Summertime and the living is easy… Well at least it would be if the famous Vendée sunshine were to put in an appearance - one long week of unusually cold and wet weather is enough to drive anybody to drink and I am no exception! Thankfully, if you, like me, are looking for some liquid cheer, there are plenty of good, made-in-Vendée wines to choose from…
You will of course have heard of Mareuil – named after the area around the pretty town of Mareuil-sur-Lay in south Vendée. But the coastal vineyards of Brem-sur-Mer are also worth a detour (and a few tasting sessions of course!). Amongst these the Domaine Saint Nicolas near l’Ile d’Olonne, offering weekly visits (in english also) of their organic « chai » every Wednesday, throughout the summer starting 20th July at 9.30am and 10.45am – cost €5.00. Or, for a different approach, why not try a tour of the vineyards on horse-drawn carriage? The Domaine de la Rose St Martin at La Mignotière, offers daily tours (lasting an hour) at 7.30pm – cost €15.00 in July and August, including picnic.
And, depending on your preferred option, the rest of the day can either be spent sleeping it off on the beach or working up an appetite on one of the many cycling and pedestrian paths around the lovely Brem countryside. But preferably not in the rain!
If you have taken holidays in France before, you will know that the French don’t normally need much of an excuse to open a couple of bottles of wine and party until the small hours of the morning! This is particularly true on 14th July, the French National day (or Bastille day as we know it). All around the country, concerts, village dances and firework displays are being organised to celebrate the French Revolution, its values (Liberty, Equality and Fraternity) and, of course, its emblem – the Blue, White and Red flag…
