HAPPY  NEW  YEAR !

We’re just settling back into the old stone house after a snowy Nordic Noël.  The vagabond was itching to cook up a little something sweet to welcome the New Year, but what could be found in the cupboard? A few golden apples, almonds, eggs…and some (essential) cardamom from Finland, with a walnut of butter left in the fridge.

After being away, apple pudding from scratch

What can we pull together to celebrate a new month, a new year? It isn’t unusual that this urge to make a sweet something seizes me when we return from a long, arduous trip (why go North in December…?).  So, quickly I reached for a  shallow, small (20 cm/7 to 8″) baking dish, popped a knob of butter into it to melt in the oven while it warmed to 350°f, and sliced up two golden apples.  This is the way our pudding for two went together:

1 knob of sweet butter

2 apples, quartered, seeded & peeled and thinly sliced

1/3 cup sugar (or less if your apples are very sweet)

1/3 cup runny yogurt or thin crème fraïche

1 heaped Tablespoon plain flour

1 tsp. crushed black cardamom, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons toasted almonds, coarsely chopped

Variations:  add rum-soaked raisins (+ the rum), or chopped pitted prunes

Melt the butter in the baking dish, remove from oven before it browns.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the 2 eggs with sugar, then blend in alternately the yogurt and flour with spices. Pour the melted butter in last, and arrange the apple slices in a whorl, overlapping in the hot dish.  Transfer the batter to the baking dish, top with the chopped almonds (or pecans if you have no almonds).  Slip the dish onto the middle oven shelf and bake for 25 minutes or until it is puffed and toasty-golden. Let this cool in a draft-free place (but it will deflate anyway) – it is more of a flan pudding than a cake.  Serve warm with a cup of afternoon tea – or after lunch espresso.  Dusting with powdered:icing sugar is optional …the vagabond didn’t – having seen enough snow for quite awhile!

Coming up in January:  more about Janus/January in France, more on (essential?!) cardamom, a few truffle notes + a really red soup

Festival of Lights

While this uniformly gray December day draws toward dusk, the vagabond lights an Advent candle and begins to stir up a batch of croquettes.  My many friends of the Jewish faith are probably doing the same in observance of their last night of Hanukkah.  It is almost sundown on the eighth night of Hanukkah, and within half an hour, the last Menorah candle will be lighted in Jewish homes around the world.  A puffy or crispy fried food is always on the menu, with Latkes, crunchy galettes of shredded potatoes, the most common.  Interpretations of “fried” have expanded to include all sorts of savory fritters, croquettes and beignets to commemorate Hebrew history when the Macabees’ miraculous eight days of oil was supplied from a small flask that would normally last just one day.  In Portuguese Jewish homes, salt cod croquetas might be served, while on Italian Hanukkah tables a diamond shaped sweet Frittelle di Hanukkah will be studded with raisins and anise seeds.  My fascination with food traditions of many faiths led me to stir up a variation on croquettes, but rather than deep fried, I found that a moist vegetable croquette was better lightly browned in oil (to qualify on a Hanukkah menu), then baked to finish. This variation on sweet potatoes might suit your Holiday of Lights as a side dish – or even as a nibble with apéros.

Crispy sweet potato croquettes

This recipe for Croquettes de patate douce was tested with baked rather than boiled sweet potatoes, and the baked potato needed a tablespoon or two of boiling water to be mashed, as they dried slightly while baking. They can be made several hours ahead, then finish the baking & crisping before serving. But it is a very moist interior – the baking step is necessary. Shaped with two tablespoons they make an oval, relatively uniform shape and will serve four as a vegetable or beside the starter, while lots of small round ones will be enough to serve eight with cocktails.

