The world has caught on, as thousands of thirsty visitors are drawn to a Rhône village: Beaujeu. For more than thirty years, this traditional new wine celebration has spilled over into towns and bar terraces across two continents (at least!). I recall being among enthusiastic wine-lovers who gathered annually at the New French Café in Minneapolis to toast the beaujolais nouveau. And now, the Sarmentelles or Fête du beaujolais nouveau is underway in Beaujeu, lighting the village with fireworks at dusk on the eve of November’s third Thursday.

But it isn’t just wine that would draw me all the way to this town in the Rhône hills. It is Beaujeu’s liquid gold in addition to liquid rouge:  autumn is time to press nuts for rich, aromatic oils.   Jean-Marc Montegottero uses a century-old stone press to extract a dozen types of oils at his Huilerie beaujolaise. Pressing is done to such high standards that he is counted in many a chef’s little black book of suppliers. For a whiff of heaven, walk into the shop at 29, rue Echarmeaux on the day he is roasting hazelnuts and pressing the oil. Browse for awhile and choose from their range, a delicate pistachio oil, the hefty walnut oil (superb sprinkled on pumpkin soup or purée with just-shelled and toasted nuts), or refined argan oil. If Beaujeu is not on your itinerary, contact them to ship an order. Their website is “under construction” but the telephone is: 33 (0)4 7469 2800. When in Beaujeu, stop in for a tasting and take a scheduled tour of the mill (2.50 Euros). ‘Tis the season – for new wine and fresh nut oil!

p.s.  This line of nut oils is also available in Paris at La Grande Epicerie de Paris.

In between one mousse and another, a quick word on current and upcoming chocolate events: In Perugia, Italy,  Eurochocolate is this week, 13th to 21st October.  In addition to tastings and demonstrations, sit in on a round table discussing “The Sustainable Economy of Cocoa Producing Countries”. If not 2007, put Perugia on the Tasty Travels plan for October 2008.  Check www.eurochocolate.com/en/perugia for details.

Over 100 chocolatiers and 400 exhibits fill the Salon du Chocolat, the 19th & 20th of October  in Paris – events on the menu include chocolate-hued fashion shows.  In New York, Chocolate Week is the 4th to 11th of November, 2007.

You can’t sneak a bite of fouace without a bit of evidence: a cheek dusted with sugary crumbs. The traces are quickly brushed away, leaving only a smirk behind. We first encountered rings of fouace in the Auvergne at Aurillac’s annual June Snack Festival, Fête du Casse Croûte. Once discovered, I took on the duty of sampling fouace across southern France. Not a bad assignment. Initially, this briochy and light yeasted bread was in the basket for our after-market picnic lunch. Then it traveled along to be sliced for breakfast in a Rhône valley gîte. With its airy texture and a hint of orange-flower water (many are brushed with this before baking), fouace soon replaced a morning croissant with my first cup of café au lait. I found fouace in both large and small sugar-studded rings on baker’s stalls in the Albi and Castres markets, or shaped in ovals and topped with glossy cherries in Céret. The latter version lifted a humble hearth bread into a new role as a festive dessert.

When I stumbled upon a savory fougasse in the Nyons market, I wondered if the two breads were related in some way. Not at all. The easily-gripped ladder bread or fougasse is firm and often has a salty topping of onions or olives. It can be snapped apart rather than sliced, so a knfe isn’t essential. With slits to separate the bread in parts, its maximum crust makes fougasse a good partner for cheese. Across the diverse regions that make up sunny Provence, I have seen many variations on the fougasse theme. In some markets, one might find a sweet version, Gibassier, flavored with almonds and orange flower water, though it is not as common as the slitted, salty fougasse.

As is true of many regional specialties, both fouace and fougasse can be found in some Paris markets. I have bought fouace, made by a baker from the Auvergne, in the 5th arrondissement’s Rue Monge market. The more widely popular fougasse is sold in bakeries and city markets, such as the bustling Bastille market on Sunday morning. Which is best? Its all a matter of mood, appetite and the time of day. Why not begin the day with a feather-light slice of fouace and save the fougasse for an evening picnic, to nibble while watching the sun set over the Seine- or over a rolling panorama of Roussillon vineyards?

