Category Archives: France

France, Hiking

Hiking Sancerre

 

Flowing over 1000 kilometers from its source in south central France, the Loire River passes through a rich variety of geological and scenic landscapes. On its northbound trajectory, on the upper half of the river, it passes Sancerre, home to a great viticultural tradition, and start point for my hike, covering this small section of France’s longest river.

Vines and valleys define Sancerre and its surroundings. Add vistas and charm, and you have an idea of this appeal of this trail. Set along a crest fronting the upper Loire River, the town, like the wine, is uniquely memorable and easy to like for all the reason above.

View from the Esplanade

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France, Wines

Wine Notes: Sancerre

 

What I Learned

The Loire River, being over 1000 kilometers long, has several appellations along, or near it. Previous posts covered the wines of the lower half of the Loire, by Anjou, Amboise, and the famous chateaux of the Loire. This post concerns Sancerre, the appellation in the upper half of the Loire.

Sancerre is famous for its racy Sauvignon Blanc wines. Nowadays, a bit over 80 per cent of all wine production here is Sauvignon Blanc wine. It is a varietal wine made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, which do exceptionally well in this area’s cooler, continental climate. (By contrast, the lower Loire has an Atlantic climate.) As most wine lovers know, Sauvignon Blanc wine is rather distinctive. Like Sauvignon Blanc wines world-wide, Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc exhibits a crisp, fruity, citrus sharpness, from the nose to the palette, and a fair amount of acidity. Flavor descriptions tend to include citrus, green gooseberries, and green apple.

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France, Hiking, Nutshell

Entre Vignes et Vallons: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Entre Vignes et Vallons

Trail Type: Short distance circuit; somewhat maintained, with mostly rough surfaces, and no marking on the trail. (See comment below.)

Length:

Total – 9 or 12 kilometers/ 5.6 or 7.5 miles

Convenient to: Sancerre, France

Marking:

None

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France, Hiking

The Charms of Chamaret

 

The Drome Provencal, set south of Valence in France’s Rhone River Valley, already had spring-like weather when I visited in mid-February. With several fairly easy mountain biking trails suitable for the whole family, I decided to try one that centered around the village of Chamaret.

Sadly though, my bike was not available that day, and not finding a rental (a downside to winter touring), I decided to hike the southern part of the trail, beginning and ending in the village center. I am glad I made that call, for two reasons. The first: my hybrid bike and I would not have done well on part of this trail, and second: a short hike gave me time to explore this charming village.

Chamaret from Grignan

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France, Wines

Wine Notes: Grignan-les-Adhemar

 

What I Learned

The Rhone River drains much of central and south -eastern France. Along the Rhone, starting just south of Lyon and ending a bit south of Avignon, there are many wine appellations along or near the river. Therefore, the Cotes du Rhone wine appellation, such a large area, is of necessity, divided into the northern Rhone (Rhone Septentrional) and southern Rhone (Rhone Meridional) zones.

This post focuses on the northernmost appellation of the southern Rhone zone. This is where, when driving south along the highway, through Valence, you note that northern France is now definitively in the rear-view mirror, and southern France has begun. It is where the department of the Drome meets Provence’s department of the Vaucluse.

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France, Hiking, Nutshell

De Tour en Grotte: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name:  De Tour en Grotte (southern half only)

Trail Type: Short distance circuit trail; well-maintained and almost exclusively hard-surfaced, either tarmac, earthen or rock surfaces, marking on the trail rather good throughout the southern half. (See comments below)

Length:

Total – 20 kilometers

My segment – @9 kilometers

Convenient to: Grignan, France

Marking: A white 2 on a blue background, accompanied by the VTT (mountain bike) symbol: a triangle (orange) with two same-colored circles.

De Tour en Grotte Signage

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France, Hiking

Cote Chalonnaise Vines and Valleys

 

Dramatic terrain, bucolic villages, and an unusual varietal wine – this was what I found in Bouzeron. It is a small village in the Cote Chalonnaise, within view of the Cote d’Or, Burgundy’s most famous hillside. But Cote Chalonnaise wines, and indeed the region itself, is no poor second. In fact, with unspoiled villages, a wealth of architecture, terrains, and good hiking trails, as well as a co-equal passion for food and wine, I was thoroughly delighted with my all-too-brief visit.

The village of Bouzeron and the Vignes et Vallees trail around it, epitomized this sentiment. There was plenty of parking in the village, so that is where I left the car, early one winter morning. Starting from the village guaranteed that I would be climbing for ten minutes or so, which helped warm me up. Before I knew it, I was atop the Montagne de la Folie (or Remenot), looking east over Rully, and out toward Chalon sur Saone. It was a beautiful spot.

Atop Mont Remenot

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France, Wines

Wine Notes: Aligoté

 

What I Learned

Bouzeron is famed for its Aligoté wine. In fact, the small village holds the distinction of having the only village AOC in France dedicated to the Aligoté varietal, Appellation Bouzeron Controlee. The Aligoté grape and its wines tended be overlooked in the past, but made a comeback. Nowadays, they are often promoted as aperitive wines as their taste tends to be light, fruity and crisp.

Aligoté is a hybrid of the red/black Pinot Noir and the Gouais Blanc grapes. First mentions of this grape appeared in the late 1700s. Because it does well in cold grape-growing regions, it has recently been planted in Washington State, Chile and some Eastern European nations. As a flavor profile, Aligoté wines often have citrus, green apple, and white floral notes. This also makes them ideal for one of region’s most favored aperitive wines, the sparkling Cremant de Bourgogne, on its own or blended with Chardonnay. (In this case, the resulting sparkling wine could fall under the Appellation Cremant de Bourgogne).

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France, Hiking, Nutshell

Vignes et Vallees: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name:  Vignes et Vallees (Aka : Au Fil des Vignes et Vallees)

Trail Type: Mid-distance circuit; well-maintained, surfaces vary from road, to grass, to dirt paths, to rock rib, marking on the trail rather good

Length: 13.25 kilometers/8.25 miles

Convenient to: Chalon-sur-Saone, Santenay, France

Marking: Two types, long distance and more local (red and white bars, or red and yellow bars, respectively), as well locational and directional signposts. (See featured photograph above)

Marking for the GR Trails

 

Marking for GRP Trails

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France, Hiking

A Godly Wine

 

Mercurey, named after the Roman God Mercury, god of commerce trade and travelers, was a fortuitous discovery for this traveler of wine country. Both the village and the eponymous appellation lie in the Cote Chalonnaise sub-region of the Burgundy wine region. The village made its entry into history as a way-stop on the Roman trade route leading to Autun from Chalon-sur-Saone, graced by a small temple to the god of trade. Presumably, this route proceeded along the same straight trajectory as the modern road through the center of town, alongside a steam. But the village’s real piece of luck was to be set in natural amphitheater. While the road follows the stream in the bottom land, vines cover the slopes all around.

Grande Rue, Mercurey

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