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, rinsed and cut up (300ml/1 1/3 cup mashed)

100 g/3/4 cup + 1Tablespoons plain flour; 1/4 tsp salt, white pepper , nutmeg

50 g/1/2 cup +2 Tablespoons ground almonds

50 g/1/2 cup + 3 Tablespoons freshly grated parmesan or grana pradano cheese

1 egg

flaked almonds, toasted as a finishing garnish + sea salt

oil for frying

Cook the sweet potatoes for 20 minutes in boiling water, drain and mash them or put into a food processor.  Stir in the egg and mix well, then the flour, seasonings, ground almonds & cheese. Mix all together (if you like the odd chunk of sweet potato , don’t blend it too smooth). Set the oven at 180°c/350°f; line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Heat the oil to cover the bottom of a cast iron skillet or deep fry pan. Have a plate lined with absorbent paper towels for the fried croquettes, with a skimmer or slotted spoon ready. Using 2 tablespoons, shape the croquettes and plunge them (no more than 5 or 6 at a time) into the hot oil, turning with a spoon or tongs as each side browns – which will be quickly; they burn easily. Turn gently til all are browned and ready to bake.  Transfer the hot croquettes to the baking sheet and bake for ten to twenty minutes (depending on size), shift them into a basket for appetizers or onto a platter with your main dish….lovely with duck or brisket of beef.

Versatile croquettes - with duck breast and seared peppers

Whether your candles are lit for Hanukkah, for Advent or for the Winter Solstice, the vagabond wishes you warm and wonderful holidays!

Walnuts - in every region of France, a handful of favorite varieties

Not only is the approaching holiday season whispering a list of get-ready and must-be-done details in my ear,  there are menu traditions to be stirred into the upcoming days.  One tradition dictates poultry, another asks for at least one green or golden side veg, while the topper remains:  a rich nutty-fruity dessert.  For all courses, nuts really come into their own during the holidays – beyond the classic bowl of nuts with a casse-noisette after the feast, relaxing by the fireside (is this too too yesterday?) with a bit of brandy.  From the vagabond’s perspective in southwestern France, where nut groves march across undulating Périgord hills, the presence of energy-rich walnuts goes from soup to dessert.  Along the way, there are a few regional tricks I could pull out of the recipe box (or folio) to enhance both the fête…. and the leftovers.  What? already thinking about les restes?

Shelled and briefly toasted nuts, ready for... action

Nuts in the market are ready for shelling, and pink Lautrec garlic is still sweet (once the green germ sprout is poked out), so I reached for the mortar and pestle to combine the two in an aïllade.  Since anything aillé suggests the presence of garlic, you can imagine related condiments reach toward aïoli in Provençal fish stews and Gascon aillada to season snails. A related mix in the Périgord is persillade, a crushed blend of parsley and garlic for topping potatoes and grilled meats. I knew that chopped walnuts and garlic form the hefty flavor base of aillade and began to search for proportions. The more sources I found, the more variations appeared – but most agreed that the Toulouse version is the best known. When I began mashing 3 chopped garlic cloves in my small mortar, it was clear that however my intentions were to keep it “authentic”, I needed a larger mortar.  So, oop-la into the blender for this Aïllade Toulousaine:

22 g/3  plump cloves of peeled garlic, chopped + pinch of sea salt

75 g/3 oz.  dry*, skinned walnuts, very lightly toasted, chopped

150 ml/5 oz. oil, half walnut oil, half light olive oil

3 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves  (reserve 1 T. for serving)

100 ml/1/3 cup + 2 T. crème fraïche (optional)

Put the walnuts & garlic into the blender in layers, pulsing half of it before adding the rest. Stop and scrape down sides twice, add 2 T. parsley and when it is all of a mealy texture, add the oil beginning with a thin drizzle with the motor running. Depending on your preference, you can blitz it until is becomes almost creamy (or add 1/3 cup + 2 T. of crème fraïche) or stop with the coarser texture. Turn it out into a bowl and blend in the last T. of parsley.  Cover the bowl and let it mellow for a few hours before serving as a dip for celery and other crudités, or with cold cuts, sliced game or …turkey.

The southwest classic with sautéed potatoes

Actually, our favorite market-break café stop suggests another course

Tartelettes aux noix, a hint of desserts to come

To all my fellow vagabond gourmands, wherever you are perched:             Happy Thanksgiving !

