Now let’s get one thing straight, neither Pork Belly nor I are wine buffs but “we know what we like” and we do like the wines of the Loire Valley.
But liking something,spending time wandering around various local vineyards, choosing them because you like their name and buying anything that takes your fancy, doesn’t exactly qualify you to write with authority about the subject.
So it was with a little trepidation that we booked to join Cathy and Nigel Henton from Le Tasting Room for a day exploring the wines of the Loire valley.
Wine tasting is personal
We really needn’t have worried.
Despite their obvious huge knowledge of viticulture and wines Cathy and Nigel share their passion and enthusiasm in such a down to earth and amusing way that you listen, learn and laugh in equal parts.
As Cathy says “A lot of wine tasting encourages a bit of snobbery, this grape, produced in this way, this year, this vineyard is the best, but wine tasting is really personal.”
“Someone may describe a wine as having hints of elderflower or mulberry but if you’ve never smelled elderflower in bloom or tasted a mulberry that’s totally meaningless.”
Instead Cathy encourages us to savour the wines, and talk about what personal memories it brings.
“Smell and taste are often overlooked but they can trigger powerful memories. You might say that a wine reminds you of your grandmother’s kitchen, then you can think about why.”
“Perhaps it was the apples for a pie she was cooking or the spices she used or even the smell of the polish on the floor.”
“Gradually you get more experienced at identifying different aromas and tastes, and that’s all there is to it!”
Savour, taste and talk
Encouraged by Nigel and Cathy, and our fellow party-members – a knowledgeable couple from New Zealand and South Africa who had owned a vineyard and a quiet American who was finding the Loire wines a revelation – we savoured, tasted, talked and laughed our way through six very different wines.
We learned about the vineyard owners who produced them, the different conditions each year and at each vineyard which leads to wines of totally different characters.
“That’s something that people who buy known brands from big suppliers may fail to realise, a wine grown by a small producer will vary hugely from year to year and a wine made from the same grapes in vineyards as little as half a mile away will taste subtly different from one another.”
“Loire valley wines are also very good value, often a fraction of the cost of the better known wines of Burgundy, yet just as high quality.”
We take our own personal favourites in to the delightful cellar room where Cathy serves us a delicious lunch, home cooked using local produce.
We eat by candlelight in the cool cavern and continue to explore our wine and travel experiences.
Sharing their expertise
Cathy explains how a couple from the south of England came to set up such a venture. She worked in the wine trade and Nigel was a viticulture expert. They decided to set up a business which would make best use of their skills while allowing them to “live the dream”.
Nigel provides expert tuition for those setting up or developing a vineyard while Cathy shares her expertise with tourists whose knowledge of wine ranges from zero to serious expertise.
Cathy says “We’ve been going for about 5 years now and it’s beginning to get established. When you start it’s sometimes difficult to remember why you chose to do it, as you have to work very hard to get things off the ground, but now we have reached the stage were we do occasionally take a few days off, get up early and get the chores done then drift off with a picnic and a bottle of wine or beer to remind ourselves of the reason why we came here.”
It’s what the French call “la vie conviviale”, a slower pace of life where you take time to stop, look around and enjoy yourself and a tiny hamlet near the banks of the stately River Loire is certainly a great place to savour that lifestyle, even if you can only stay for the day.
And with wines whose character changes every year, you have the perfect excuse to return again and again.
More information about Le Tasting Room
Since writing this article Le Tasting Room has moved premises. To find out more about their Loire wine tours, Paris day trips and tastings visit their website
Where to next?
• Island Life – Isle of Man
• Veneto, Italy – 7 things to do that don’t include Venice
• 5 tips for wine-tasting in France