Tag Archives: hiking French vineyard trails

France, Nutshell

Mercurey: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name:  Mercurey; AKA: Circuit des Vignes (Circuit of the Vignes), Petite Boucle de Mercurey (Small Circuit of Mercurey), and M1 (on signs)

Trail Type: Short distance circuit through various landscapes, but half of it vineyards; fairly well-maintained with a variety of surfaces, including some naturally rough (rock) surfaces in places; some climbing; marking on the trail very good overall.

Length:

Total – 7.75 kilometers/4.8 miles

Convenient to: Chalon sur Saone, or Macon,  France

Marking: Yellow lines; as well as posts indicating positional and directional references

MI Signage

 

Location and Directions Post

Continue reading Mercurey: Trail in a Nutshell →

France, Hiking

Blond or Brunette?

 

When I began this hike, I had little idea how delicious the Appellation Cote Rotie wines could be! I had not really considered the potential for difference between a Cote Blonde or Cote Brune wine, especially given the varietals allowed. Once again, I found that hiking this terrain, this “terroir,” opened my horizons in more ways than one.

Snapshot of Ampuis

Continue reading Blond or Brunette? →

France, Hiking, Nutshell

Sentier des Vignes: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Sentier des Vignes (a Ampuis)

Trail Type: Short distance circuit; varying surfaces, from tarmac/concrete (about half) to earthen, to loose gravel, fairly well maintained, and fairly well marked.

Length: 7.1 kilometers/4.4 miles

Convenient to: Lyon or Vienne, France

Marking: Black lettering “Ampuis 1” on yellow and white (beginning at Route de la Brocarde)

Trail Marking for Sentier des Vignes

Continue reading Sentier des Vignes: Trail in a Nutshell →

France, Hiking

A Trail for the Senses

 

Local cuisine develops best from local produce. Local wine best complements local cuisine. In this part of southern France, lying in the leeward side of the Pyrenees Mountains, the warm, sunny and dry climate is such that herbs grow wild, and grapes grow well. Both are flavorful and intense. Taking advantage of the natural conditions, the local tourism office developed a short, educational, circuit trail focusing mostly on the local vegetation, set in patches between the vines, through and around the village of Cucugnan.

Corbieres-Queribus AOC

Continue reading A Trail for the Senses →

France, Hiking, Nutshell

Sentier de la Fontaine: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Sentier de la Fontaine

Trail Type: Short distance circuit; Somewhat roughly maintained; Marking on the trail is limited.

Length: 3.5 kilometers/2 miles

Convenient to:  None, but the closest big city is Perpignan

Marking: Wooden signpost with a pointing finger, with the trail name inscribed, at the beginning and end of the trail, (see the featured photo)  and educational signboards, see below, along the way.

Educational Signboard

Continue reading Sentier de la Fontaine: Trail in a Nutshell →

France, Hiking

From the Moselle to the Mosel

 

The Moselle River is famed for its wines – German wines. But the Moselle actually begins in France, coming out of the Vosges Mountains, rolling along its way through the northeastern corner of France. Where France and Germany and Luxembourg meet, the Mosel begins, where all three countries lay claim to Moselle/Mosel wines of note. But this is not an article about German Mosel wines, nor about Luxembourg’s Moselle wines either, as they have already been done. (See here for Germany, and here for Luxembourg.) Rather, this is about the French Moselle wines and wine country, which is far less known, and quite new as an appellation.

Moselle Leaving France

Continue reading From the Moselle to the Mosel →

France, Hiking

A Tale of Two Pouillys II

 

One of my favorite white wines is Pouilly-Fuisse, one of France’s well-known appellations. It lies in Burgundy, not too far south from the famous Cote d’Or with its own many fine appellations. Early in my wine-drinking career, I often confused that wine name with Pouilly-Fume. Therefore, I decided to get a closer look, since visually, there would inevitably be cues to keep the two villages, and hence the two wines, apart in my mind.

The Pouilly-Fuisse hike I completed was just that – a walk between and around the tiny villages of Pouilly and Fuisse. The trail name said it all: Entre Pouilly et Fuisse (Between Pouilly and Fuisse), and it provided a great opportunity to see both villages up close.

Fuisse

Continue reading A Tale of Two Pouillys II →

France, Hiking, Nutshell

Entre Pouilly et Fuisse: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Fuisse (FU), Subtitled: Entre Pouilly et Fuisse

Trail Type: Short distance circuit; partly paved, partly hard-packed path, some rocky sections, well maintained, but the route itself is fairly well-marked.

Length: 8 kilometers/5 miles

Convenient to: Macon or Lyon, France

Marking: Posts with yellow signs indicating location, directions and distances; yellow (usually painted bars) on trail route will indicate that you are still on a trail, and your next change of direction (left or right)

Trail Marker Indicating Location, Direction and Distances

Continue reading Entre Pouilly et Fuisse: Trail in a Nutshell →

France, Hiking

A Tale of Two Pouillys I

 

Pouilly-Fume and Pouilly-Fuisse are two of my favorite French white wine appellations. Early in my wine-drinking career, I often confused the two. After all, the names are similar. But the wines themselves are from different regions, and quite distinctive. Therefore, I decided to hike the areas to get a closer look. I figured that visually there would inevitably be cues to keep the two villages, and hence the two wines, apart in my mind. This is the story of the first hike.

A hike through and around the village of Pouilly-sur-Loire is a hike through one of France’s best-known appellations: Pouilly-Fume. It lies in along the Upper Loire valley, practically across the river from another famous appellation: Sancerre. Unlike the other Pouilly, with its Chardonnay white wines under the Pouilly-Fuisse appellation, the Sauvignon Blanc varietal reigns supreme in the Pouilly-Fume wines of this region.

Pouilly-sur-Loire in the Rain

Continue reading A Tale of Two Pouillys I →