the discreet menu in the window there is nothing to indicate that No 28 Quai Chatelet is a restaurant, so make a note of the house number before you set off.   

We stayed at the very comfortable, reasonably priced and central Hotel Marguerite about a five minute walk from the restaurant. 

Hotel Marguerite

Le Lièvre Gourmand is haring off to Orléans!

Le Lièvre Gourmand@Vailly-sur-Sauldre

Sauté du lièvre!

Message from William Page:

'Après presque vingt ans à Vailly le Lièvre va déménager !!!

Nous serons fin mars 2010 au 28 Quai du Chatelet à Orléans dans une belle maison donnant sur La Loire.

Entre temps nous allons fêter comme il se doit notre départ avec un menu "best of" regroupant vos / nos plats préférés pendant tout le mois de février.

Venez dire au revoir à notre maison avant que la nouvelle aventure ne commence.

Amicalement                             William Page

The smoked foie gras – the most spectacular dish I've had at Le Lièvre

After almost twenty years at Vailly le Lièvre is moving!!!

As from the end of March 2010 we'll be in a terrific new place overlooking the river at 28 Quai du Chatelet, Orléans.

Before we move and during all of February we're doing a best of menu regrouping some of yours and our favourite dishes from the last twenty years.

So come and say goodbye to us here at Vailly before the new adventure starts.

All my very best                            William Page'

See reports on meals @Le Lièvre here and here. I hope the move goes well and that the food remains as good if not better in the new premises in Orléans.