Nut notes: The best season for this and many other condiments and sauces using crushed nuts and garlic is August into September, when the new walnuts are considered “wet”. New crop garlic is juicier as well, so both are much easier to mash in a mortar for a finer consistency. Obviously, it is also the best time for making pesto with fresh basil and new almonds or pine nuts.

Primeurs are ready to sip with roasted chestnuts

Nouveau!  Signs scrawled on bistro black boards and in grocery windows across southern France proclaim their arrival:  the new, fruity wines are here! November’s third Thursday, the official release date for barrels, bottles and boxes of Beaujolais nouveau is cause for celebration – not only of a fresh batch of Beaujolais, but of many other regional reds.  Several of these primeurs were displayed in a cart in our village grocery this week; the vagabond couldn’t resist one of her favorite appellations, a primeur from Gaillac in the Tarn.  The grape for these young wines is the thin skinned, low tannin Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, the same used in Beaujolais wines, which lends itself to carbonic maceration for reds ready to sip in less than three months.  So, why not celebrate the first red wines of 2010 with a touch of red on our plates as well as in the glasses?

A perk of this process: the aroma of roasted peppers

It all began at noon, when I roasted red peppers and eggplant in the oven to make a sauce for supper.  There are still local peppers and aubergines in the market stalls to inspire me, to suggest a special touch to a simply sautéed turkey steak with onions. This recipe* is one of those country traditions that doesn’t get very specific in quantities, so it is a little different every time I whip it up. The aromas of roasting peppers brings back flavor memories of Catalonian lunches beginning with Escalivada - a starter of roasted pepper strips and slabs of grilled eggplant. Although my original thoughts were to dilute the sauce with stock for colorful cups of soup, all that changed when  I tasted it:  don’t change anything, even the spices.  Be sure the veg are very fresh for this smooth  Red Sauce:

2 1/2 large or 3 medium sized clean red peppers/poivron (not piments)

1 medium to large eggplant/aubergine, washed and dried

2 cloves peeled and chopped garlic

4 anchovy fillets, oil or salt-packed – rinsed and dried, chopped

1 T. capers, drained

4 to 5 T. olive oil

Line a cake-roll (with edges) pan with aluminum foil to catch juices. Place the whole veg so that no sides touch.  Roast the peppers and aubergine in a hot oven, 230°c (fan)/450°f.  for about 20 minutes; turn them halfway through to allow all sides to blister or scorch a little. Remove with tongs onto a soup plate (they will give off more juices) and slip it into a paper bag, pinch closed and set aside to cool. Reserve any collected juices to add flavor to a soup later.  Meanwhile, chop the garlic and anchovies. Take the plate of veg out of the sack and slip off/ separate from skins and seeds, chop up the flesh (the eggplant need not be seeded, just skinned) coarsely. Put this in a blender with the garlic and anchovies, whizz it all together to make a thick sauce, stir down the sides with a spatula, then whizz and drizzle the olive oil in a thin stream. Taste for seasoning – it may want a drop of tabasco but no salt,  pour into a serving bowl; or keep in a jar in the fridge, where it improves within a few hours.  Serve as a color note on or beside poultry, fish or pork – hot or cold.  Finish your meal on a traditional note with roasted chestnuts to best  savor the last drops of primeur.  Packed in sterile jars, tied with a ribbon, this sauce makes a colorful holiday gift for someone who prefers savories to sweets…

Red sauce - when you are hungry for color

*Recipe for roasted pepper sauce adapted from the magazine, Country Living (UK) August 2007.

Next up: Nuts – walnuts, chestnuts and pricey pignola

Get out the old Griswold skillet, turn on the heat...

Irresistible, whether you call them cèpes, porcini (Italian), herkku tatti (Finnish) or boletus edulis, mushrooms from Sunday morning’s market rounds found their way to our table within twenty-four hours.  Our nice “mess”  – to revive an old morel hunting term – of mushrooms was actually enough for two meals, very fresh with relatively little trimming to be done.  We had quickly transferred them from plastic into a paper sack, kept them cool and made sure there were enough garlic cloves and parsley for the prep.  The juicy pink garlic peeled easily and parsley was plucked from the garden; with a little butter and some good olive oil at hand, supper was soon underway.

