Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Friday 27 February 2009

Chickens from l’Orléans plus the Bléré Carnival (29th March)

La Nouvelle République today has a report on the poulets fermiers of Orléans. 160 farmers belong to the Orléans chicken farmers' organisation (la Coopérative agricole des fermiers de l'Orléanais). Of a total annual production of 4.3 million chickens – 90% have the label rouge. 36% of the production is in Loir et Cher, with 4% each in Indre-et-Loire and the Cher. In 2007 the organisation was asked to look after the production of the famous Géline de Touraine, the Loire’s finest chicken and on a par with a Poulet de Bresse.

Further information about the Géline and its rescue from extinction can be found here.

Carnival 2007: The Epeigné-les-Bois float


There is also a report on the forthcoming carnival at Blére – Sunday 29th March with a parade starting at 3pm. This is a bi-annual event that involves all the communes around Bléré including Epeigné-les-Bois, Francueil and Luzillé. The previous edition was on 1st April 2007 and certainly worth going to see.

There is now a carnival blog.

2007: Les Blancs: musicians

2007: le roi des cochons

2007: Le roi et la reine

2007: Le roi et la reine encore..................

2007: scenes from the parade

2007: scenes from the parade

2007: for some the excitement was all too much...

More photos of the 2007 Carnival on flickr.

2 comments:

Susan said...

Good news about the Géline. I had not heard about this development. The last I heard the producers had dropped Label Rouge certification because they didn't feel they could justify the cost, although they remained serious about preserving the breed and there are a number of strong supporters in the restaurant biz eg the * Jacky Dallais from La Promenade in le Petit Pressigny.

Jim's Loire said...

La Promenade – great restaurant with a marvelous wine list!