Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Alps
This region of France shares some old tribal characteristics
with its neighbours, Switzerland and Italy. Hay and cattle
are the crops here, so cheeses abound. Gruyère, Comté and
Emmenthal, cheese fondue and cheese soufl é load the table.
The staple meat is pork, made into Chamonix ham and
a variety of sausages. The i sh from the streams are full of
bones, so the i sh meat is made into
quenelles
, or i sh cakes.
Many dishes are served in the gratin style, with milk and
cheese. The walnuts of Grenoble are AOC, and a liqueur is
made, l avoured with their l esh. Chartreuse is also from this
region, a herbal liqueur l avoured with saffron, cinnamon
and mace.
Wines from the Arbois are great with Morels (
morilles
),
and the other wild mushrooms of the mountain
forests:
girolles
,
trompettes de la mort
and
cèpes
. The
rich red Rhone wines, to the south, go well with all
this cuisine.
The Burgundy (Bourgogne)
South and west of Alsace, in the Soane River Valley,
the Burgundy wine district begins at Dijon. The red
Burgundian and Beaujolais wines are made from Pinot Noir
and Gamay Beaujolais grapes, respectively. The white
Chablis uses Sauvignon Blanc grapes, and the white
Burgundy, Chardonnay.
In the last century, the great Burgundian wines eclipsed
those old clarets of Bordeaux, adored by the English
and Napoleon alike. Though Dijon and Lyon have been
gastronomic centres since the 14th century when Dijon
became famous for its mustard, the wines came into their
own later. Now you will be lucky to i nd a properly aged AOC
wine on the menu. The best have already been bought and
put away or drunk too early.
Try the Beaujolais
Village wines, each unique and very
good after a year or two in the bottle. The wildly promoted
Beaujolais nouveau
, the i rst wine off the press, has never
appealed to me. But there is a red wine you can't drink
too young.
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