16 OCT 2017: Above ground the Loire Valley in France is dotted with beautiful Chateaux and other limestone dwellings. Below ground are kilometres upon kilometres of limestone tunnels, the spinoff of the extraction of so much building material. These former quarries today house wine cellars containing millions of bottles, restaurants, mushroom farms, and even hotel rooms.
The local limestone is called tuffeau and its mining reached its peak in the 15th century. Workers were called “blanche gueule” – white faces in English – as cutting into the soft chalky stone comprised of fossilized organisms and sand particles covered them with fine white dust. They often lived right beside their work in cave (troglodyte) houses carved out of cliff sides.
Saumur and Touraine are Loire’s key regions for these troglodyte galleries and homes. At Louis de Grenelle winery I discovered their former limestone quarry beneath the town of Saumur, in which over 3 million bottles were aging. At Caves Monmousseau near Chenonceau where they have been making sparkling wines for 130 years, the tunnels go for 15 kilometres. At Bouvet-Ladubay visitors can follow an eight-kilometre underground cycle trail beneath the estate where the troglodyte tunnels are more than 1000 years old.
To get the full experience I stayed one night near Saumur at Demeure De La Vignole, a four star hotel that’s in an age-old troglodyte village clinging to the slopes of the Loire. Accommodation was available in its charming 17th century residence and in the 12th century troglodyte rooms updated with all the modern comforts. There was even a heated pool and exercise room carved into the rock. www.demeure-vignole.com
That night my group drove about ten kilometres to La Caves au Moines which housed a mushroom and snail farm and the Les Pieds Bleus restaurant in its tunnels. After a tour of the farm, we sat down to a dinner of snails, mushroom and duck with a specialty from Saumur called fouées – puffed up pitas served up hot from their wood oven.
Those who want to cruise through the area going under the arches of Château de Chenonceau, biking the pathways and also visiting troglodyte cellars could book a Loire trip with European Waterways. www.europeanwaterways.com/fleet/nymphea
From this fascinating area, I headed on to Sancerre, a beautiful small medieval hilltop town that’s world famous for the wines that comes from the area. My visit to the Maison des Sancerre in the town gave me a great overview of the area with its playful animations, 4D film thrill ride through the vineyards (complete with blasts of mist, hot air, vibrations and strobes), interactive displays, talking maps and panoramic view from its tower. www.maison-des-sancerre.com
Sancerre vineyards cover an area of 2,800 hectares spread throughout many different villages. Wine producers number about 350 and sauvignon blanc, a white wine grape, is the dominant variety in the region but also delicious reds and rosés wines are made from the pinot noir grape. I love the wines from here and found many great expressions of the terroir at the wineries I visited: Eric Louis winery in Thauvenay, Henri Bourgeois in Chavignol and Domaine Landrat Guyollot in Pouilly-sur-Loire.
Owner and 10th generation winemaker Sophie Guyollot of Landrat Guyollot, was an exceptionally gracious host whose lovely boutique and tasting room had an adjoining gallery showcasing the contemporary art works of local artists. She even had serious art work on some of her special bottles.
Many of the restaurants in the area also boasted terrific wines lists, great local goat cheeses and local fish and meat dishes. At Pomme d’Or in Sancerre the hot goat cheese on puff pastry atop a salad was scrumptious. Auberge Joseph Mellot offered the local goat cheese various ways as well as fluffy omelettes, grilled local beef and an especially great selection of Mellot and other producers’ wines.
Le P’tit Berry (Berry is the name of the region) won my heart for its savoury and tender rabbit in mustard sauce. Au P’tit Goûter in Chavignol was a cute as a button rustic spot. Its Chavignolaise, featured four slices of Crottin de Chavignol grilled to soften the goat cheese atop a lightly dressed green salad. Entrecôte with house frites was a hearty dish of coarsely cut fries and a large, flavourful steak cooked rare to my liking.
I ended my trip to the Loire on a boat Le Raboliot with Sylvain captaining us through the waters of the Cher River near Saint-Thibault. He makes his own fish terrine which he offered me along with local biscuits and wine. A fitting cap to my Loire visit. www.le-raboliot.com