le tasting room

Loire wine tours, tastings, day trips from Paris & short breaks organised by experienced English wine trade professionals.

Wednesday 22 July 2009

Amboise

A few shots taken in Amboise recently. The views from the chateau are spectacular on a sunny day. Although busy during the height of the season, it's a lovely place to go for the day and there are plenty of pavement cafés and restaurants to choose from.

Looking down from the chateau to the pavement restaurants and cafés

Chez Bruno - a small restaurant we often frequent that serves a simple but tasty lunch menu

View from the chateau

Magnificent wisteria in full flower on the way up to the chateau

View of the chateau from inside the grounds

Streets in the pedestrianized area

Wednesday 15 July 2009

Update on our newly planted vines

A quick update on the vines we planted earlier on in the Spring. The row at the back is Chenin Blanc, all of which have taken but you can see how the vine on the far left has only a small amount of growth compared with the vine far right which has exceeded it's support. This is amusing as planting this particular vine was near impossible due to a large lump of concrete underneath it. The vines in front in two lots of three are Cabernet Franc and are all doing well with less differential between them.

Well, they do say that vines thrive under stress and in the most difficult places. Maybe this explains why the star performer has the least soil and is in cramped conditions.

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Changes in the Appellation System

As from this year's vintage we won't be seeing the term Vin de Pays on French wine labels any more.

A new system is being introduced to help current Vin de Pays producers to be more competitive with existing Appellations in the larger more well known areas. From the 2009 vintage we will now see the term IGP on the label - Indication Géographique Protegée.

In addition, wines blended from more than one region (currently bottled under Vin de Table) will become known as Vin de France. They will be able to add the grape variety and a vintage date on the label which is currently not permitted.

Sunday 5 July 2009

Boats on the river Loire

A few pictures taken yesterday in Le Thoureil. If it were not for the motors they could be from any period. Beautiful nonetheless.