Tour de France - Week Two from La Rochelle through Cognac to Bordeaux

Another night spent in the vineyards

You may remember that we at the start of a seven week tour of France using France Passion sites on mainly organic farms as our bases as we explore this huge nation in our VW Campervan affectionately known as Elsie. We'd arrived via ferry in the Normandy port of Caen just over a week ago and as we travelled further south the weather was getting warmer and the sights and sounds becoming less familiar as we entered into rural France, France Passion had enabled us to meet local people, passionate about their farms or businesses, which had also enabled us to find the 'real France' away from hotels, or overcrowded campsites full of tents, motor-homes and caravans.

After spending two nights at an AirBnB just outside of La Rochelle, where we had been able to do some laundry and upload our photos onto the web we were keen to get back to our more basic living conditions that being our faithful Elsie who had spent two night parked outside on her own and hadn't even enjoyed the stunning harbour of La Rochelle or even had a sight of the Atlantic ocean where we had swam to refresh ourselves.

Inside a cognac distillery 

We were heading further south and further east but our next stop was to be on the Ile (Island) D'Oleron accessed via a bridge stretching nearly three kilometres which was the longest in France at it's time of construction, this bridge gave us great views overlooking the passing trawlers and the huge oyster beds with the little fishermen s boats tending those most precious of commodities. On the way down we'd passed through Rochefort made famous by its cheese made from sheep's milk (eeek) and then over the marshy lands towards the bridge. The island was really busy, not to the extent of a Cornish village or beach during midsummer but busy enough that we commented on it and it seemed that all the motor-homes and people we'd seen on the beaches of Normandy had now descended onto this little piece of paradise.

Maz cooling off in the Atlantic

The France Passion vineyard we were staying on grew a variety of different grapes and alongside it's white and red wines produced an alcoholic called Pineau, an aperitif that we were to become accustomed to as we travelled further into the Cognac region just north of Bordeaux. This beverage is made by blending non alcoholic grape juice with the alcohol that was produced from the distilling of other grapes, this blend is then left in barrels for around two years and produces a sweet fortified wine at around 17 percent which is very nice served chilled.

Beautiful Sainte

Our pitch for the night was set in the heart of the very vines that produce the grapes to make the Pineau and once we'd had a tasting we walked down to the nearest village, La Cotiniere where we enjoyed another swim and a walk into and around the pretty village with it's harbour which reminded us of those we'd visited in Devon and Cornwall. The place was a buzz with holiday makers who were sitting in the bars and restaurants, we didn't have the budget to do the same so wandered back up the two kilometer cycle track, or green lane, to Elsie who was awaiting patiently for us to return.

Roman ruins (not Maz!)
on the banks of the Charente

I got up early for a run, back down the green-way to the harbour and back and after we'd breakfasted we broke camp, yup getting all the terms in here now! and left the island happy that we'd come and seen but wishing we had have visited out of season and had a little bit more space to ourselves. As we cross the bridge again we were glad of some familiar space we enjoyed lunch in Saintes with its roman ruins sitting along the banks of the river Charente as we made our way inland to a remote little vineyard in the Cognac region.

A night with a view

As we drove to and through the tiny village of Villars-Les-Bois we were delighted to find a wonderful spot with a 180 degree panorama over the vineyards in the valley below, we were greeted by an older gentleman who spoke no English and his wife who spoke a little. After parking up we asked if we might taste their wines which were OK but we were literally blown away by the powerful Cognac that they produced. It turned out that this elderly gent had lived on the farm for his whole life and taken over the production from his father, now he did look about 60 but we were somewhat surprised when he offered us a 50 year old, actually bottled in 1968, vintage of his best cognac which he told us he made when he was about 30, this put him well into his 80's so it would seem that a little tipple of this fiery nectar was keeping him very young at heart.

A simple tasting room and production area.

After another peaceful night and waking to the sound of a now all too familiar laughing cry of the Green woodpeckers, who we feel should be the national bird of France, however it is the cocky cockerels which strut around, especially along the sidelines when their rugby team is playing that takes that honor, and after a very leisurely morning, no run for either of us and filling up with water we made our long journey to our next stopover.

The land of the chateau

That long journey was no more than five miles and we could actually see the church spire of the next village from our lofty position the night before, however we were keen to visit this chateau which again produced cognac and which afforded us a lovely and peaceful spot next to their lake and a visit to a their museum which gave us a much better idea of the history of cognac which was really helpful.We learnt so much about this type of brandy that must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels made in either Limousin or Tronçais, that there is only a certain period of the year in which the production can take place and the amazing fact that the cognac region of France has more vines than any other region, which is surprising as we so attribute vines and their grapes to be made into French wine when this region makes this spirit which isn't that popular with the local French population.

