A modération of geese

 As is well known, Modération is now  the most popular name for pets in  France whether for cats, dogs, guineapigs or various tame birds including parrots. This ensures that the French people comply with the Loi Evin, consuming wine 'avec Modération'. It has also meant that few pets are now allowed out in the evening. 

Last Saturday night we had a group of friends over to dinner and we looked at a number of wines – not all the bottles were emptied.  

 Crémant de Loire, Domaine de la Grange

As we don't have a pet we have to use a moderation substitute – in this instance a modération of geese.We started with Bruno Curassier's Domaine de la Grange soft and creamy Crémant de Loire, which is a blend of Chenin & Chardonnay. Then moved onto one of our favourite fizzes – Triple Zéro from Jacky Blot, which did not disappoint.

Triple Zéro, La Taille aux Loups

1996 Vieilles Vignes, Chablis, Domaine Sainte Claire, Jean-Marc Brocard

Not from the Loire but not far away and a lovely bottle of wine – or rather a lovely magnum. Quite opulent evolved nose with some buttery honey with that typical aged character Chablis takes on – mousseron mushroom and still fresh in the finish. Went well with the warm salad of local goats' cheese, mushrooms – Paris and oyster – and lardons.

 Le Vilain P'tit Rouge, AC Touraine, Vincent Ricard

2004 is not a particularly easy vintage for red Loire – yields tended to be high after 2003 when there had been some frost and which was also the year of the heatwave. Le Vilain P'tit Rouge from Vincent Ricard and also in magnum was showing very well with soft, ripe black fruits and none of the unripe aromas – rooty and green pepper – that some 2004s have. Le Vilain worked well with a very good joint of beef – bought from a very good, new butcher near the Plough in East Dulwich, London SE22 – that we had brought over with us and served with individual Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes. 

2004 La Closerie, Touraine, Clos Roche Blanche

The onion gravy for the beef was made using a bottle of the 2004 Clos Roche Blanche La Closerie – probably better not to tell Catherine and Didier, although it was for a good cause. Like Le Vilain Le Closerie also tasted well – now softening out and properly ripe. 2004 is one of those years when the name of the producer is particularly important.     

Post to be completed

From a report in The Times: 18th March 2010. 

'French law drives country’s first television wine channel into exile

Adam Sage, Paris

Edonys has fallen foul of France's ban on promoting alcohol on television

You might think that French officials would have raised their glasses in celebration of a project to create the first Gallic television channel dedicated to wine.

Instead, they appear intent on driving the station into exile, possibly to Britain, after deciding that it will fall foul of the toughest laws on alcohol promotion outside the Muslim world. 

The rest can be read here.

The story was also picked up here on decanter.com.

For further press articles on the proposed TV programme click here. 

Last week the French Senate ratified the amendment to Le Loi Evin legislation passed earlier on this year in the French Assembly to permit wine and other alcoholic beverages to be promoted and sold on the internet. This ends a long running anomaly as French judges assumed that as the internet was not mentioned in the original legislation – the Loi Evin was passed in 1991, before the internet really took off – that mention of alcohol on the net was banned.

French to English translation services

It makes no sense to spend time and money on an internet site and not to make sure that your English section makes sense. All too often the English sections of French producers’ sites use laughably poor English. It always best to get a native English speaker to translate for you or, at least, get your English version checked over. I offer a translation service, so please contact me on budmac@btinternet.com