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Simon Hawkins and his Domaine du Fontenay Wines.
Simon Hawkins, artisan wine-maker in the tiny Côte Roannaise appellation.
A range of authentic wines from sustainable
viticulture and natural, hands-off wine making.
HANDS-OFF WINEMAKING
Simon Hawkins says: “Although our attitude to producing grapes is definitely hands-on, we adopt a completely hands-off approach to the wine making. Having worked hard all year to obtain high quality grapes, there seems to be no point in using all sorts of modern wine-making jiggery-pokery. We just keep it simple and straight forward. Have you ever noticed that, year in year out, wines always have the same alcohol content on the label? This is simply due to a regulating method called chaptalisation. Named after the Minister of Agriculture Jean Chaptal in 1801 this involves adjusting the level of alcohol in wine by adding sugar during the fermentation.Most gamay producers add sugar every year to increase the alcohol content of their wine.”
“By measuring the specific density of the grape juice at harvest time as in this photo, it is possible to determine the natural sugar level. At Domaine du Fontenay, the aim is to achieve a high level of NATURAL SUGAR in the grapes and avoid adding any sugar at all. This is extremely difficult to achieve on a regular basis as it involves keeping yields low and careful vineyard management to maintain rot-free grapes in order to pick as late as possible.
In a nutshell, the wine maker must decide to go:
*EITHER for high yields and pick not perfectly ripe grapes early and add sugar,
*OR to limit yields , pick late, and produce wine with a naturally satisfactory alcohol level.
For obvious reasons, the latter is more natural but is also much more tricky to achieve. It is the option that we prefer at Domaine du Fontenay.”
Have a look at Simon’s very informative website, and take a trip to Domaine du Fontenay in the beautiful Côte Roannaise, or just order a few bottles off the website and enjoy some exceptional quality wine produced with total dedication to the art of winemaking!
The Easy Riders in the Heart of Lyon!
A biker convention took place at Bellecour in the centre of Lyon during April. Hundreds of some of the best bikes in the country were on ‘roaring display during a particularly blue sky, sunny day, before setting off for a ‘demonstration’ trip.
Thousands of angry French bikers took to the streets on April 12, 2014. Once again, France was the scene of enormous demonstrations with thousands of motorcyclists gathering in every city across the nation and protesting at the newly proposed speed limit of 80 km per hour on the national road network.
Thousands of angry French bikers take up the streets.
The French government has recently proposed to limit the speed to 80 km per hour on the non-motorway network in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents and casualties on the roads. A large number of bikers fundamentally disagree with the proposal stating that speed is not the main cause of accidents but rather the complete lack of adequate training offered by the government to make drivers realise that driving safely is all about respecting the highway code and learning how to share the roads with other users. The angry bikers accuse the government of wanting to impose draconian measures in the sole attempt to cash in extra euros from road users who simply won’t respect the proposed speed limits.www.ukfrancebikers.com
April 12, 2014
Paris alone saw more than 5,000 angry bikers blocking the city centre for hours and bringing it to a complete standstill.
Once again, France has today been the scene of enormous demonstrations with thousands of motorcyclists gathering in every city across the nation and protesting at the newly proposed speed limit of 80 km per hour on the national road network. See
Marvellous Medieval Celebrations in Lyon.
The traditional, yearly medieval celebrations called the ‘Fête Renaissance’ in Lyon were staged once again around the city of Lyon in the heart of the ‘Old Town’ called Vieux Lyon this April. A brilliant setting for such a colourful event which commemorates the visit of Catherine de Médicis and the young King, Charles IX, to Lyon in 1564.
A brilliant, colourful display of medieval dress, horses, soldiers, conjurors, musicians, dancers, and flag wavers parading. Perfectly demonstrating and creating the medieval ambiance of a Royal entourage on a celebratory visit. The beautifully preserved, ancient buildings of Lyon’s old medieval township were a perfect backdrop to the whole event. A superb, fun day out for all the family.
Amazing Restaurant L’Astrée
One of the best restaurants in the French township of Roanne in the heart of the Roannais region of the Rhône-Alpes.
Exquisite food in exquisite surroundings, and which doesn’t break the bank!
Family-owned and run with chef de cuisine, Simon Falcoz in dynamic charge of the kitchen since 1983.
L’Astrée is perfect for a sumptuous evening of fine dining. Creative, modern cuisine. Michelin Star quality for sure!
www.purefrancenow.com