A stag party in the centre of the cave* !

*reference to: A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, a classic 1864 science fiction novel by Jules Verne.

Today we welcomed a group of 10 lively lads from the North to celebrate the last day as a single man of their friend and little brother.

The programme: A jaunt on off-road electric scooters in the vineyards, introducing the vineyards of the Loire, its terroirs, appellations, focusing on the appellation of Saint Nicholas de Bourgueil. A small break mid-tour because all these explanations and sporting activities make one very thirsty …….. and because a “a little glass of bubbly” in the middle of the vineyards at 11:00 is a nice idea, is it not?

Once “watered” with explanations and Amirault’s Crémant de Loire, we continued our journey and the gentle “climb” towards Vau Renou …… (110m in altitude in fact!).

The visit to the Vau Renou cave was of course necessary! Understanding the ageing process, the concept of single vineyard wines, and the Domaine’s philosophy, before tasting the cuvées, that is what our future husband had come in search of ……..

To complete the experience for our friends and to best enhance the tasting of our 6 cuvées of Saint Nicholas de Bourgueil, we settled down by the fireside, where the flames were already dancing ….. The Clos des Quarterons garden provides us with a lovely variety of tomatoes of every colour, and different aromatic plants, which were placed in our baskets this morning and then brought to the cave, the table having already been beautifully laid and a lovely fire prepared…….

The embers were ready, it was time to place our new potatoes on the fire and to bring out the côtes de bœuf (ribs of beef) and the andouillettes (speciality sausages) prepared by the local butcher!

Once the 2.5kg côtes de bœuf and the andouillettes were demolished, a plate of local cheeses (pasturised and unpasturised) appeared. We decided to finish the meal with a winemaker’s tart, but a meeting with a charming pastry chef decided otherwise ….. it would be individual luxurious little bites.

Almost 4 hours have passed ……… What, already? We must go back, other Loire adventures await our friends, full of information about Touraine specialities and Wine!

A very nice meeting, a memorable souvenir. We part, but most happy!