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If you want to get under the skin of the French regions there is nothing like a local festival. Off the beaten track you can drive round a corner and find yourself in the middle of a celebration. In mid-summer there are villages competing to make the largest omelette, or eat the most l’aligot, a substantial dish made from potatoes and a soft white unfermented cheese found in south-western France.
Looming out of mists in the autumn there might be stalls piled high with every kind of fungi gathered in the nearby woods and fields. If it’s cold you may find someone to sell you a cup of steaming mushroom soup, and restaurants with special mushroom menus will be packed. It would be hard to leave without buying at least a packet of dried cepes. In deepest rural France they are proud of their local produce and like nothing better than having a party to promote their speciality.
The Loire is fertile territory for enjoying such things. In wine terms it is really many separate regions. They are linked by the great river which, famous for the limpid light beloved by painters, twists and turns through gently beautiful countryside. Alongside the vineyards, mixed farming is still common. Next to vines you see maize, asparagus or arable land. Most farmers have a few chickens - poulet angevine is good, using Sauvignon de Tourraine and cream for the sauce - and ducks raised for their livers. Pigs are ubiquitous as is obvious if you see the great range of pâtés, terrines, salamis, and hams on offer here.
The high plateau of the Anjou, whose white, rosé and red wines are grown on schist-slate soils, also produces flowers on a commercial scale. You can buy them in the wonderful Saturday market in Angers. Shallots, which are an essential ingredient of beurre blanc served with local river fish, grow here too. This irresistible sauce is a reduction of local white wine vinegar and finely chopped shallots into which you beat butter until it reaches an unctuous state which turns plainly poached fish into a great dish.
One village on the Layon, a tributary of the Loire, is particularly keen on celebrating its produce. Saint Aubin de Luigne where they make Coteaux du Layon has just held its Concours de Foie Gras de Canard –this competition is staged annually in September. Duck liver, whether fresh or preserved, goes nicely with the commune’s sweet wines, so it is an excuse to enjoy them both.
The judges are assembled in the village hall; chefs, caterers, local gourmets, all are experienced tasters who look impressively full of their subject. They settle down with their marking sheets to a hard morning’s work, tasting the many categories, presented blind. As each terrine arrives, a slice is cut and laid on top so the judges can see the colour. They look, smell, examine for faults and finally taste, just as you would a wine. They are fiercely critical and don’t hold back with their comments – “c’est degueulasse!” cries one judge in tones of disbelief. Disgustingly salty, he says. Another reject is far too pink, almost bloody. A third has not had the veins and filaments removed correctly – “un scandale!” A heavy hand with the Armagnac has ruined another. They seem to agree on the winners without much difficulty – creamy-beige, faintly tinged with rose, firm yet supple to the touch, and above all, delicious. With palates no doubt sated and weary, they are revived with cool glasses of Coteaux de Layon.
Outside in streets decorated with bunting, a band plays, winners are announced, growers pour their wines for the public to taste, and foie gras producers from round the region sell their wares, some of them now with the coveted medallist’s stickers. A good time is clearly being had by all.
In July the same village has another jamboree. This time the gastronomic focus is on another, quite different, speciality - tiny juvenile eels caught with nets across the river at this time of year. In a tent in the grounds of the nearby Chateau de Bellevue teams of local ladies deep-fry huge quantities of them in batter, to be eaten in the fingers with lots of salty pommes frites and washed down with wine. Families pour in from the surrounding villages to eat this very local variation of fish and chips, try their friends’ wines and wander round stalls of artisan products, while their children play games, and go on the funfair rides. If you join them you’ll find yourself at the heart of a traditional rural community.
There may never have been a better time to take a trip to the Loire.
The good news about the top appellations is that quality has been rising over the last ten years. Sons and daughters who have spent a year or two gaining experience and gleaning information– often in Australia, New Zealand or the USA - are driving this.
For many, the most important wine area of the Loire valley is Sancerre, and its neighbour Pouilly Fumé. You can choose a spot with a view of the old walled town to eat a summer picnic of rilletes (a kind of soft pork paté) on bread fresh from the baker, and some little goat cheeses from the nearby village of Chavignol.
Working your way to the mouth of the river, why not stop and eat a fruit tart with a glass of semi-sweet Vouvray, or have an apéritif of sparkling Crémant de Loire. For reds, there is enticingly fruity young Saumur Champigny, Chinon and Bourgeuil for something a bit older – they will be on the wine lists at restaurants along the stretch of road where you find some of the great chateaux and early churches which are architectural wonders. In some of these villages the houses seem to have been grafted onto cliffs. Numerous caves provide perfect natural conditions for growing mushrooms - there is even a little museum of mushroom culture near Saumur. Some vignerons use the caves as cellars, and there will plenty of opportunities to taste if you wish.
If you reach the sea you will have come a long way, about 400 kilometers. But as you sip a glass of Muscadet and tuck into a plateau de fruits de mer piled high with oysters, crab, mussels and clams on a bed of seaweed, I think you will think it worth the journey.
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