Lautrec pink garlic to chop, bacon chunks ready

As the resident Mushroom Master began trimming, I checked my Go-To site for mushroom questions:  www.leslieland.com.  This garden whiz has excellent columns and notes by mushroom expert Bill Bakaitis.  My concerns were to make sure that these were safe (raising a few questions even though they were bought from a mushroom vendor) and whether there were any warnings about drinking wine with the champignons. Not to worry:  it was clear that our boletus edulis all had smooth stems, with no shaggy or rough texture of a similar but inedible variety. There were also no warning notes on any danger in having a glass of wine with these mushrooms.  Once cleaned, the cèpes cooked in the hot, heavy skillet with chopped garlic and bacon in bubbling butter for about 20 minutes.  I loaded a basket with toasted baguette slices, we plated the cèpes and sat down to a magnificent country meal – straight from the market!

A quick drizzling of good olive oil puts a shine on the cèpes

Wine Notes: Many would choose a dry but fruity white – a Sancere comes to mind – to sip with cèpes.  The vagabond reaches for a country red, such as a three to five year old Côtes de Duras with a little tannic edge to accent the mushrooms’ woodsy richness.

What does it cost? At a reasonable 24Euros the kilo, or about 12 Euros a pound for the freshest quality mushrooms (older and spotted ones priced lower), I am curious about comparable prices in your markets….send us a comment on prices in your region.

Belgian endive & pomegranate seeds, crunchy & sweet

Usher in late autumn with a salad bowl full of crisp endive, Belgian or curly, slightly bitter endive greens.  But that isn’t enough, in fact it just gets us started on a quick weekday lunch.  Chop up the endive, mix up a mustardy vinaigrette and toss in a spoonful of pomegranate seeds to rest while you set the table, slice up a crusty loaf of pain de campagne and call folks to lunch.

Let the dressing rest 10 minutes as flavors mingle

The dressing or – vinaigrette à la Michel, as it is known around here – is a 1, 2, 3 operation:  1) measure 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard into a small bowl with a pinch of sea salt 2) whisk in 2 Tablespoons of sherry/Xeres vinegar, and whisk into the emulsion a drizzle of 3 Tablespoons olive oil…then the vagabond stirs in the rosy pomegranate seeds. Other additions can be chopped fresh chives, finely minced parsley, freshly shelled almonds or walnuts.  Just before serving, stir the dressing over and into the bowl of greens (add young spinach leaves, too!). The last touch is a cupful of cubed blue cheese, such as a tomme d’Auvergne from the market or roquefort (not too old and crumbly) if you want to splurge. Just don’t forget to add the pomegranate seeds – and add a little of their juice to the dressing… salad couldn’t be simpler.

Without intending it, you have a red, white & bleu salad

Dream drives was my working title for National Geographic Society’s latest book, the fifth illustrated tome in their 500 series. The vagabond has been commissioned to write destinations for them all, and it is true:  Drives of a Lifetime, 500 of the World’s Most Spectacular Trips packs in far-flung dream circuits for motoring in all corners of the globe.  Recently released, this comprehensive book covers a dizzying selection of dream trips in eight chapters.  Some cover the world’s back roads and popular local circuits, while others illustrate well known highways.  Australia’s Great Ocean Road, a twelve hour loop tour, is one of the “Ultimate Road Trip” features – a longer text found in each chapter.  Mountain lovers will be thrilled with diverse destinations, from Alaska’s Yukon Golden Circle to a Madrid Mountain Drive.

