I won't go into recipes for soupe à l'oignon gratinée again. I just like this photo. I had beef broth left over from our recent pot au feu (boiled beef dinner), and we always have Comté cheese in the refrigerator. I had just bought a bag of yellow onions too. Voilà.
Usually you'd have a red wine with French onion soup, but here's a white wine that would be good with it too. It's a fruity, off-dry Sauvignon Blanc made up in Limeray by François Péquin at the Domaine des Bessons. It's rich-tasting, not acidic, and that would make it good with the cheese.
Notice that this Arroma is an AOC Touraine, not a Touraine-Amboise. That's because it's made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes and not Chenin Blanc. Touraine-Amboise whites, like Vouvray wines, are made from Chenin, and range from dry to sweet.
François Péquin is a « vigneron indépendant » — an independent "vinesman." That's a word I just invented to mean grape grower and winemaker. He displays the logo of an association he belongs to on his corks and marketing materials.
Nice set of photos :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like another winery that would be worth stopping at if we had the time. Very few Americans pay attention to the Vigneron Independent designation, but I've always considered it to be a good indicator of a quality winery; not a guarantee, but it says something about the winery. We'll be staying in Montresor for one night in April near the end of our trip, but it looks like Limeray is a bit further than I want to go, given how little time we'll have. Instead, we're thinking of stopping at Vignobles Dinocheau in Monthou-sur-Cher.
ReplyDeleteWould you have time for lunch or dinner in Saint-Aignan or, say, Chemillé-sur-Indrois, right next to Montrésor? I think I'll be here in April. I don't know Dinocheau -- maybe I should.
DeleteThat might work, Ken, although lunch would probably be out. We're driving from the Dordogne (near Sarlat) that day (Saturday, April 16) after checking out of our gite, and it looks like a 3 1/2-4 hour drive. Unless we were able to get away early. But dinner might work. There's a place in Chemille-sur-Indrois that looks nice, with an interesting wine list (of course, there's always the issue of driving afterwards). As to Dinocheau, a friend brought over their Pineau d'Aunis (your favorite grape variety!) the other night, and it was very good.
DeleteAnother vigneron indépendant who makes a good Pineau d'Aunis rosé is Francois Leclair at Domaine des Rochettes in Pouillé, which is closer to Montrésor than is Monthou-sur-Cher. Let's stay in touch as your trip comes together. The restaurant in Chemillé is Le Moulin de Chaudé, which I recently blogged about.
DeleteHere is a link to my posts about Le Moulin de Chaudé, the restaurant in Chemillé.
DeleteYes, I remember that now. I thought it looked very good, but had forgotten about it as I was looking for info about the area. And thanks for the input about Rochettes.
DeleteJe me demande if I can find Comté cheese at my local Publix since you've given me a hankering for onion soup....
ReplyDeleteI made French onion soup in N.C. in November using turkey broth and American Swiss cheese from Lowe's supermarket. It was good.
DeleteYou are giving me hope! Merci bien...
ReplyDelete