Sipping Loire Valley Wines with Douglas Blyde
I was invited by Gastronomy advisor and ES beverage columnist, Mr Douglas Blyde, to sample some delightful Loire Valley wine over a refined dinner at the trendy The London Edition Hotel in London. Loire Valley wine diversity is staggering with over 800 kilometres of wine trails, it’s France’s third largest wine region, excluding Champagne. Loire Valley wine regions include Pays Nantais, Anjou, Saumur and Touraine, with a number of appellations, Muscadet and Chinon probably being the most famous.
The evening started with a comprehensive list of nine Loire wines served as aperitifs a kind of a tasting session before dinner, my favourite was the sparkling Touraine Mousseux, Monmousseau Cuvee J.M. N.V. Mr Blyde directed us to the basement where elegant dinner tables were set up. I love a proper dinner table, with good glasses and beautiful crockery – the evening looked promising. As the dinner was about to start low multi-coloured lights were switched on and an excited Mr Blyde introduced the evening’s wines and food.
The lights were part of a sensorial experience; with each wine, a different colour was introduced, much to the horror of serious picture takers. Good lighting is everything in photography. But, moving on to the wines and dishes…
 sipping Loire Valley Wines with Douglas Blyde- Crab and avocado |
The first course featured light Colchester crab, apple and coriander on sourdough toast, dressed with a light brown crab mayonnaise. This dish was paired with Muscadet Cotes de Grandlieu Sur Lie, 2015, the high minerality cut through the mayo and complemented the fresh and sharp flavours of apple and herby coriander.
rainbow trout, with a light wasabi sauce, refreshing cucumber and vegetables with Loire wine
The next course was fish – a perfectly cooked rainbow trout, with a light wasabi sauce, refreshing cucumber and vegetables matched with the Savenniéres, Clos de la Hutte, 2015. This was an elegant wine, well balanced with minerality and citrus fruit, the saltiness of the fish stood up to this rich white wine perfectly.
BBQ pork chop course topped with Spanish calçot onions apple, tomato and sage sauce
The BBQ pork chop course topped with Spanish calçot onions apple, tomato and sage sauce was a delight to the eyes and the palate. This dish was paired with two different red wines, the 2014 Lisagathe from Château du Hureau in Saumur-Champigny had a beautiful depth, with fruity notes and a hint of spice, sandalwood and tobacco. The red Chinon Rouge, 2009, from Clos de la Dioterie had great depth, also, with prominent dark stone fruits and spice notes, in my opinion, this was the best pairing.
shot of Difference Coffee Jamaican Blue Mountain
We finished the evening with a fabulous shot of Difference Coffee Jamaican Blue Mountain, served in dazzling gold cups. I need those cups and excellent coffee in my life, daily!
The evening was a brilliant display of the diversity of Loire Valley wines with delicious food and unexpected pairings – for me, white wine with cheese won the night!
for more information on the Loire, please visit: http://loirevalleywine.com
Until next time why not join me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook…X
I was a guest of Mr Douglas Blyde at this event and here some words from our host:
