Pezenas Wine Tour

The highlight of our holiday was definitely the wine tour that we did on Friday; we booked through a website www.pezenas-languedoc.com  and when we spoke with the lady responsible she was very helpful and spoke excellent English. We booked in for a VIP wine tour (95 Euros) which was set to include a tour of two domaines in the morning then a gourmet lunch cooked by our tour guide and then a third domaine in the afternoon; we were very excited.


Our tour guide Bruno collected us at a very sociable hour of 10am and he drove us in his car to the first domaine where we went right into the vines of the Stella Nova vineyard. The vineyard was surrounded by beautiful meadows full of wild flowers and we were very lucky with the weather so the landscape of Pezenas looked like something from a postcard. While we were at Stella Nova, Bruno explained in detail about the soil types, the use of organic farming and the different grapes grown in the area. We got up close to the vines which was great; you really felt like you were getting an understanding of the wine making process from the very beginning. We then went into the Stella Nova cellar which was fairly small with a mixture of wooden barrels and stainless steel tanks; we tasted some Viognier straight from the barrel which Bruno had helped make; which although he said it wasn’t quite ready, it tasted really great. We tasted through a selection of their wines which were all fantastic; we liked one of them so much we had to buy one.

Meadows surrounding Stella Nova vineyard

Stella Nova vineyard

Stella Nova vines

The second domaine we went to was called Saint Jean de Bebian and was much larger than the first and the estate was set up to be open for the public. The property was stunning and we enjoyed a tour of the traditional cellar and storage areas before doing a tasting. The wines were stunning and far more modern than we expected; we particularly liked the unusual Cabernet Merlot blend which is a rare mix for the Languedoc area. After the tasting, Bruno disappeared to prepare our lunch while we strolled through the beautiful grounds of the Bebian estate. The lunch was amazing; we started with fried courgette flowers served with saffron, apple and quince chutney, a beautiful risotto with black olives which was finished with white wine to maintain its crisp acidity. We had a huge fresh beef tomato and broad beans which Bruno had got from a local farmer and then organic pork sausage and rare rib eye of beef which Bruno had cooked the evening before on a BBQ fired with old vines; the smokey flavour imparted into the meat was unusual and amazingly moreish. We then had a selection of cheeses, including a cow’s milk brie style cheese, two different goats’ cheeses, an “Old Cheese” from Holland and a blue cheese similar to Roquefort. We drank a beautiful Bebian red with the cheese which accompanied them all perfectly. We finished the meal with one of the most amazing desserts I’ve ever had; it was such an unusual combination of flavours but it worked so well that Amy and I couldn’t help but exclaim. Black olives marinated in bitter honey and served with fresh local strawberries and rosemary infused cream. The contrast of the salty olives and the sweet local strawberries with the richness of the cream was stunning, so good in fact that since returning home we have begun the process of marinating the olives so we can re create it.

Bebian Estate

Bebian cellar

Bebian cellar

Bebian tasting room

Our lunch location

View from our lunch table

Lunch

Mmmmmm!

Black olive and white wine risotto balls

Courgette flowers with quince, apple and saffron chutney

Cheeses

Broad beans, beef tomato and heirloom cherry tomatoes

Organic pork sausage and vine barbequed beef

Olives marinated in honey with strawberries and rosemary cream

Chapel at Bebian

We went to a third domaine in the afternoon, but the temperature had risen to above 30 degrees and after a big lunch and a few glasses of wine we were really struggling with doing more tasting so we made a plan to meet up with the vineyard owner at their bar in town later that evening. Bruno then drove us around the beautiful countryside and returned us to our hotel to have a swim and a break from the heat. We went to Bar a Vin in the evening and tasted many wines from Chartreuse de Mougeres and then drank a beautiful bottle of Chateau Neuf Du Pape which Bruno had selected for us. It was a great evening with some great wines and wonderful company.



Chartreuse de Mougeres vines

Bruno’s tour was a wonderful experience; he is an endless fountain of knowledge and was able to answer all the questions we threw at him. The lunch he prepared for us was exceptional and some of the most exciting food we have eaten for a long time. His hospitality and generosity was humbling; if you want to do a wine tour in the Pezenas region, Bruno is your man.

L'Amphitryon Pezenas June 2012

We came to L’Amphitryon after a recommendation by our dear friend Bruno who was our wine tour guide. He told us that there was a new chef who seemed to be creating some interesting food so we were intrigued to try it. We booked a table for the Saturday night of our stay in Pezenas.

We started with a Kir Royal each, one with crème de cassis and one with crème de peche. The waitress brought us an appetiser of cured salmon with crème fraiche. Although neither of us are big fans of salmon, it was delicious and well balanced.

