Chablis to Beaujolais: an epic journey for wine lovers

After breakfast in the sunny garden of the Hostellerie des Clos in Chablis, we returned to the car to continue our journey. Our next destination would be Lancié in Beaujolais for a two night stay before finishing our first week in France in the southern Rhône near Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe.

We headed south of Chablis to pick up the A6 autoroute for Pouilly-en-Auxois where we took the quieter A38 towards Dijon. As we approached Dijon, it got much more hilly and we turned off the motorway onto the D108 which zig zagged steeply up and over the northerly part of the Hautes Côtes de Nuits to Marsannay where we picked up the D974. This is where wine lovers (particularly Burgundy lovers) start getting very excited. The D974 (previously called the N74) runs north to south alongside the Côte d'Or, passing through a series of world famous wine villages, names you generally only see on seriously smart bottles. There is even a restaurant named after this road in San Francisco with an appropriately Burgundian wine list.

As I'd driven along the D974 a couple of times already and it was my husband's first visit to the area, I did the honours so he could sit back and admire the views. We drove through Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, passed by the walled expanse of the Clos de Vougeot, continued through Vosne-Romanée and then the busy little town of Nuits-St-Georges and on towards Beaune past the huge mound of Corton with its forested crown.

We stopped for lunch in Beaune, easily parking on the inner ring road. My classically Burgundian oeufs en meurette and my husband's steak went down beautifully with a drop of Beaune, obviously. After coffee and sunny stroll, we were back in the car continuing south.

We took the A6 autoroute briefly to Chalon before turning west to Givry to pick up the D981, an old road that runs south to Cluny. A more scenic option is to leave Beaune on the D974 and pass through Meursault and Chagny where you can pick up the D981. The Côte Chalonnaise has always appealed to me as these wines – generally lighter and more rustic than their glitzier neighbours in the Côte d'Or – were popular with French nobility during the Middle Ages. Apparently Henri IV was partial to the wines of Givry which had been popular since the 6th century. The D981 goes through the historic towns of Rully, Givry and Buxy, passing handsome old stone buildings, stately cedar trees and the occasional château.

The region looked as though it has enjoyed plenty of commercial success in the past, even if its wines are now overshadowed by neighbouring regions. Following this attractive, gently undulating old route was quite an unexpected treat and judging by the numbers of cyclists we passed coming in the other direction, it's a popular one, too. The road led to the monastic centre of Cluny, congested with coach parties when we drove through. We then picked up the main road, the N79 to Mâcon, passing vineyards and the craggy limestone Roche de Solutré, the landscape becoming much more dramatic. Finally, after a few minutes on the A6 we turned off towards Lancié near Fleurie, for two nights at maison d'hôtes Les Pasquiers, looking forward to dinner and a decent drop of Beaujolais.

An overnight stay in Chablis

Last summer, as we travelled through France towards the Mediterranean, our wine themed route gave us the chance to visit Chablis. I've always loved Chablis wines, but so far never had the chance to experience this cooler part of Burgundy. Having left Le Touquet after breakfast, we travelled southeast, stopping for a quick lunch in Reims and passing through the historic city of Troyes. Sadly we only had time to drive through the medieval city centre, but I'm keen to return for a more thorough visit. Troyes has been an important trading centre since Roman times and was the ancient capital of Champagne and would be ideal for breaking a long French journey.

We reached Chablis late in the afternoon, passing the dramatic sweep of Grand Cru vineyards, entering the town from the north. After swiftly checking into the Hostellerie des Clos we headed out into warm sunshine. Chablis is a charming little town with many interesting corners and some splendid buildings reflecting centuries of prosperity. The Serein river runs through town providing a refreshing lush quality welcome in high summer and the combination of the water and old stones is particularly attractive.

As it was a Monday in mid August our options were limited, but after spending a couple of hours admiring the town we returned to the hotel to get down to enjoying the local produce (in a restaurant that was actually open). The Hostellerie takes great pride in the local wines and our French Canadian sommelier, thrilled to be working in the town, expertly helped us navigate the comprehensive list. He suggested a bottle of Mont de Milieu 2009 by Pinson which deftly saw us through dinner. It was particularly good with the starter of salmon tartare with ginger and raw quail's egg, and then later on with local cheeses, some sticky, ripe Couloummiers especially.

For food and wine lovers Chablis is a great place to visit – for an overnight stay or a short break. Needless to say we took a lot of pictures.

Le Touquet: retro charm just across the Channel

I've got the softest spot for Le Touquet. How could you not? It's full name is Le Touquet Paris-Plage and this retro resort is a short drive down the coast from Calais, almost within sight of the south coast of England. So, when I was planning our summer holiday last year, it was an obvious overnight stop after our lunchtime ferry from Dover.

As its name implies, Le Touquet is one of France's oldest seaside resorts. With its pine woods, long, wide beach, golf courses, elegant avenues and quirky timbered buildings in the centre, it's easy to see why a century ago it became popular with Parisians looking for some refreshing, healthy r & r. Until F Scott Fitzgerald and his pals made the Riviera a fashionable summer destination in the 1920s and 30s, the beau monde decamped here and to other resorts along the Channel like Deauville, Trouville, Cabourg, Dinard and Dieppe.

Given that we were travelling on a Sunday – and how in France so many restaurants close Sundays and Mondays (amazingly even during high summer) – it made sense to spend the night somewhere reliably lively.

No risk of Le Touquet feeling quiet, the town marching band had been weaving through the streets and along the seafront and the town was buzzing. In one of Le Touquet's busy pedestrianised streets we had some bargain moules frîtes before carrying on strolling, finishing the evening with salted caramel crèpes.

