France is all about the wine

France is all about the wine (plus other things of course) but wine dominates it all.  Many visitors to France like to see a vineyard or visit the occasional wine chateaux for a little sampling of the local produce, while many wine enthusiasts make an entire visit planned around visiting the vineyards of their selected region.  It’s a wonderful sightseeing row upon row of vines as you really do feel that you are in France when you see them.

Many wine chateaux offer wine tasting and most will have a tour of the vineyard and possible a small museum explaining the grape and its progress to the bottle.  Wine can be bought by the bottle or by the cubi container which is a plastic container holding 5 litres of wine.

There are around 10 main wine growing regions in France but the in the South West and Languedoc the regions that are most well known are listed below.

Bordeaux

The Bordeaux region which is in the Aquitaine is one of the three most famous wine producing regions and dates back to the 12^th century when it became the main supplier for wine for England. This historic wine exporting tradition helped Bordeaux to develop strong commercial links on the international market and in some cases Bordeaux wine is still referred to as claret.

Bordeaux is surrounded by 1000 square kilometres of carefully tended vineyards with over 5000 wine châteaux scattered throughout the precious landscape.  Enjoy the full bodied St. Emillion, lighter Médoc reds, dry-white Entredux-mers, sweet Sauternes and make an appointment for tastings at prestigious Pauillac châteaux including Lafitte Rothchild, Mouton Rothchild and Margaux. The best estates in these areas have the right to sell wines designated as grand cru. Below the grand crus come other high quality wines designated as cru bourgeois..

Other areas of South West France

 Inland from the Bordeaux / Saint Emilion regions, there are a number of smaller less well-known wine growing areas, producing some quite good wines at very reasonable prices. These Appellation Contrôlée wines include Bergerac, Cahors, Gaillac and Marcillac amongst others.  The areas below are the most well known and all equally good.

Cahors - Which only produces red wine and mainly from the Malbec grape, a Bordeaux variety. Malbec accounts for approximately 70% of an AC Cahors wine and traditionally this wine is known as ‘black wine’ because it is so dark and tannic, needing many years to soften. Today, thanks in part to Malbec’s ever-growing popularity most producers make more modern, lighter wines.

Madiran - Further south than Cahors, Madiran also makes fairly full-bodied, wines predominantly from the Tannat grape (Basque origin) which is dark but has a bramble fruit flavour and aroma. AC Madiran wines must comprise at least 40-80% Tannat, with Cabernet and in practice, the top wines are generally made exclusively from Tannat.

Bergerac and Côtes de Bergerac – Located not so far from Bordeaux, Bergerac wines, rightly or wrongly are often called ’Bordeaux-look-likes’ as they are made from the classic Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Not as age-worthy or pricey as Bordeaux, this region is ideal for some excellent everyday wines.

Languedoc

 The Languedoc region, covering the Mediterranean coastal plain west of the Rhone, produces a lot of fairly ordinary red wine, much of it marketed as VDQS or Vin de Pays. Languedoc is the largest French wine producing area in terms of volume.  There are seven Appellations Controlées in the area, the best-known of which is Corbières, and possibly the best average quality of which is Fitou. AOC wines account for some 10% of the region's production. Thanks to the long hours of summer sun, grapes ripen well and quickly in this region, which means that Languedoc wines are rich and full bodied, and often have high alcohol content. The wines of Roussillon are very similar, this area being particularly noted for its fortified wines such as Banyuls and a perfect wine as an aperitif.

Le Fete du Citron

Le Fete du Citron
Le Fete du Citron (The Lemon Festival) usually takes place between mid-February until March, in Menton on the Côte d'Azur.  This year it is the 81st edition and runs from February 15th until March 5th.  The theme for this year’s festival is “20,000 leagues under the sea”. The festival started in the 1930s with a handful of carts loaded with orange and lemon trees and has turned into one of the largest festivals in the South of France and almost rivalling the Carnival of Nice.
This event attracts up to a quarter of a million people as well as using up to 150 tonnes of oranges and lemons. These massive fruity floats are up to 10 metres high with incredible decorations and for 3 weeks the Jardins Biovès and the streets are given over to these citrus giants.
As this event is held over a few weeks then it is divided up into various sessions, each one different but just as entertaining.  Listed below are just a few of what can be seen and enjoyed.

The Parade of Golden Fruit
The "Promenade du Soleil" parades are held on Sunday’s, when lots of cars and people parade towards the sea.  It’s a delight for children as there are costumes, fanfares, drums and lots of confetti sprinkling.

 Moonlit Parade
The French say that the fruits of the sun have a date with the moon and as its held around Valentine’s Day then whose to argue! As the night falls the preparation for the incandescent party follows. Fireworks and celebrations galore, this is a celebration of the sun, with everyone "dancing in the moonlight".  This is held on Thursdays.

