Showing posts with label Coq au Vin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coq au Vin. Show all posts

The Cahors AOC Wine and Cahors the Town. Cahors Wine in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com  

 
The Valentré Bridge in the town of Cahors.
The locals called it the Pont de Balandras.
www.flickr.com/photos/hans-westbeek/9365023140/
    
The Cahors dark red wine, its vin noir, black wine, is one of the best red wines of France.  The wine took its name from the town of Cahors which is a small, but pretty town of 20,000 in the department of Lot, set in one of the most beautiful areas in the South-West of France. The area round about Cahors is the ancient province of Quercy that borders the Dordogne and is famous for its food products. (When visiting Cahors avoid offending the locals, remember that the name of the wine and the town is pronounced CA—ORS, do not sound the H).
   
Château Pinerale, Cahors AOC 2007.
www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/8644255111/
  
Like nearly all of France’s AOC/AOP wines, Cahors is a blend. The taste of the wine from different vineyards changes with the soil, the sun, the age and changes in the blend. At least 70% of the blend must come from Malbec grapes, that are nearly always called Auxerrois in this area, along with Merlot and Tannat.  But each vintner has, like Coca-Cola, his or her secret blend and its method of aging. To taste the difference take a trip along Cahor’s Route de Vins, their wine road, and enjoy the wine tastings offered by different vintners. The Cahors Route de Vins provides an interesting twist as you may choose road or river. The Lot River runs through the town of Cahors and connects many of the vineyards and the vineyard tours by boat or road run regularly.
   


There are nearly 100 different names for the Cahors wine.
History and tradition explains most of them
Photograph courtesy of Dominic Lockyer
www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/13875391254/

  
You will not go hungry in the town of Cahors or for that matter anywhere around the town. Dining anywhere in the old province Quercy where Cahors is the departmental capital is a very special treat. This area is also home to the tasty Quercy Melons; the best French Kiwi fruits;  the Truffe du Périgord; France’s most famous and expensive truffle; the Chasselas grapes AOP;  the Périgord Walnuts AOP; the Rocamadour AOP goat’s cheese and some of France's most delicious red label strawberries

If you want other red, rose and or white wines, then not far from the town are other vineyards that produce the Coteaux du Quercy AOC  wines and the Cotes de Lot IGP wines. (IGP for wines is a relatively recent addition that replaces the Vins de Pay classification).

The Cahors wine on French Menus:

Civet d’Oie au Vin de Cahors, à l’Ancienne, Pain Aillé, Écrasé de Pommes de Terre. A civet is a traditional stew that was initially only used for small game, which includes rabbits, hares, and young wild boar. Good recipes change with the times, and here the civet is made with goose accompanied by garlic bread and hand mashed potatoes.

Coq au Vin de Cahors et ses Pommes Sarladaises - Coq au Vin is the most famous of France’s poultry stews. Initially created for flavorsome roosters, cockerels, but now often prepared with large chickens marinated in wine. Alongside this Coq au Vin prepared with Cahors wine are Pommes de Terre Sarladaise. Pommes de Terre Sarladaises are sliced potatoes fried in duck fat and flavored with garlic and parsley. They are named after the town of Salart in the Dordogne. Salart is the home of the cuisine of Perigord Noir, Black Perigord, famous for its forests.
   


Coq au Vin de Cahors.
 The color comes from the old cockerel in the pot and the wine.
Photograph courtesy of  Nathan Yergler
www.flickr.com/photos/nathan_y/5180111161

       
Poire Williams, Pochée au Vin de Cahors, à la Cannelle et son Sorbet Poire – A Williams, Bartlett in the USA,  pear poached in the Cahors wine and flavored with cinnamon and served with a pear sorbet. The pear sorbet served alongside this poached pear will have an alcoholic liquor, most probably a pear liquor added so this can be quite a heady dish; Cahors wine and a pear liquor. N.B. The Williams pear owes its name to a nurseryman who popularized the pear in England.  In the USA the first of these pears were grown in an orchard owned by a man called. Bartlett and took his name.

Fraises au Vin de Cahors et Sorbet Basilica Strawberries prepared in the Cahors wine and served with a basil flavored sorbet. The departments of Lot and Lot-et-Garonne are home to more than 20% of France’s Label Rouge, red label, strawberries so enjoy them when visiting.
   
Filet de Truite BIO Sauce au Vin de Cahors – A fillet of organically raised trout served with a Cahors wine sauce.

