The beautiful village of Sancerre

Our hosts arrived back at midday on Monday, so we set off for Sancerre, our 4 night stopover en route to Les Petites Rivieres. We'd packed our leftovers for a picnique and found ourselves in the delightful village of Briare. We ate lunch in the park and then walked over the Pont Canal de Briare, 662 metres long and designed by none other than Gustal Eiffel. It is a very spectacular aqueduct, which crosses high above the Loire river, and until 2003, was the longest aqueduct in the world.

We arrived in Sancerre late in the afternoon, and what a surprise. Whilst most of the Ile de France region (Paris and surrounds) is flat agricultural land, suddenly out of the blue you come across a hill, surrounded by vineyards and a beautiful village, that has been here for centuries. Another quintessential French scene, narrow cobblestone streets, a Chateau, a bustling square surrounded by cafes, and to our delight every second shop was a wine tasting venue representing some of the 300 vineyards in the region. We strolled through the village to pick up some supplies for dinner, and a bottle of Sancerre and then it was time to put our feet up and relax with GnT of course.

Since we had secured a car park, almost outside the door of our little studio apartment, we decided this would be a pedestrian based adventure - car parks are a premium in these villages. We are on the ground floor of a narrow one way street, perfectly placed for people watching and listening!

We explored a bit more of Sancerre on Tuesday, including a couple of the recommended wine tastings which were remarkably good. Sancerre wine is made from Sauvignon grapes, and most people that know me, know that I will not drink Sauvignon Blanc under any circumstances- just the highly perfumed passionfruit nose is enough for me. However, the Sancerre experience is something completely different. It appears, from our research that the terroir here is quite different to NZ and Australia. They have three soil/rock types, terres blanches, silex and caillottes, and the wines from each area are quite specific. Some winemakers also put their wine in oak barrels for a period of time or even amphora's, the clay pots from Georgia. The climate here is much cooler generally, and the long and short of it is the Sancerre wine has a negligible fruit nose and a very acceptable taste. A nana nap followed the very generous tastings.

On Wednesday we ventured further afield and down a long hill (we actually got a bit lost! ) to the number one recommended vineyard, Fouassier. It was indeed lovely wine and Roger was even quite taken by the Pinot. Charles has now got Roger pretty sussed, in case you were wondering 😂 Since the climb back up the hill was hardly a challenge, I headed out late in the afternoon to climb the 193 steps up the Tour de Feifs. This is the last remaining tower of the original six towers of the 14th-century feudal Château Sancerre. A spectacular 360 degree was the reward. We also had a chance to explore more of the local shops many of them local artisans, potters, jewellery makers, a weaver and a beautiful gift warehouse, kitchenware and children's toyshop. A couple of pattiseries, Piaf a gourmet delicatessen, and a specialist grocery store were all part of the retail choices and it was obvious the village caters to the fairly affluent visitor, with lots of English and American accents passing by our window. We were also just around the corner from the Eglise Notre Dame Sancerre, and yesterday there was a wedding. It was 37 degrees, but the friends and relations had all dressed for the occasion in suits and ties, with the ladies make-up melting and hairdos drooping. The bride arrived late, by foot, running and clutching her dress to prevent her tripping up. There was lots of hurried commands to mothers, bridesmaids et al, it was hard to tell, but eventually the mayhem died down and her very composed Dad appeared to walk her down the aisle. Later we bumped into her and her new husband walking back into the village square, still clutching her dress but smiling and looking very relaxed. We offered our congratulations.

Today we woke to heavy rain showers and wind, a welcome relief from the previous day, but by lunchtime the sun was shining and we headed out for our little bus ride through the vineyards. Our vehicle was a little 6 seater 4 wheel drive ATV, necessary as we were basically off road over some steep and rocky paths. We had four English retirees for company so there was plenty of stories to tell over a tasting at EricLouis' vineyard.

Back home for a shower and GnT before we headed out to celebrate Jo's birthday albeit 8 hours behind her dinner celebrations at the Flowerdrum in Melbourne. We went to a highly rated local restaurant, La Fleur de Vigne where we enjoyed a beautiful 3 course dinner, in French Japanese fusion style. The chef was Japanese and his wife, also Japanese was the pastry chef. The two of them ran the restaurant, alone and did an excellent job.

And here's the funny ending to our night out. You'll remember we walked over a kilometre down a very steep hill to the Fouassier Vineyard ! Charles had mentioned it was only 50 metres away but we just thought he'd stuffed up. Low and behold as we walked back up our street last night, we saw the Fouassier wine shop front, right at the corner of the square. Ah well, we probably needed the exercise anyway!Read more