It would be rude not to purchase
 at least one bottle

We also loved the ratings of the different aged cognacs, harping back to when England was much more aligned to this region after the marriage of Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine and Bordeaux and it's region came under English rule between 1152 and 1453. Each bottle is marked with letters relating to English words rather than French, either V.S, V.S.O.P, X.O, or X.X.O each relating to the English words V.S. (Very Special) V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale) XO (Extra Old) XXO (Extra Extra Old) and finally the French Hors d'âge (Beyond Age) 

I ran into the local village in the morning for croissants and baguettes but arrived too early, again, so had to run around the lanes whilst I waited for it to open, these lanes were surrounded by fields and fields of bright and happy sunflowers all opened up and smiling as the dawn broke for another perfect day. 

I had a laugh with the local baker who spoke no English and who couldn't believe that I was running back to the chateau with his bread in my fold up shopping back which I was now strapping to my back to ensure the bread stayed as undamaged as possible. I met Maz returning from her shorter run, set up the shower, with warm water heated from the solar bag and settled down to a very white starchy breakfast accompanied by butter (vegan option) and jams, lekker (sorry Afrikaans for nice or great etc)!

Crepes in Cognac

We made our way towards the town of Cognac travelling along roads that literally cut through vineyards or fields of sunflowers which stretched out around us along the hill tops and down into the valleys, we felt blessed to be able to experience such beauty and we were also delighted to find a parking space with porta potti emptying facilities, I won't go into the details, for Elsie and wander around the stunning town. We even pushed the boat out and had a delicious lunch of crepes, savory to start with a shared sweet one to end. The town was empty and according to a few locals we were lucky as usually it was full of tourists from the United States or the far east who come to taste and visit this mecca of spirits.

Sunset reflect in the stainless steel tanks

After lunch we made our slow way down to Archiac and another vineyard that produced wines and cognac, we had a lovely tasting with the lady who owned the property, her husband was playing around on a new tractor which he had been given as a trial before purchase so we didn't chat with him. Although the wines were nice we weren't too impressed with the position that we had been shown on the gravel car park and it was to prove to be the noisiest of nights on our whole trip. It was a Friday night so obviously spirits were up in the local village but unbeknownst to us, and also the owners, was the fact that a young couple had just bought a nearly house and were having a house warming, which lasted all night!, hey ho you can't be as blessed as we had been all of the time can you?

No shade but a wonderful welcome

Our next night was to be the complete opposite. We'd stopped at the hill top town of Barbezieux-St-Hilaire, walked around its large square, complete with water fountains, set in front of its huge and imposing chateau for lunch and after a short drive arrive at the welcoming Domaine Conte & Filles and were greeted by a young lady who firstly apologised for the baking sun and lack of shade that she could provide for us but then showed us to a toilet, complete with shower and kitchen area which we made full use of the next morning after our run.

Tasting direct from the barrel

Nothing was too much trouble for her and we had a great tasting with her and around 20 other French people who had made their way from Bordeaux just to visit this tiny farm. It turned out that she and her sister made their cognac style spirit and she gave us a detailed tour of the distillery complete with traditionally shaped copper Charentais (the containers with all their pipes and gauges in which the liquid is heated and distilled), cellars full of french oak barrels and then a fabulous tasting. We really enjoyed our time with her and were sad to have to leave the next morning.

Chillaxing in the pool!

We had to leave as I'd booked us into an AirBnB where we could once again catch up with some washing and uploads to the internet. The stay was brilliant, we had a little room, lounge, come dinning, come kitchen, come bedroom, with a sofa bed which was far less comfortable than either of the three sleeping option in Elsie, but the Pièce de résistance (listen to me with my fancy French terms and correct spelling) was the outside area which was equipped with two outside dinning areas, a pool, which was much used to escape the heat, and a few running loops into the near by forests which reminded us so much of those around Elgin and Grabouw in South Africa. 

A French braai master

Our hosts were wonderful too and after a chillaxing Sunday they invited us over for an early evening meal, they had no qualms about us being plant based eaters and went well out of their way to create something we could put on the BBQ as well as the usual fresh salad,tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, humus dips, washed down with a few glasses of local wine and beer, it was a truly memorable evening where we made new friends overlooking their Arabian horses which stood majestically in the newly created paddocks.

New friends share a meal

After two nights we really didn't want to leave but week three was calling so after making use of the internet again to connect with family and friends, especially our dear Grandchildren of whom we had started reading a chapter of Winnie the Pooh for their bedtime story over the internet, we said our sad goodbyes and ventured into Bordeaux wine country!