Vignerons d’Anjou including a polemic + Pique-Nique chez les Vignerons

Arriving in Epeigné-les-Bois early last Thursday evening, after an easy drive from London – schools on half-term and almost no lorries on French roads due to the Ascension Day lorry-ban, I had a treat waiting for me – Jean-Yves Bardin’s book: Vignerons d’Anjou – Gueules de Vignerons.  I met Jean-Yves at this year’s Salon des Vins in Angers and he promised me a copy. I was hoping it would arrive before I left Touraine in April but unfortunately it didn’t.

So far just time to have a quick look – some great photos including the cover one of Jo Pithon. There are 43 vignerons in Jean-Yves’ book – each has a couple of pages with the photos having prime position garnished with a text where Patrick Rigourd assisted our photographer. The definition of Anjou here includes Saumur as both generations of the Foucaults feature here – Antoine, Charly et Nady. I suspect that the 43 include many Chenin producers who incurred Michel Bettane’s ire at the end of March 2014 – see http://www.mybettanedesseauve.fr/la-tragedie-du-chenin, which In turn provoked Alice Feiring into poking Bettane with a sharp stick. See www.alicefeiring.com/blog/2014/04/michel–bettane-a-tragedy.html

My advice? Taste and make your own mind up.

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Picnic@Château d’Aulée

Pique-Nique chez les Vignerons: 4th edition 7th-9th June  

This coming weekend is the 4th edition of this excellent event. The formula is brilliantly simple: you take your picnic to one of the vignerons (Les Vignerons Indépendants: http://www.vigneron-independant.com/pique-nique/) and they provide the wine to go with your lunch along the possibility of visiting the domaine and buying wine. The only thing I don’t understand is why Les Vignerons Indépendants only hold this once a year as it would surely be a great success if also held during the summer holiday period when there are lots of foreign visitors in France.

Jim’s charity shirt@2014 Bourgueillothérapie