The citrus "World Tour"
You can travel virtually all corners of the world in citrus flavour, at the Jardins Biovès with famous statues and building constructed of lemons and limes.

Gardens of Light
Held here every Tuesday and Friday evening are spectacular sound and light shows.

To attend any of the parade or the other attractions you need an entrance ticket.  They range from 9€ - 23€ depending on the attraction.  Tickets just to view the parades are cheaper and range from 9€ - 17€ depending whether you sit or stand to watch the floats.  Ticket prices are less if visitors are in a group of 20 or more.  Whilst some people see the tickets as expensive there is a lot for your money with a great carnival atmosphere and spectacular parades.

New Year

New Year is one of the oldest and most observed celebrations in countries all over the world and France is no exception!  New Year's Eve is a great opportunity for families and friends to dine together once again at Le Réveillon or Fête de Saint-Sylvestre. At midnight streets fill with everyone moving outside to continue the celebration. In the Midi Pyrenees, where I live, the local tradition is to attend evening mass and then follow a procession to the vineyards and pick grapes at midnight. It’s a fond A pleasant farewell to the old year and a grand welcome to the New Year with a hope of success, prosperity, happiness, and peace in the coming year.

New Year celebrations go on till the 6th January of the New Year which is Twelfth Night and it’s celebrated with King's cake (la galette des rois) which consists of a puff pastry case filled with frangipane. Frangipane is made with eggs, sugar, butter and ground almonds. The cakes are sold with a paper crown on top. A dried bean, small coin or ceramic figure is hidden in the filling. The person who finds the bean, coin or figure in their portion is 'king' for the day and wears the paper crown.

Below is a simple recipe to make your own Galette des Roi which makes about 12 slices:-

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

Almond cream filling:

1/2 cup ground almond meal

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Cake:

1 17-ounce package puff pastry, thawed

1 batch homemade frangipane

1 egg, beaten

1 dried fava bean (optional)

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Preparation:

How to make almond cream filling:

Using a food processor, combine the first six ingredients until a smooth, creamy paste is formed.

How to make galette des rois:

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Roll out the sheets of puff pastry and cut out two 11-inch circles. Place one of the circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon the frangipane on the puff pastry and spread it to within 1 1/2 inches of the edge of the circle.

If desired, hide the bean in the almond cream filling. Place the second pastry circle on top of the almond filling, crimping or pressing the edges of the pastry to seal the cake. Using a sharp knife, score a decorative pattern on the top layer of the pastry, without cutting through to the almond filling. Brush the galette des rois with the beaten egg and bake it for 15 minutes. Dust the cake with the powdered sugar and bake it for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, until it turns golden brown.

Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes on the baking sheet. If desired, top the cake before serving with a round of gold paper to be used as the "crown" for the diner who finds le feve, or the bean.

Make sure to warn your fellow diners to eat carefully if you are taking part in le feve tradition or they may break a tooth! Cut the galette des rois into even slices, and crown the one who finds the fava bean as the "king" or "queen" with the gold paper round atop the cake.

In search of black diamonds

I was driving from Rodez to Cahors last week after looking at a new property and took the route through Lalbenque which is famous for its truffle market which started last week. 
Starting on the first Tuesday of December until mid-March in this is the place to go for black truffles or black diamond’s as they are known.  This market is busiest in the month of January, when the black truffles have their highest perfume and in December last year black truffles were sold for about €1,000 per kilo in some of the farmer's markets. It takes place in the main street, called "La rue du Marché aux Truffes” and is well worth a visit. The market opens on the dot of two o’clock and generally lasts just a few minutes with everyone hiding their “black diamond” treasure under red checked napkins, in paper bags or small wicker baskets.  If you are to make a day of it then arrive before midday and have a truffle omelette in one of the restaurants that line the main street. 

Truffles are strange looking fungi found just below the ground in open woodland, usually under oak or hazel trees, and their pungent aroma attracts many animals, particularly female pigs. The sow is said to be crazy about truffles because the truffle has the same musky smell as the sexual odour of the wild boar. Unlike mushrooms, truffle spores are not spread by the wind so they need animals to disperse them. Pigs need no encouragement to look for truffles. In fact, it requires constant vigilance and firmness on the part of the truffle hunter to prevent them from swallowing the lot. Nowadays, dogs are replacing pigs; they have no natural interest in truffles and can be trained to indicate with a paw the place where they have smelt them. They are also smaller, more manageable, don't tire as easily, and they don't go into a sexual frenzy when approaching a truffle.

All this is just part of the wonderful, rural South West of France.