Our starters arrived promptly which we shared. We had courgette flowers stuffed with spring vegetables with a white wine emulsion and warm goats cheese stack with tomato and chorizo with a magic gazpacho.

The courgette flowers were beautifully delicate but packed full of flavour. Each flower was filled with a mix of finely cubed courgette and carrot gently fried and then topped with the emulsion which complemented the other subtle flavours. The dish was creatively presented with a small savoury ice cream cone filled with dressed leaves and edible flowers were scattered all over the plate.

The goats cheese stick was a balance of rich creamy cheese, salty peppery chorizo and oven roasted tomato slices, these were stacked on top of a flavoursome doughy base. The magic gazpacho was sensational, and just like the title suggests it was magical. The soup had a rich red pepper flavour but the addition of tomato meant it was clean on the palate, this was then followed by the delight of pop rocks sparkling around your mouth. A really exciting and creative starter which urges you to try it just from the description and doesn’t disappoint.

For the main course we picked a sharing dish which was simply described as rib of beef. It’s safe to say it was so much more than that! It came to the table on a wooden chopping board with a pile of rock salt and gooey roast onions and garlic cloves. The smell was sensational and we couldn’t wait to dig in. However the waitress then disappeared to bring us our plates, which featured a stack of potato dauphinoise pierced with a sprig of rosemary which was on fire as it came to the table. There was also a little pot of rosemary jus which when we opened it, it took over the senses and made us even more eager to tuck in. The waitress then carved the rib excellently into two equal steaks and put them on our plate.

The steak was cooked rare to our liking and was succulent and caramelised on the surface, which complemented the sweet sticky onions and garlic. The potato dauphinoise stack was incredible; soft potatoes layered with smoky bacon and topped with cheese, we thought that it may have been smoked as this was a consistent flavour throughout all the layers and really brought a different element to the dish. The rosemary jus packed a punch and tied all the flavours together.  A truly inspiring and beautiful way to cook and present a traditional dish.

Although we were very full from the starters and main course the standard of the food had been exceptional so we didn't want to miss out on any hidden gems from the desert menu. We were very tempted by Le Barry White which translated as “chestnut and chocolate sweetness” but instead decided to share the strawberry macaroon. It came out as a large macaroon, which considering the size, the texture was spot on. It was filled with delicious strawberries from southern France, strawberry sorbet and more pop rocks. In the top on the macaroon was a pipette with strawberry juice which we think we were meant to squeeze inside but due to the language barrier we weren't sure. It was served with a naturally sweet strawberry juice in a shot glass and strawberry coulis that shimmered gold in lines along the plate. The flavours were fairly one dimensional but the creativity and interactivity was an exciting feature that made up for this.

L'Amphitryon is a great restaurant with new and exciting ideas, it would have been nice to talk to the wait staff about the food and produce but due to our lack of conversational French this was not easy, but this was in no way the fault of the restaurant. L'Amphitryon is increasing in positive reviews on Trip Advisor and rightly so; it was one of the best nights of our stay and I only wish we had found it earlier in the week so we could have eaten there more!

Pezenas May 2012

Pezenas May 2012

When we decided to go on holiday together, we knew we’d need somewhere where food and wine was a big focus. Our friend Google helped us decide; the Languedoc region in France came to our attention when we typed in foodie holiday and we soon realised that Pezenas, half an hour inland from the southern coast, was perfect. We booked cheap Ryanair flights and arranged to stay at a beautiful looking B&B called Villa Julliette which we found on trip advisor. When we arrived; Marie, the owner of the Villa showed us around her beautiful home which had a stunning walled garden with a beautiful swimming pool. 

The room was perfect and we instantly felt relaxed as she suggested we try some of her husband’s wine as an aperitif before heading into town for dinner (wow! we couldn’t believe we’d chosen accommodation owned by one of the top wine producers in Languedoc unintentionally!). She gave us lots of advice on where to eat so after we had settled in we strolled into the ancient town centre to begin our French culinary adventure.  

We had a wonderful week; we ate lots of delicious food, drank lots of delicious wine and had some amazing experiences. Some of these experiences were exceptional and so we have decided they are worthy of their own blog entries which will follow soon.

Le Vieux Coq (the old chicken)

It seemed to be a locals favourite in Pezenas as everyone we spoke to suggested it. We were served by a young teenage boy who although didn’t speak much English was very helpful. As it was a Monday night and one of the few places open they had run out of a few of the dishes we were interested in. However we both settled on carpaccio of beef to start which was beautiful, the presentation was stunning and the flavours complemented each other perfectly. It was topped with black olives, capers, parmesan, cherry tomatoes and oakleaf lettuce which was so fresh and crisp it tasted like it had been picked out of someone’s garden that day.