Celebrate Spring: Coulommiers Foire Internationale aux Fromages et aux Vins/ Cheese & Wine Fair

A smooth sliver of Brie and a sip of fruity Saumur seemed like a perfect marriage. When I discovered that an entire family of Brie cheese exists, I decided to meet all the relatives! Every year the weekend before Easter is circled on my calendar, the ideal time to taste Brie from Meaux, Melun and Coulommiers. The focus of the weekend is assembled under the shelter of vast white tents: the annual International Cheese and Wine Fair. Hundreds of cheeses are displayed –not only Brie, but mountain tommes from the Auvergne and the Basque country, tangy chèvre from the Loire and Provence; the selection is amazing. Other regional products (to be tasted, bien sûr!) run from wines to tiny ravioli from Royans, an on to croissants and crusty baguettes baked in wood fired ovens on the spot.

The land of Brie, le pays briard, lies on the eastern edge of the ÃŽle-de-France, just an hour from the heart of Paris. Our route leads through the banlieue and soon we are rolling into open country, past heaps of round, rain-washed sugar beets stacked at the edge of broad fields. My husband, Michel, is at the wheel, and I navigate. Scanning the map, past the turn to Disneyland I notice that the river Seine defines Brie’s southern limits, while the Marne snakes along its northern border. We traverse a landscape of woodlands and flat fields, of turreted brown fieldstone walls hiding manors and farms built during centuries of wealth and power, vestiges of grain and dairy richesse. The major cheese market for the historic pays briard has long been Coulommiers.

At the edge of the city, near La Sucrerie cultural center halls, the Foire Internationale aux Fromages et aux Vins assembles makers of cheese, bread, sausages and wines. Just as we arrive on Friday morning, a fanfare of trumpets leads a parade of regional officials and confréries. A black limousine pulls up to the red carpet, the first lady of France steps out and proceeds to cut the ribbon and inaugurate the fair. Judges have finished their work of tasting and awarding prizes for the best Brie, so this jocular group falls in step behind the President’s wife. Flat, Brie-like hats of the Confrérie du Brie de Meaux bob along above purple, cream and crimson robes of cheese brotherhoods as they march into the fair.

For a sample and a few tips on choosing cheese, I follow the amusing Brie-topped hats of two confrères straight to their stall. The shorter of the two ivory-robed men, eager to expound on the finer points of this famous cheese, explains: “There have been two distinct Brie AOC’s for about thirty years. The zones are clearly defined and regulations are strict for dairies and cheese-makers of Brie de Meaux, and the smaller region of Brie de Melun. Raw cow’s milk must be used for both to merit the label”. With broad smiles, they slice sample tidbits, then wrap up half-wheel portions of Brie for earnest cheese shoppers. When there is a brief lull in tasting and wrapping, he continues: “Affineurs, play a key role in preparing Brie for market. These cheese-aging specialists take the cheese one week after moulding. At first each cheese is turned several times daily, then weekly as the Bries ripen on straw pallets, with conditions closely monitored for about two months. Brie de Nangis, de Provins, and rarer Brie de Montereau are made in regional dairies. Experts have noted that the smaller rounds of Brie de Coulommiers most closely resemble the original Brie. Now…” he remarks with a furrowed brow, “we worry about regulations from Brussels on the use of raw milk”.

When ripe and ready, the powdery crust will take on a few reddish-brown points, as though woven under the snowy cover. A Brie’s pale, straw-toned interior should be even in texture when cut –with perhaps a few tiny bubbles. The refined and balanced Brie, reportedly the favourite of Charlemagne, has been called both the King of Cheeses, and the Cheese of Kings. Perhaps this first French king chose a goblet of champagne from neighboring Epernay to sip when he savored an aromatic Brie. And he may have remarked that a sweet note lingers after a bite of Brie- just the right note before setting out to explore a wealth of flavors in the enticing pays briard.