Filet de Boeuf au Poivre Noir, Beurre d'Estragon et Jus Corsé au Vin de Cahors A beef fillet, a cut from the tenderloin, cooked with black peppercorns and tarragon-flavored butter and served with a sauce made from the dish’s natural juices, which is its  Jus Corsé, along with the Cahors wine.  Tarragon, the herb, is very popular in French cuisine and is one of the five herbs used in the spice group called Les Fine Herbes, the fine herbs. Tarragon’s flavor is also at the heart of Sauce Béarnaise.

Buying a bottle to take home or to enjoy in a restaurant.
.
From the time of the Romans who conquered and settled France over 2,000 years ago. Cahors was famous for its wines; that is long before the first grapes were planted in Bordeaux.  Today, some 80 different vintners are producing Cahors wines with many factors affecting the taste.  Age is far from everything and to know what you are buying you need a handy and very knowledgeable friend, an up-to-date wine book or in a restaurant an excellent sommelier, the wine steward. Most Cahors wines are aged in oak though you will also find new wines in the shops and that is why you need that friend or up-to-date wine book.

The town of Cahors, its fantastic bridge, and its cathedral

The town of Cahors is famous for its 11th-century Cathedral and its Pont Valentré, the Valentré Bridge, locally called the Pont de Balandras.  The bridge is the Cahors town symbol and a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The bridge dates from 1378 and was rebuilt in 1879. Look for the symbol of the devil on one of the towers and then ask why!

The devil is in the details.
The devil on the Valentré Bridge, the Pont de Balandras.
www.flickr.com/photos/mathieu_md/8338031837
    

If you cannot find the answer to Why the Devil is on the Bridge?  Write to me this posts's email: behindthefrenchmenu.com

  


The Cahors Cathedral.
When this cathedral began to be built in the 11th century the town had more than 600 families and that made it a city. All cities of that time were supposed to have cathedrals.
Photograph courtesy of Jean-Jacques Boujot
www.flickr.com/photos/jean-jacquesboujot/9610333580/

  
The Lot River
   
Apart from visiting vineyards by road or boat, there are trekking paths all over the area, and you may rent canoes and kayaks on the Lot River for a few hours. If you choose to avoid hotels, there are self-drive boats at budget prices or cabin cruisers.  With over 100 km (62 miles) of navigable river and with 17 locks each way that's two or three days of leisurely travel.
   
Rent your cabin cruiser or kayak.
www.flickr.com/photos/mjcrodez/6188011269/
   
Connecting to Cahors
   
When visiting the town look ahead in the English language website of the Cahors Tourist Information Office. Use the websites for opening and closing times of everything including farmer's markets.
   
    
The Cahors wine's website is in French only  but easily understood using the Bing and Google translate apps:
   
  
Both of the websites above show the dates of the next Fete du Vin de Cahors, the Cahors Wine Fete. The fete is held at the end of July or beginning of August in one of the villages close to Cahors.  This wine festival is also one of the few that allows visitors to book online a place at their celebratory luncheon. Caveat emptor: The luncheon comes along with long speeches in French only.
  
Cahors is the préfecture, the departmental capital, of Lot and there is an English language website for the department:
 

The other rated red, white and rose wines from this area have French only  websites, but they are easily understood with the Bing and Google translation apps:

The Coteaux du Quercy AOP wines have celebrations in the department of Lot at different times of the year with wine competitions and harvest festivals.

   
The Cotes de Lot IGP wines (previously called the Vin de Pays de Lot) have their own celebrations that may be seen on the French Language website:
   
   
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Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
French menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" and search with Google. Behind the French Menu’s links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 470 posts that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.
  

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright © 2010, 2018, 2023.

Berry, One of France’s historic Provinces, Enjoy its excellent Berrichonne Cuisine. Savor its wines. Taste its outstanding cheeses and much more.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
 

   
Château de Valençay
In the department of Indre (Berry).
www.flickr.com/photos/sybarite48/8313808905/
  
Berry
  
Berry is a historic French province in the Loire Valley that, during the French revolution, was divided into the two departments. They are Cher and Indre in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire. Despite more than two hundred years of administrative division, Berry remains united in its cuisine. 

How to get there.

Berry's old provincial capital was the city of Bourges, now the prefecture, the department capital of Cher. Châteauroux is the largest city in the department of Indre ad its prefecture. From Paris, the departments are two-and-a-half-hours by car, and less than two hours by direct TGV train.
   
Berrichonne's traditional dress.

Berrichonne the people and Berrichonne the Cuisine
  
Berrichonnes is the name given to the people who live in the area and Berrichon was the language they spoke. That language was a precursor of modern French. Berrichonne is the name of the excellent cuisine that was and is still is being created in the area. 
  