For mains we had fillet mignon of pork with honey, tarragon, preserved lemon, pine nuts and cream. It had obvious Moroccan influences and was cooked very well but was slightly too rich and sweet for me.

The other dish was Entrecote of beef served rare which had lots of fat like a rib eye and was very tasty. Both came with the same accompaniments which were: courgette stuffed with sweet red cabbage, roasted tomato with breadcrumbs and herb, chunky potato mash which was full of flavour but the ingredients were hard to distinguish (can anyone enlighten us?), boiled carrots with butter but so fresh and bright and a soufflé with basil, garlic and possibly some cheese.

We didn’t have any puddings as we were too full but we had a lovely rosé wine from the Languedoc region to accompany our meal.

La Mamita

We ate here on our third night and it was perfect for what we wanted; a light meal due to stuffing ourselves with pate and cheese at every opportunity. La Mamita is a small tapas restaurant spread over two sides of an alleyway; the decor made you feel you were in a locals only tapas bar in Madrid and the food was simple and tasty. We placed our order with a very friendly waitress who then brought us complimentary black olive tapenade and bread. The tapenade was clearly homemade, heavy on the garlic and salt which is right up our street and a great way to start the meal. We chose a mixture of salad, cheese, cured meat and tomato bread. The salad was fresh and crisp and the chorizo and Serrano ham were of excellent quality. For our small dinner budget it was perfect.

Cafe Blahbla

On our second day we went for coffee at Cafe Blah Bla; we were drawn in by the delicous smell of coffee beans being roasted outside and the coffee that followed didn't disapppoint. 

While we were having coffee at Cafe Blahbal we noticed a really interesting looking restaurant next door; Hana Sushi.

Hana Sushi

We were instantly taken by the way the owner seemed to know everyone and effortlessly floated around her restaurant charming all the customers. The restaurant is tiny and the decor is very traditional Japanese with beautiful parasols outside and huge origami birds hanging from the ceiling inside. We had heard the food was excellent and decided to try it later in the week.

We went back on the fourth day of our holiday when we needed a break from all the heavy rich food. We had delicious gyoza (vegetarian dumplings), amazing vegetarian udon noodle soup and edamame beans. The gyoza was so good that we had to order a second portion. They were perfectly soft with a powerful spring onion, garlic and cabbage filling and were served with a rice wine vinegar, soy and chilli dipping sauce. You could see Yumi (the owner) making the dumplings which was really special knowing they were fresh.

The udon noodle soup was full of ginger and fresh coriander and felt homely but fresh at the same time. The clear broth that the noodles were swimming in felt like it had healing powers and was so clean; the noodles were clearly freshly made and cooked to perfection. 

Yumi was the perfect hostess and impressed us with her multiple language skills; her restaurant is perfectly simple with beautiful home cooked food and excellent service.

 

Pre Saint Jean

So this was the one we were really excited about; number one on trip advisor and renowned for being the best restaurant in Pezenas; sadly I think that ship has sailed!

Pre Saint Jean is classically decorated with crisp white linen and expensive glassware. The service was prompt, discreet and very professional but nothing about it was exciting.  We were served a complementary appetiser of beetroot gazpacho with goats cheese cream and salsa verde. It was fresh and very tasty; a very good way to start the meal.

We skipped starters as we were holding out for dessert and went straight to main course of Fillet steak with morels, cream sauce and parmentier potatoes and Duck breast with cherry and liquorice jus, asparagus, pea puree and macaroni cheese . The fillet steak was perfectly cooked and the classic flavours were a delicious combination, you couldn’t fault it. The duck dish was conflicting; the duck was cooked well and the sauce delicious, but the macaroni cheese was very bland and stodgy, the asparagus was extremely overcooked and sadly the pea puree was lumpy and tasted very strongly of bacon; all of these ingredients could have been wonderful however they should not have been on the same plate!

We had a dessert each and on paper they both sounded lovely; pineapple, red berries, white chocolate ice cream and passionfruit sorbet was exactly what it said on the menu, it was fresh and zingy but we were hoping for something a little more creative; lemon curd, strawberries, ginger biscuit, Chantilly cream and pop rocks was a little bit more exciting with the tartness of the curd matched with the sweetness of the cream and the tingling on your tongue from the pop rocks made us both smile, but still failed to wow us as much as we had expected it to.

Pre Saint Jean has an excellent reputation built over many years of business but for us it felt tired and we were disappointed with the lack of creativity in the dishes. The service was spot on and the beef dish we had was delicious, but the restaurant itself felt as though it’s heart wasn’t really in it anymore.

