A+, Sancerre

What does A+ mean? It's internet and text message usage to say à plus tard — see you later. (Pronounce the -s of plus.) We only spent a few hours in the Sancerre vineyards but I enjoyed the time. I might have to take the Citroën out of the garage and drive back over there this summer — maybe with CHM when he visits in June.

As you drive west from Sancerre toward the Sologne and the Cher River valley, the land flattens out. The Sologne forest is especially level, and the roads are straight and narrow. The main traffic you have to watch out for is a deer or a boar crossing the highway.

The village just west of Sancerre is Bué, and it's also in one of the prime Sancerre vineyard areas. Drive just a little ways further and you are in the vineyards of Menetou-Salon, where Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are also the two main varietals grown. The city of Bourges is just 25 miles to the southwest. This is pretty much the geographical center of France

The road toward Henrichemont, Vierzon, Romorantin, and Saint-Aignan seems to disappear into the Sologne forest land pretty soon. I mentioned deer and boars as traffic hazards, but I should also mention tractors. The first one we encountered, coming up behind it and moving much faster that it was moving, was a tractor pulling a load of firewood on a trailer.

This Sologne style tractor-trailer rig didn't slow us down much. As you can see, it was easy to pass it on such a straight, flat highway with no other cars, trucks, or tractors coming the other way. A+, le tracteur.