Wine trail : is the Loire Valley “the cheap bastard’s playground” ?

Posted on 18 January 2018 by hoteldiderot

Food & Wine website review of the Frenc wine making areas

A Cheap Person’s Guide to Fancy French Wine, by Ethan Fiwell on the Food & Wine website.

In a recent post titled “A Cheap Person’s Guide to Fancy French Wine“, Food & Wine‘s Etan Fixell argues that you do not need to be rich to fill up your cellar with excellent French bottles, praises the Loire Valley and points to Chinon reds as “the pinnacle of Cabernet Franc“…

In this off the beaten track review of France’s main wine producing areas, Food & Wine cites experts calling the Loire Valley “the best bang-for-your-buck region in all of France” and “the cheap bastard’s playground”.

And, when it comes to red wines od the Loire, the same experts put Chinon “amongst the pinnacle of Cabernet Franc“.

We did not say it, THEY did…

Read more here
Also read our introduction to Chinon wines here

Your gourmet guide to Chinon, Tours and Touraine

Posted on 17 January 2018 by hoteldiderot

Between the restaurants that we personally enjoyed and the ones that are regularly featured in journals and guides, we have put together a list of recommendations for your stay in Touraine.

In Chinon

Le Chapeau rouge
L’Océanic
Les Années 30
La Part des Anges
L’Ardoise
Un Air d’Antan
Côté Jardin

Around Chinon

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June 23th-24th, 2018 : the Chinon Classic is back

Posted on 15 January 2018 by hoteldiderot

grand prix de tours à chinon 2018 On June 23th-24th, 2018, the 18th Chinon Classic (ex Grand Prix de Tours) will be back in Chinon.

With an average of 20.000 visitors, it has become, over the years, one of the most popular events in its category.

First created to commemorate the 1927 edition of the Grand Prix de France in Touraine, the event became Chinon Classic in 2017 when it moved to Chinon.

For two days, the city is entirely dedicated to the beautiful vehicles of yesteryear that can parade on a 1,1 km circuit and display their chromes on the shaded promenade along the Vienne.

For more information about the program : click here

So, what have we done that’s special in 2017 ?

Posted on 12 January 2018 by hoteldiderot

We kicked off 2017 with the complete renovation of the Annex : shutters, front door, corridor, staircase, landing and 3 beautiful rooms. We managed to sneak three 200 cm beds in there, for the comfort of our taller guests. It’s been full all season!

We cleaned up, expanded and replanted the beds under the Albizia tree, lining the breakfast terrace.

We moved from ** to *** (just catching up, we did not increase the prices).

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Jamie the jam-maker just published a beautiful cookbook

Aside | Posted on 12 January 2018 by hoteldiderot

Owner of the Diderot, Jamie, who makes all the jams offered at breakfast, publishes her first cookbook.

Jamie took over the Diderot with her husband in 2015. Between hospitality and gastronomy, she just published her first cookbook focused on just one ingredient: the orange …

In 208 pages illustrated by Ilva Beretta’s photographs, Orange Appeal offers more than 70 original recipes each featuring or seasoned by the orange.

It took more than a year for the author to submit her manuscript, each recipe having been thoroughly tested, re-tested and tasted before being put in the pages of Orange Appeal.

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