The vagabond's favorite trail through the Barolo & Barbaresco vineyards

A map illustrates every destination, as sea and shore, river and canyon, village byways, and urban excursions themes all fuel the reader’s wanderlust. The Driving Through History chapter includes a stunning range of trips, from a pre-Columbian trail in Mexico to Puglia’s olive groves on the heel  of Italy’s boot.  Although most trips are for four wheels, some could be adapted to two (or even to a dune buggy in Peru!).  And at last, ramble from Kentucky’s Boubon Trail and on through the Langhe valley’s vineyards in the Piedmont as the Gourmet Road Trips chapter wraps up this tantalyzing collection of road trip adventures.  Don’t miss the vagabond’s favorite 10 European Food Drives, as well as the U.S.  10 Wayside Bounty drives to enjoy regional specialties in season, from blueberries in Rhode Island, pumpkins and chocolate in Pennsylvania to late winter citrus harvest in Arizona’s roadside stalls.  It all leaves the reader hungry for more luscious images and succinct, spirited text…maybe the next in the series will be 600 journeys!

Gifting idea for active or armchair travelers on you list: order through the National Geographic Society site,  www.nationalgeographic.com/books or at your local independent book store.

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Somehow, organic markets don’t always show up on official listings and tourism internet sites, so the vagabond is adding a Bio Marché category to help you find them in regions of France. On this bright Tuesday morning, we drove to Bergerac in the Périgord, where biologique producers and artisans set up to sell their seasonal and organic products on a square facing the Mairie /City Hall.  Only a few weeks ago the surge of summer crowds filled this riverside city’s old town with visiting shoppers.  Now, back to autumn rhythms, the market has wound down to four stalwart vendors. I recognized the chèvre cheese vendor, a regular at Issigeac’s market on Sunday mornings. While buying a peppered chèvre, I admired a box of at least four varieties of apples, just-gathered walnuts and a tray of tempting chèvre mini-tartes.  Another regular vendor, Marie-Thé Martin, offers bread to go with any cheese, a range of small to large loaves blended made of wheat and spelt flour.   I remember  (can it be ten years ago?) when her husband was building the ovens in their barn near Molières, planting fields of épautre/spelt on land that had to be chemical-free (i.e. waiting four years before the wheat could be considered biologique/organic), and setting up a grist mill to grind the spelt into flour.  The family has worked hard, planting, grinding, baking and selling in markets to develop a loyal following for their breads and flour.  And a new item has been added to their stall, a seasoning sauce based on épautre (spelt), the ancient and nourishing grain so cherished by the Romans.  In response to my questions about this addition to her nutritious products, she suggested:  “… use Socepotre as you would soy sauce – and add a dash of lemon juice”. And so I will.

Anne-Sophie Martin creates healing and scented soaps

A new face at the bio market was a young woman selling soap.  This is her first year in business, selling her soaps through bio shops, boutiques and at markets. After working as a research chemist in the skin care pharmaceutics industry, she made soaps at home for six years before launching her own line.  She showed me the range of soaps based on essential oils as well as those without perfume. All are  simply cut into uniform squares.  How could I resist the soap for gardeners?

Soaps with poppy seeds or coffee grains serve as exfoliants...

She held up one of the apricot kernel soaps and noted…” I used a little coconut milk with this one for a nice foamy lather”.  The all-natural ingredients in her soaps include calendula and argan oil, avocado and honey, and donkey milk for very sensitive skin.  MC reached for a shaving soap of camomille and white clay scented with mint and lavender, while I couldn’t resist the wheat germ and coffee soap for dry hands.  Pleased with this discovery, we slipped soaps into the basket already bulging with onions, cheese and bread.  As we walked into Bergerac’s medieval quarter for a coffee pause before driving home, one of my old marketing principles came to mind:  bigger is not always better…seek out more relaxed, smaller markets.

Soaps:  For more on the Savonnerie En Douce Heure, send her a message at contact@endouceheure.fr or visit her site for points of sale: www.endouceheure.fr

Note: Contribute an organic market discovery/comment to our list as you travel in France!

Beets, onion slices and spices...