The cuisine.
  
Berry’s cuisine has well-established culinary credentials, but like much of the best French cuisine does not cling to a single style or type of recipe. Local dishes will often be assigned suffixes that will show their origin. Your menu may offer dishes… du Berry or…. à la Berrichonne.  Outside of the area, Berry’s name remains famous throughout France for its vegetables, freshwater fish, cheeses, snails, and wines. When traveling in the area, local restaurants will always include at least one dish with their famous green lentil, the Lentille Verte du Berry, IGP, Label Rouge and their cheeses will include one their five famouse AOP goat’s cheeses.

Your menu may offer:

Coq au Vin à la Berrichonne – Coq au Vin made with one of the red wines of Berrichone.  
  
Coq au Vin.
www.flickr.com/photos/nathan_y/5180111161/
 
Crème de Lentille Verte du Berry  - A cream of lentil soup made with the green lentils of Berry. These yellow-green lentils from Berry have a mild chestnut flavor, and they are France’s only label rouge, red label lentil. These lentils were the first dried vegetable to be awarded the Label Rouge for their consistent quality.
   
Cuisses de Grenouilles Flambées à la Crème d'Ail Persillée – Frogs’ legs in a cream of garlic sauce flavored with parsley and flambéed before serving.
   
Fricassée de Lumas à la Berrichonne – The local Petit Gris snail fried in butter and flavored with garlic, parsley, sea salt, and pepper, often made with an added local white wine.
  
RIs et Rognon à la Berrichonne, En Croûte –  Sweetbreads and kidneys, cooked in a pastry covering in the manner of Berrichonne.
  
Salade de Lentilles Vertes du Berry au Chaud  - A salad made with the green lentils of Berry and warm goats' cheese. Your cheese plate or a restaurant’s cheese trolley will include at least two of Berrichonne’s five famous goats’ cheeses. Berry has quite a number of other excellent cheeses, and you may enjoy them locally; unfortunately, most do not have the production required to receive a national following. For more about the famous five, see lower down this post.
    
Green lentil salad with a walnut dressing.
www.flickr.com/photos/stone-soup/357601017/

Salade Berrichonne – A salad in the manner of Berry. The traditional version is a warm goat’s cheese served with toast, on top of a poached egg, bacon, and tomatoes. The salad is flavored with nuts, cider vinegar, walnut oil, and a small amount of mustard. Like all salads linked by name to a specific area, there are small changes in the recipe from chef to chef, and Berry chefs will also make one or two tweaks to the original recipe. Ask how your Salade Berrichonne is prepared; it should be close to the traditional recipe.
  
Tarte Berriaude - An apple tart flavored with a cinnamon cream sauce. Occasionally this dish may be served flambéed with Calvados, France’s famous and unique apple brandy.

The fish, frogs, and snails of Berry

Local chefs take full advantage of the freshwater fish from the National Park of Brenne. The park has over 1,000 freshwater ponds as well as freeing-running streams and freshwater fish-farms. From here comes fresh carppikeeels, pike-perchfreshwater perch, and frogs, here uniquely called guernouilles; in the rest of France, frogs are grenouilles. Local menus will also feature their lumas snails, the Lumas de Cluis, the local name for their homegrown petit gris snails. Most of these snails are raised in and around the small town of Cluis in the department of Indre. Cluis has a number of snail fairs every year, but the big one is the Fête Du Luma held on 1st May.     

Sandre – Zander or Pike-Perch.
www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/46524550024/
   
The wines of Berry
    
Berrichonne is part of the Loire Valley, so even the house wines in small restaurants will usually be the excellent IGP Val de Loire wines. If you do want an AOP local wine, ask for the wine list and look for a white, rosé or light red Sancerre AOP;  a white, rosé or red Menetou Salon AOP; a white Quincy AOP; a rosé or red Châteaumeillant AOP or their white, rosé, and red Reuilly AOP wines. For those who want sparkling wine, the nearby Crémants de Loire are excellent whites and rosés sparkling wines. 
   
www.flickr.com/photos/e_calamar/7073195509/
    
The five most famous cheeses of Berry.
  
Berry has many wonderful goats’ and cows’ cheeses though their internationally famous five AOP cheeses are all goats’ cheeses. 

Pouligny Saint Pierre AOP;  
Selles sur Cher AOP,
Valençay AOP.

   
The Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine cheese.
    
Listening to French in Berry
  
You may have learned excellent French in school or college; however, among themselves, the locals do allow old Berrichon words to slip in, and that, along with local usage, may interfere with any eavesdropping!
   
