October Breaks in the Loire

Le Puy Notre Dame
High Point of the Samurois

Le Puy Notre Dame is the largest wine producing commune in the Saumurois. The wine making tradition can be traced back to the 6th.C. and commercial winemaking received a boost with the growing importance and the renaming of the church in the 12th.C. However the absence of good roads meant that trading opportunities remained limited. Trade, taxes and duties in the 15th C depended on the religious community and the development of the River Thouet as a trading highway. In the 17th.C. the "Ponot" vineyard was 600 hectares and until the 19th.C. almost all wines were white from the Chenin grape. In the 1950's the insatiable demand for Rosés led to much of the old vineyard being removed and replaced with Cabernet Franc which was already grown in the nearby communes of Chinon and Bourgueil. With the decline in the market for rosé, (although ironically the market has recovered dramatically in the last few years), pioneering winemakers realised that they could make excellent reds from the same grape and generations of dedicated winemakers, all committed to quality wine led to the granting of the Saumur appellation, giving the vineyard a new impetus. Since the 14th. June 2006 the authorities have further recognised the quality of the wine by granting a new appellation, Saumur-Puy Notre Dame. Today there are over 70 winemakers in the three communes of Le Puy, Brossay and Le Vaudelnay exploiting 1500 hectares of vineyard.
The little fellow at the top of the page, drinking from the barrel, is a copy of a 14th.C. carving in the church and is the emblem of the wine makers of Le Puy Notre Dame.

October can be a delight here in the Western Loire, generally the days are sunny and the nights are warm enough to sit outside until late. Sadly, however, no-one can ever guarantee anything and, as we all know, the climate is a totally different thing than the weather. You could spend a week here in wonderful weather whilst the guests before or after get the short straw of a sudden cold or wet snap, 'c'est la vie' as one says. But there are things we can do about it. Firstly, there is the region itself, around our village of Le Puy Notre Dame and, indeed all the wine areas along the Loire, the slopes are covered in a golden robe as the vineyards dress in their autumn colours. The winemakers have more time to do tours and tastings than during the grape harvest itself, (normally mid to late September), and the wineries themselves are in the process of dealing with the years crop, heavy with the smell of fermented grapes.

October also sees the start of the cultural season with numerous concerts taking place in such atmospheric places as the Royal Abbey of Fontenvraud. The historic towns like Chinon, Saumur and Angers are quieter giving the traveller lots of time to investigate the nooks and crannies whilst the roads, never actually busy at the best of times, are almost devoid of traffic .

Taking into account the fact that we have already dropped our October prices to take account of the strength of the Euro, we hope you will agree that we are now offering superb value! Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details

If this isn't enough to tempt you we are doing our best to make an October stay unbeatable value by throwing in the following: We already greet our gite guests with welcoming aperitifs and our superb, local sparkling wine but, during October, we are offering even more by inviting you to share a three course dinner with us with our compliments. In addition we will take you on an escorted tour of one of the many award winning wine estates in around the village. And, if this isn't enough we have arranged with Jean-Yves, the Chef in our delightful village restaurant, to give you a free aperitif each time you choose one of several value-for-money menus or eat à la carte.