We spent a comfortable night at the Hotel Bristol – just the kind of place regular Le Touquet visitor Noël Coward might have approved of – before continuing our predictably 21st century journey towards the hot sunny Mediterranean.

(Painting of Hotel Bristol copyright Alain Godon, 2010)

Easy does it on Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day, so we'll be staying at home with something easy to assemble and a bit special and, of course, something decent to drink. This year our 7-year-old will be enjoying some of it with us before she heads up to bed.

It has not always been this way. One year I cooked this a rather elaborate spread for an old boyfriend using recipes from the rather fabulous Cordon Bleu and Constance Spry Entertaining. It's well worth getting hold of a second-hand copy as it's a splendid period piece. Margot Leadbetter probably had a well-used copy on her kitchen shelf – handy for when Jerry's boss came round for dinner. Our meal was delicious, but very rich, and after lining dariole moulds with spinach, whipping up choux pastry hearts and cooking a live lobster, I wasn't up for much romance that evening. Lesson learned.

Another year, I recall being on a student trip to Paris which coincided with Valentine's Day and having to try to find our large group somewhere to eat in the Latin Quarter. The evening was dominated by trawling up and down Rue Mouffetard inquiring at candle-lit restaurants full of whispering couples whether they could accommodate 20 of us. Amazingly, we did find a large bistro happy to have us and we ended up having a jolly noisy time. Much more fun than the hushed tones along the street.

Anyway, back to this year. On the menu tonight will be brown shrimps to nibble before we three settle down to Chinese duck and pancakes (a kit from Waitrose). Then, once young miss has retired upstairs, N and I will be having veal chops, followed by mont blanc. Winewise, some youngish red Burgundy or cru Beaujolais should see us nicely through the meal, then maybe a drop of Samos Muscat.

Whatever you're doing, Happy Valentine's Day.

Bombardino: Italian après ski

Towards the end of our recent skiing holiday I developed a taste for a cheeky little tipple called Bombardino. It's a rich, warming toddy like eggnog, but more potent – hence the name "Bomb". It's generally served ready mixed, heated through with steam from an espesso machine and then topped with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa. As with eggnog, it's based on milk, eggs, sugar and brandy, but includes Marsala which gives it a lush zabaglione quality. I couldn't resist bringing home a bottle and it's been going down just as well back in damp dreary north London.

You can also use Advocaat or Vov and a splash more brandy, or tweak your own eggnog to give it a more Italian flavour.

A happy New Year in the Italian Alps

Over New Year we treated ourselves to a week in the Italian Alps skiing and, I must say, eating magnificently. As a novice, my skiing didn't come close to being magnificent, but the food and drink in this spectacular corner of Italy certainly were.

We flew into Milan on Sunday 29th where we were collected and driven northwest to Champoluc in the Monterosa district near the border with Switzerland. Our two and a half hour drive took us towards Turin and then inland up into the mountains, following a stretch of the Aosta river. I was on the lookout for vineyards and our route went past Carema with its steeply terraced Nebbiolo vines. From the motorway it almost looked like a slate wall the way the terraces are supported, with snowy peaks in the near distance. What a feat of human endeavour. Zig-zagging higher and higher it became clear that we were in cheese territory, noticing signposts to dairies and even a 'cheese route'. If we were going to be generating big appetites on the slopes, there'd be plenty of delicious local options to choose from.

We were staying in Champoluc, a small traditional Alpine town nestling in a long narrow valley with a gondola/cable car in the centre to whisk you up to the pistes. We had half board accommodation at the family run Hotel Petit Tournalin, our comfortably arranged family room had a mezzanine level for children. Champoluc is a town with a strong ski bias, rather than a full-on ski resort. Apparently each year when the snow melts, the area reverts to dairy farming and cheese-making. There are several bars, restaurants and hotels, a market and the shops include a number selling ski equipment. Three feet of snow had fallen on Boxing Day so it was looking like a classic winter wonderland, especially with all the Christmas decorations. Gorgeous.

Over the course of the week, learning to ski, I pushed my forty-something body well and truly out of its comfort zone, giving it the fullest workout its had in years. Even after a carb-laden lunch (see above!), by evening, we were ready for another lot of food. Most evenings began in the bar in front of the fire with a local beer or 'vin brulé' before decamping to the dining room for several calorific courses. Highlights included melt-in-the-mouth cured meats, mushroom pasta and local cheeses – especially Fontina, and great value house wines Arneis and Dolcetto. At Le Petit Tournalin the cooking was reassuringly unshowy and sensibly economical, with most dishes served family style, helping yourself from large platters.

The exception was on New Year's Eve which was a more formal banquet, with an array of dishes, accompanied by local wines. I particularly liked the soufflé like 'leek flan' with bagna cauda, gnocchi with bleu d'Aoste and taglionini with shrimps and red caviar. Cotechino sausage with lentils was another great local dish – rather cassoulet like. Apparently the more lentils you eat, the more prosperous you will be in the year to come! The main course, pork shanks with almonds was creamy and tender. For dessert was semi freddo with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with amaretti crumbs – simple, but really effective. We toasted the New Year with Alpine fizz Blanc Fripon and some super-light panettone (although barely touched by the replete revellers). The panettone reappeared later in the week in tiramisu which tasted much more interesting than the usual creamy cliché. Another idea to bear in mind for Christmas leftovers (I have two lurking in my larder).

As a treat on our final evening we selected Gaia's Sito Morsco to have with venison braised with pancetta, cloves, bay leaves and orange. This was a wonderfully seasonal foil for the intense, warming Nebbiolo – from vineyards in the Langhe region, near Barbaresco and Barolo and, consequently sensibly priced at 40 Euros. A happy New Year indeed!

(The picture of the sparkly snow was kindly provided by Jessica James.)