Visiting Bourges the old capital of Berry
   
Bourges, the ancient capital of Berry, is now the prefecture, the departmental capital of  Cher. Bourges has a fantastic history, a unique Gothic 13th-century cathedral, and is set on the River Yevre. Of particular interest is the Marais Berruyers, the marshes of Berry; there is no longer any marshland there though the name remains. The marshes are an amazing agricultural area in the center of the city, a 10-15 minute walk from the cathedral. Originally, this was a market gardening center; now, it has over 700 private plots with some that include amateur fish farms. You may visit and walk among most of the plots. Bourges is 250 km (153 miles) from Paris. With a direct TGV train, traveling time is 1 hour and 45 minutes, and by car two and a half hours.
   
The cathedral of Bourges. (Cher).
www.flickr.com/photos/sybarite48/5026494266/

Visiting Châteauroux the largest city in Indre
and the Brenne national park.
  
Châteauroux was the largest city in Berry and now is the prefecture, departmental capital of Indre. The town is set on the River Indre and the edge of the Brenne national park. If you just wish to enjoy the country travel slowly around the National Park of Brenne with its ponds, fields, forests, and villages along with many small, but good, local restaurants. The park’s English language website is http://www.parc-naturel-brenne.fr/en/.  
    
A Squacco Heron (ardeola ralloides).
In the Brenne National Park.
www.flickr.com/photos/bensphotograph/25816609498/

The Circus Museum
and the annual Green Lentil fete in Vatan (Indre).

If you are traveling with children, the small town of Vatan has a unique circus museum. Vatan is just 30 km, or twenty-five minutes by car, from Châteauroux. However, when visiting the museum, do check its opening times as they used to close daily for two hours for lunch! The circus museum’s French-language website is www.musee-du-cirque.com/Vatan; it is easily understood using Google or Microsoft translation apps.

On the second weekend in September, Vatan hosts the annual Fete de la Lentille Verte du Berry à Vatan, the Festival of the Green Lentil of Berry in Vatan. Their French language website is www.lentilleduberry.com/FR/esprit-terroir.html. This green lentil was the first dried vegetable to be awarded the Label Rouge, the Red Label.
        
The snail fete, the Fete de Lumas, in the town of Cluis (Indre).
      
Cluis has several snail fetes every year, but the largest begins on the first of May. The town also has a farmers’ market on the first and third Sunday mornings of every month. The Berry Province French language website    https://www.berryprovince.com/agenda/fete-du-luma-cluis/ give more information; it is easily understood with the Google or Microsoft translate apps. You can write ahead for dates and information on all their snail fairs to info@cluis.fr.   They promise to reply in English.
  
Château Valençay and its gardens

The beautiful Château Valençay was once the home of that consummate politician Talleyrand. Talleyrand: Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince Benevento (1754- 1838).
    
Talleyrand was a gourmet and France’s first internationally famous politician, as well as the first politician to use the dinner table for political maneuvering. As a Minister, he first served King Louis XVI but later supported the French Revolution and took part in writing the Declaration of the Rights of Man. As a true Everyman’s politician, he later served Napoleon I as Foreign Minister, and then when the monarchy returned, served King Louis XVIII and King Louis-Philippe, Philippe Égalité.

One of Talleyrand’s most famous quotes was:

L’Angleterre a deux sauces et trois cents religions; la France au contraire, a deux religions, mais plus de trois cents sauces.

The English have two sauces and three hundred religions, while on the other hand, France has two religions and more than three hundred sauces.
  
The nearby town of Valençay gave its name to the Chateau. It is the only town in France to have an AOP for both its cheese and wine, as well as a chateau named after it. The Valençay AOP wines are whites and reds and its cheese is one of France’s most respected goats’ cheeses.

The main fountain in the grounds of the Chateau de Valencay.
www.flickr.com/photos/zigazou76/18620718256/

Champagne Berrichonne
  
Look at a map of Berry, and you will see one large part is called Champagne Berrichonne, and that causes some confusion. Champagne Berrichonne has no Champagne; the word champagne historically refers to a type of soil and the name was adopted further north for the famous sparkling wine. Champagne Berrichonne is not a center for bubbling wine, or any wine for that matter, though it does have a micro-brewery. Champagne Berrichonne is a vast plain and a center for the cultivation of Berry’s famous green lentils and also their cattle farming. The area is covered with hundreds of small lakes and is also home to the Pouligny Saint-Pierre AOC goats’ cheese.

--------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman 
Copyright 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2024
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 
--------------------------------

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
French menus?
 
Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google, Bing, or another browser.  Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

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