We rented a car Monday and headed south from Angers about a hour to the French countryside. Along the way, we stopped at this incredible site, Château de Brissac. This fabulous chateau has been owned by the Cossé-Brissac family since 1502. The title of “Duke of Brissac” has been handed down for over 500 years, father to first son, and sometimes to the second son if the first son died without an heir. The 14th Duke of Brissac still resides at the chateau with his family. Below is a theater in the chateau where music and theater productions were held for the family and their guests.
On Tuesday, one of the hosts of the manor at which we are staying, Bumblebee Manor (or in French, “Manoir Bourdon”), who has extensive training in wine, gave us a wine course presentation and then took us to three incredible wineries in the area for tastings of local wine appellations (sort of like a “wine region,” but more specifically a designation that ensures that wines from a particular region possess distinct qualities and authenticity to the standard). Who knew?
We drank a lot of wine that day, and enjoyed all the things we learned. The most important is that your palate is your own and you should drink what you like with whatever food you wish to drink it with, or no food at all. While the experts would probably be aghast at that philosophy, it makes sense to me. Why should I drink a wine I don’t like just because an expert said that this one goes with that food?
Wineries here often use limestone caves that date back in some cases to the 11th to 15th centuries, where the limestone was cut in underground quarries for use as a building material. These caves go on for miles underground. This photo is from a bit more modern cave and features equipment and natural holding vats where grapes were pressed and juice gathered before being stored in barrels. This feels a little unsanitary when viewed in terms of modern winemaking, but given the unsanitary nature of most drinking water in those time periods before water-borne diseases were understood, maybe wine was safer. The caves stay at a near-constant 12°C, (about 54°F), with about 80% humidity. These conditions are perfect for storing and aging wine.
The caves that are created from this limestone extraction have also been used for other purposes, such as homes where people have lived for centuries. Called “troglodyte homes,” they offered shelter from the elements and seasonal temperature changes for generations of families. You can still find people living in them in France and they range from rustic ones like this to luxury ones like this. We visited the Rochemenier Troglodyte Museum to see how people lived and farmed in troglodyte villages. I associate the word “troglodyte” with trolls, but found no trolls, only photos of happy French troglodyte farmers at the museum.
Wednesday, we visited the Château de Saumur, a museum devoted to horses and decorative arts with an incredible view of the Loire River and the old town of Saumur. The chateau was initially started in the 11th century and finished in the 15th century. It has a storied history and owes its continued existence to Napoleon I, who saved it from ruin and demolition by making it into a state prison. It was purchased in 1906 and restored by the Saumur Council to its current state as a municipal museum. While amazingly beautiful, it is not ornate or fancy at all inside. Instead, its sparsely decorated rooms were used to showcase amazing exhibitions, including an exhibition dedicated to the female artisans and cultural heroines of Afghani heritage.
Lastly, today we went to an incredible local zoo called the “Bioparc Zoo” in the nearby town of Doué-la-Fontaine, also built around and within an old abandoned limestone quarry in the 1960s. The zoo is currently on the cutting edge of conservation efforts of endangered species. One of our manor hosts helped raised funds to re-introduce five endangered gazelles into the wild in Morocco a few years ago. The tortoise above is just one of the many animals we saw. The South American and African aviaries were incredible too!
We’re off to more adventures tomorrow before heading back to Angers to move into our new apartment. It’s been a great week so far!