Vineyard Bed & Breakfast in the Côtes Roannaise
In the upper Loire Valley lies the appellation of the Côtes Roannaise AC - from the region around Roanne (42 Loire, Rhône-Alpes) - although a long way from the area most of us associate with the Loire Valley,
These are wines based on the Gamay grapes - best known as the Beaujolais grape. Here Englishman Simon Hawkins and his wife Isabelle have developed a very successful vineyard - Domaine du Fontenay.
But they also offer Bed and Breakfast (Chambre d’Hote) on the domaine - with 4 non-smoking rooms themed after different grape varieties - Gamay, Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinot Noir - the rooms offering great views over the vines - and the opportunity to taste some of the vineyard’s wines and learn something about wine-making in France.
For more on the domaine see www.domainedufontenay.com
Peniche Fantasia in Wambrechies (59 Nord, Nord Pas de Calais) on the outskirts of Lille
La Barre et le Clos de la Barre.
Chateau Ricardelle produces an excellent range of Coteaux du Languedoc AC la Clape and Vins de Pays d’Oc wines and has some rather classy self-catering accomodation on the vineyard at la Clape between Narbonne (11 Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon) and the Mediterranean coast.
Wine from Cahors the first thing I tend to associate with the Lot département in South West France (Midi-Pyrenees), but is has so much more to offer and discover. For example there are numerous interesting gardens - and whilst they may lack the grandeur of gardens further north, they are arguably more interesting and diverse. For example:-