Just a little wine

Wednesday 9th May

This is our little gite where we are staying. Built in 1858. Bedroom and bathroom up a very steep flight of stairs. Very comfortable and lovely quiet location only 200mt from the main road.

Built in 1858.

We have named him George. Mmm, chicken!

Aim for the day was wine tasting so with the aid of a vague map and Dora we set forth. There are at least 30 wineries within 60k of here. How does one decide? We first picked a Cave Excellence called Chateau de Bellevue but on the way here took a small detour to an ancient chateau - well worth the detour. Would have been very grand in its time and the views were amazing.

Ancient Chateau de la Haute Guerche
- 12th century.

We were a bit worried when we arrived at the cave that this was going to be very exxy, as we were met at the door with a handshake and directed to seats around a table. The wine tasting here is very formal and civilised. This place had plenty of variety for tasting and prices were very reasonable. They even found 2 wines that I liked - just a tiny hint of sweetness. We added some weight to the boot here but we might have to drink a few before we move on at the weekend because the boot is pretty full with 2 suitcases and 2 backpacks.

A small selection.

Odette lined up for a taste.

Lunch! We searched hard and finally found a small restaurant offering menu du jour - needed food in preparation for the afternoon tasting.

The afternoon tasting - we picked a very small family winery having only 1/2 dozen wines to taste. I've never been to a wine tasting before where I've tasted the wine direct from the tank. More weight added!

On the way to our final winery we stopped at a little village on an island in the Loire river called Behuard. A quiet,  old village with an unusual church built on a rock in the centre of town. The village floods about once every 10 years.

A memorial to WWII soldiers

One last winery where they were very restricted in what they had - this winery was on the north side of the river (the others were on the south) and because of the soil type they only have dry whites and light reds. Only one bottle here.

The final highlight of the day - the supermarket. Still an experience in translating to make sure I don't end up with kidneys again!