Organic wine, food & sunshine in Nantes, FRANCE

VISITING A FRIEND OF MINE IN NANTES, France’s fifth-largest city, was a lovely experience. The sun was shining, the city had a student-friendly atmosphere and the architecture was impressive! What could not go unnoticed was the relaxed attitude of the people there and the surprisingly Mediterranean feel of a city actually located on the west coast of France. Of course, the good food and the French wine were not missing!

WALKING BY THE RIVER ERDRE one morning, my friend and I spontaneously ended up at a wine-tasting. In the morning!! We were invited after curiously staring at the people conversing at what looked like a private boat party – but turned out to be an open wine-tasting event! The wine they served was local and organic! Yum! In a split of a second, we ended up enthusiastically chuckling with French strangers on the slope of river Erdre.

THE WINES ON DISPLAY were a few whites and a few roses. I’m sorry I cannot describe them more accurately – I’m no expert on wine (I just know that good wine isn’t supposed to give you a headache the day after drinking). I did pick up the business card of the man who was organising this event. His name is Bernard Landron. He told me there were wines from several producers, and that his company produces the Malvoisie, Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire and Coteaux D’Ancenis. I especially loved the Malvoisie!

THE SMALL VINEYARD COMPANY ‘Landron Chartier Vigneron’ encourages local grape growers and helps promote local, organic wines in France. That’s absolutely wonderful! Their website is www.landronchartier.fr . You can also find them on Facebook: Landron Chartier Vigneron .

IT’S LOGICAL THAT WINE SHOULD BE ORGANIC WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WINE BEING MADE FROM GRAPES, with grapes being one of the most chemically treated fruits out there. Organic wine is made using non-chemically treated grapes and therefore only brings you only healthy properties with each glass.

HAVING ONE GLASS A DAY of beer or wine, especially wine, and preferably red and organic, has been shown to decrease the risk of heart disease and improve the blood flow (circulation) in the body. But remember – too much alcohol takes that whole beneficial effect away again, so drink in moderation.

A BIG DISH OF FRENCH CHICKEN LIVER PATE (Terrine de Foies de Vollaile) was prepared by one of the wives of the organisers. Even though my friend does not usually fancy the taste of liver, in this pate even she loved it! With a bit of homemade pate on a just-out-the-oven French baguette, we were completely happy. What made the whole experience even better was that we had the lucky chance to enjoy this event in the spring sunshine, on a boat somewhere in Nantes.