Pezenas is a beautiful town full of wonderful restaurants and lots of like minded people, the best bits are still to come; watch this space for information on an amazing wine tour and two absolutely fantastic restaurant reviews.

Herbies 18th April 2012

Amy and I were going to a gig in Exeter and saw it as the perfect opportunity to eat somewhere new. We thought we would use trip advisor to find somewhere neither of us had ever been to and we discovered we had quite a few options, we wanted something fairly cheap and cheerful after a day of shopping and Herbies along with a few others fitted the bill but we didn't make a booking anywhere; we decided to play it by ear.

At about 5pm we were exhausted from traipsing around the shops and decided that what we needed was a drink, we accidentally stumbled upon Michael Caines restaurant Abode and although it didn’t fit our price range for dinner we thought a cocktail in the bar was just what we needed! The bar is behind the lobby of the hotel and very unassuming, the decor is classic and the music is very much “background”; just what you would expect from a hotel bar.  The cocktail menu is an interesting collection of classic and contemporary drinks, ranging from 7-12 pounds; we chose an espresso martini (i really needed a pick me up) and a bananarhumba. The waiter was polite and professional; he took our order and then made our drinks very quickly and naturally. It’s great to order a cocktail and not see the bartender looking up the recipe! He delivered them a few minutes later and they looked delicious; the espresso martini had the perfect amount of foam on it that only a firm shake can acquire and the bananarhumba looked stunning in a martini glass with a net of chocolate set in the glass. Both drinks were well balanced and tasty and we thoroughly enjoyed them.

Espresso Martini and Bananarhumba

When we left Abode it had started to rain so we wanted to find a restaurant fairly quickly; with the help of Google maps we walked along North Street and found Herbies; a vegetarian cafe restaurant which had good reviews on trip advisor. It looked cosy and dry and the waitress smiled at us through the window while we looked at the menu so we were sold (it’s amazing what a smile can do). The restaurant is fairly basic to look at but it has nice touches of handwritten specials boards, tealight candles on the tables and unusual art on the walls.

 We sat in the window and the waitress brought us menus and we ordered a drink; after our cocktail we both decided that ginger beer was the way forward! Heron Valley Hot Ginger Beer was perfectly thirst quenching while we tried to choose things from the extensive menu. Eventually we decided the best thing to do was get a few starters to share and then share two mains. We ordered babaganoush served with olives and warm pitta bread and dolmades (stuffed vine leaves). They came promptly and both were excellent; the babaganoush was dark in colour and heavy on the garlic which we loved; the only thing I’d say is that it could have been a bit smokier. The olives were great and the wholemeal pitta bread a perfect accompaniment. The vine leaves were delicious (Amy and I are very big fans of these anyway) and I couldn’t tell you if they were homemade or not but they were everything you could want, sticky rice inside and a light vinegar coating the outside of the leaves.

Babaganoush with olives and pitta

Dolmades

The main courses were hearty hot dishes, Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna and Greek Vegetable and feta pie. We were offered a choice of salad or potato wedges with the both so we ordered one of each and were astonished to see the huge portion sizes of the main courses plus the large side dishes. The mushroom and spinach lasagne was rich with a creamy béchamel sauce and the mushrooms and spinach were delicious, there was a perfectly seasoned chunky tomato sauce inside the lasagne but there needed to be a bit more of it to balance the dish. Overall it was very tasty but lacked the wow factor due to the lack of sauce. The Greek vegetable and feta pie was great, the vegetables were well cooked with lots of garlic and the filo pastry was perfectly crispy. There were little parcels of melting goats feta and black olives hiding amongst the vegetables which added the perfect salty balance to the sweet roasted peppers, courgette and aubergine. The pie was served with a rich tomato sauce which was smooth and well seasoned with herbs and just enough salt, there was lots of it too which meant there was enough left for dipping the crispy potato wedges in. The salad bowl for one was massive; it consisted of three different salads; a green leaf and herb mix, a mixed bean salad and a take on a classic waldorf salad consisting of carrot, apple, grapes and walnuts in a mayonnaise dressing. All three were delicious but we were so full we sadly couldn’t eat it all.

 Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

 Greek Vegetable and Feta Pie

 Delicious Salads

We had to say no to dessert due to the fact that we were both about to explode, but the menu looked great with quite a few gluten free options which always impress me.

Herbies is a warm and cosy space with lovely, friendly staff and a talented kitchen team. The food is very reasonably priced and the portions are huge, Amy and I had a drink each and two courses and it came to less than £30. We left happy and full, what more can you ask for.