The word, "puy" comes from the Celtic "peuch" which means small mountain. In the Loire of the 11th. Century the hill was known as Mary's Mountain. Today the daily life revolves almost totally around wine and mushroom production. The latter has suffered somewhat after the eastern european countries were admited into the EU and their lower labour costs enabled them to undercut french prices. Despite this the Saumur region is still the largest producer of Champignons de Paris.
Wine production has gone from strength to strength with around 70 winemakers in and around the village.
The village is incresingly becoming a tourist attraction in its own right and has several fêtes to entertain its visitors. Foremost amongst these is the famous Grand Prix Retro when over 100 pre-1939 classic cars and sidecars race through the narrow streets.
Male and female inhabitants of Le Puy are called Ponots and Ponettes respectively and one of the reason that we love living here is that, male or female, they are exceedingly friendly and receptive being only too happy to pass the time of day.
To give an example; just before I settled down to rewrite this webpage today, 9th November, I was talking to Hazel and Johnny who are staying in our smaller gîte. They were walking through a vineyard in Cix, a little hamlet just outside the village when they were spotted by the owner who immediatly whisked them off to his property where he proudly explained all about his wines
, introduced them to his daughter and generally showed the utmost hospitality. As they say around here, "c'est
Le Puy Notre Dame is becoming a very desirable place to live and has many beautifully restored houses.
Throughout the village you will find wonderful stone built houses each with huge sets of gates protecting the courtyards. Nearly all these were, and many still are, working wineries and, during the vendage, the grape harvest, the village is abuzz with the sound of the vineyard tractors taking their loads of grapes to the wineries for fermentation. The vendage normally starts in late September. The village is the largest wine producing commune in the Saumur appellation with over 1,500 hectares of vines producing around 12 million bottles per year. Unlike many other wine regions the full range of wine is produced from dry whites to dessert wine from reds and rosés to sparkling. Two stunning wines, unique to the region are the Rosé, Cabinet de Saumur and the rare Coteaux de Saumur.
Much of the wine is stored in the 120kms. of caves that honeycomb Le Puy Notre Dame. Originally they were quarries producing the characteristic limestone of the region. This stone, known a Tufa, was used to build chateaux, churches and houses. At its peak the caves were also producing 25,000 tons of mushrooms.
normal.
The fact that the village has a bar, restaurant, pharmacy,bakery and small supermarkets is an added bonus to many of our guests who have perhaps holidayed in gites which have been quite isolated and which have necessitated a long car journey to buy even a simple thing like a baguette. The restaurant, "Le Bouchon Ponot", has an excellent and growing reputation serving excellent, well cooked traditional french food from a menu which carries a very good English translation. The Bakery is literally one minutes walk from our gites making your morning croissants, pain au chocolat etc. easy to obtain.
The Magnificent XII Century Collegiate church of Notre Dame towers over the village seemingly totally out of scale with the houses huddled below.
The reason for this is that the church was here first built to house a relic bought back from the holy land by the Compte de Poitiers. This relic is said to be the girdle of the Virgin Mary and so important was it deemed to be that even the all powerful kings of France had to have the Popes permission to see it.
Pilgrims flocked to the village and it became a major stopping point on the pilgrimage to Compestella in Spain and gradually the village grew as the clergy and entrepreneurs moved into it. Many houses in Le Puy have a cockle shell carved on the exterior these denoted former hostelries supplying all the needs of the pilgrims. The church itself is a superb example of plantagenet gothic
and its position on St. Mary's mound makes it visible for miles around
Le Puy Notre Dame is one of five villages which host the "Senteirs d'Interpretation". These are signed walks of between 3 and 7klms. which are designed to show visitors aspects of the surrounding landscapes. The walk in Le Puy shows typical aspects of the Loire Valley Vineyard and starts at the side of the church. The Sentier d'interpretation is one of the innovations introduced by the "
Parc Naturel Regional Tours-Anjou" This parc was conceived by the United Nations protect an area of great cultural and natural importance to the world.