If you *love* pickles and happen to be in New York this month, devote a day to all manner of brined veg: The International Pickle Festival brings connoisseurs of condiments together on a busy intersection in the Lower East Side. Before I get to the pickle recipe, here are the details: Sunday, October 17th is the day to circle, from 11 to 4:30 (don’t dilly-dally, or it will all be over), between Orchard and Ludlow – extending onto Broome Street, follow your nose. Besides garlic infused Polish dill pickles, you’ll sample pickles from Asia (kimchi salsa anyone?) to savory French and Italian brined specialties. Chopped, sliced, in chunks or pickles on a stick – this is the place to explore the realm of pickles, a culinary subculture unto itself. Bring a bag, buy a few bottles to spice up chilly autumn week ends. Not just for fun, but (as you will learn there) pickles are good for you – after all, it seems that Cleopatra believed in pickles as one of her beauty secrets. Artisans such as Brooklyn Brine bring their best, and watch for Wong’s Thunder Pickles. This, the 10th annual Pickle Day, is sponsored by the New York Food Museum (visit their Pickle Wing sometime), Umani Food, and New York City Greenmarkets. Bring the kids for a day of tastings, music, demonstrations and book signings on the Lower East Side – a culinary crossroads of the world (of pickles).

For more, check: www.lowereastsideny.com

Recipe #1, an old favorite:  Beet Pickles

Pickling is about conserving flavor in times of plenty, when we all know less plentiful times lie just around the corner. That goes for color as well, so begin with ruby red beets.  Boil the beets until just tender*, peel and quarter them and pack in hot jars. You will need:

1 quart beets, cooked peeled and quartered or cut in slices (no not overcook or use pre-cooked beets: result will be flabby pickles)

3/4 cup light brown sugar + 1 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup cider vinegar + 1/2 cup spring water

1 tsp. toasted  cumin seeds + 12 cloves + cinnamon stick + 6 whole allspice (optional)

Bring the liquids, sugar and spices to a boil, pour over the beets in hot jars and seal with sterilized lids. Great with a winter lunch of cold roast pork or poached fish – and a must with pork sausages.

Recipe #2: Mixed vegetable pickles – two ways

Cauliflorets, onions and peppers...

There are more ways to pickle a cucumber (or most any vegetable) than I imagined:  raw in a brine, raw in hot jars with hot vinegar, cooked for a few minutes in vinegar or soaked in vodka. To pickle in brine, I checked Michael Ruhlman’s essential guide, Ratio, for advice. This is the classic tried and true crock method, soaking (all parts submerged) vegetables in a brine of 2  1/2 cups/20 oz. spring water with 2 tablespoons/1 oz. coarse salt. Dissolve the salt in the water in a non-reactive pan over high heat, stir it, turn off the heat and let it cool. This basic brine, poured over a jar or crock of sliced carrots, onions, peppers, wax beans, cucumbers (and dill heads) or a mix of whatever is heaped in the market, will produce crisp and tangy pickles in a week or two. Use compatible herbs, such as tarragon or dill and garlic if you wish.  Be sure to put a plate (with a stone or brick) to weigh it down and cover the top with cling-film. Then they are ready for the table or to be bottled.

For a recent batch of cooked cauliflower pickles, a basic ratio of 2 cups sugar to 1 quart vinegar got me started on a series of pickle-packing sessions. First, while the cauliflower and onions refresh in an ice bath for 2 hours, get out the pans, bottles, tongs and heat the vinegar mixture. This works well for a mix of golden peppers, carrots, and red onions – whatever you have in quantity. Heat water in a large soup pot and when boiling, submerge jars – wait to scald the lids until just before sealing the jars. You will need tongs, a long-handled ladle and a large soup spoon, and a cloth placed on the countertop next to the stove or cook-top.

1 quart/900 ml. white wine vinegar

2 cups/225 g.  sugar

1/4 cup/43 g. coarse (Kosher) salt

2  T. whole mustard seeds

1 T. whole celery seed + 1 tsp. ground turmeric

Heat the above ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, then add the following vegetables (cut them up smaller for smaller jars, chunky for larger jars):

1 large head cauliflower, broken into small florets (refreshed in an ice bath for 2 hours)

1 large yellow bell pepper, trimmed & cut in strips

2 medium red onions, peeled and sliced in vertical strips

3 medium carrots/270 g. peeled and sliced into thick coins

slivers of hot chili pepper, 1 or 2 for each pot (if desired)

Drain the iced vegetables well and plunge them into the bubbling vinegar mixture, lower heat to a simmer to cook for 8 minutes, then reduce heat to minimum as you scoop the pickled veg into sterile jars.  Wipe the rims of each jar before putting a hot cap on, twist tightly and set on the kitchen towel to cool; place another towel over all jars as they cool overnight. This makes about 5 pints or 6 large jam jars. When cool, store in a dark, chilly place.  If concerned about keeping the pickles for many months, after capping, plunge them back into the pot of hot water to process for about 10 minutes.  This recipe is inspired by a recipe on CDkitchen.

Variation by color: Keep the carrot coins separate, pickle the cauliflower mix first, then cook the carrots & 1 more red onion for 6 minutes in the remaining vinegar bath before bottling (add a few allspice berries or cloves to each jar).

Note: Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman (published in 2009 by Scribner) is an essential resource when puzzled about a process or basic proportion of ingredients.  Good for advice on anything from cream puffs to, well….pickles.

September's glorious grapes

Château de Tiregand, a seventeenth century vineyard and château rising above the town of Creysse on the north bank of the Dordogne river, swings open its château doors just once a year. The vagabond joined the crowds swarming around historic sites during the weekend, the Days of our Heritage/Journees du Patrimoine, to venture inside.  Since the Count de la Panouse bought the property in 1827, members of the Panouse and (through marriage) the Saint Exupéry family have added or subtracted from the extensive quarters (over fifty bedrooms at last count), to suit their taste and the times. No longer inhabited by the family, only parts of the vast interior are in good repair.  We stood in the shade, listening to the intriguing story, from the first structure on the site built by Edward Tyrgan (a natural son of England’s King Edward III in the 13th century) to the state of this Monument Historique today.

South facing rooms with a view of the Dordogne valley

Washed in September sunlight, the formal château entry stands apart from wings running perpendicular to the long, south side shown above.

A grand formal entry, seldom used today

Once inside, a dark circular stairway dominates the space, and lures visitors up – until the guide motions:  non, s’il vous plait!

Jours de Patrimoine visitors...tempted by stairways

As our guide, Francois-Xavier de Saint-Exupéry, told the story of his family and their vineyards, it was clear that they shared set-backs of blight and weather with the region’s many vintners.  The phylloxéra infestation of the late nineteenth century, and a devastating early spring frost in the nineteen-fifties hit all of the Pécharmant vineyards equally hard.  Vine stock, replanted and thriving for decades after the blight, was frozen just at the time when the spring pruning was on the 1956 calendar. Now the vineyards occupy forty-three hectares of the four hundred sixty hectares of the Tiregand domaine.  Red wines in the Pécharmant appelation are their primary focus, with 54% merlot vines, cabernet sauvignon 23%, cabernet franc 18%, and just 5% malbec to blend into these well-balanced wines.  For their Bergerac dry white wines, they have 1.2 hectares planted in white grapes. During the upcoming vendange, seven hectares will be harvested manually, while the remainder will be mechanically harvested before being spread on tables for sorting by hand. Only one of the reds, Cuvée Grand Millésime will spend twelve to eighteen months in French oak barrels.  Tiregand’s red wines are best after about four years, so their Gold medal (at the Maçon wine awards) 2007 Grand Millésime is ready now.  In the Pécharmant tradition of well-structured red wines, this lightly tannic cuvée is a good value at less than ten euros a bottle.  Consider the terroir, the vintners’ persistent efforts to make each millésime better – and add the element of heritage for these wines, of the place, of the people – when tasting in Tiregand’s spacious chais and tasting room.

As a civet de lapin simmers on the back burner, I lift my glass to the Saint-Exupéry family in thanks for opening the château and grounds to us all, for taking a weekend every year to welcome both locals and visitors from afar.  Santé!

The Tiregand chais and tasting room is open year round

All across France, historic sites and certain private properties are open to the public during mid-September every year.  It is worth planning travel to a region of interest to visit, listen and taste during Les Journees du Patrimoine.