August 17- 24, 2010
Join us on a culinary and cultural adventure in the Perigord, the southwest corner of France, one of the country’s most charming and rural regions, where French gourmets go to indulge. Home of walnut oil, cepes and foie gras, we’ll sample these delights and more. After a cheese tasting in Bordeaux, we’re off to the Perigord. Just east of Bordeaux, we’re still in wine country and we’ll tour and taste at a clutch of wineries. We’ll dine at fine restaurants and bistros; you’ll have opportunities to sample simple country fare at inns and auberges. We’ll travel along bucolic back roads to explore medieval hill towns and bastides (planned towns) on bustling Market Days. We’ll select perfectly ripened local tomatoes and olives cured in rosemary; melons bursting with flavor and tiny wild strawberries, to take with us for dejeuners sur l’herbe (picnic lunches). We’ll visit medieval chateaux fortified for protection and graceful Renaissance chateaux built for pleasure. In a region celebrated for its prehistoric cave paintings as much as its wines– be prepared to savor them all!
Accompanying us on our tour will be cookbook author and food writer, Janet Fletcher. Janet trained at the Culinary Institute of America and at the celebrated Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California. She writes a weekly Cheese column for the San Francisco Chronicle, where her work has won three James Beard Awards. Janet has written on wine and food topics for numerous national magazines, including Saveur, Food & Wine, Metropolitan Home, Fine Cooking and Bon Appétit. She is the author or co-author of 20 cookbooks, including Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing, and Enjoying; The Cheese Course; Pasta Harvest and Fresh from the Farmers’ Market. A collaboration with Michael Chiarello, Michael Chiarello’s Casual Cooking, won an International Association of Culinary Professionals cookbook award. Janet’s next book, a collaboration with Rosetta Costantino on the cooking of Calabria, will be published in 2010. A certified Master Gardener who maintains a large edible and perennial garden, Janet lives in Napa Valley, California, with her winemaker husband.
Our base, set amidst fields of sunflowers and rows of grapevines, is Petit Rousset, a 17th century farmhouse which has been thoughtfully restored and renovated with your comfort in mind. Nine individually decorated and comfortably large guest rooms, all with private bath, await you. With meeting rooms and a library, outdoor terraces and a swimming pool, Petit Rousset is a wonderful place to begin and conclude each day. Set in the countryside, Petit Roussset is not remote, we’re only a 45 minute stroll to our 12th century hometown, where we’ll enjoy the lively Farmers’ Market, as others have done since 1271.
- Group size is limited to 16
- International airfare not include
- Our program begins and concludes in Bordeaux
Day 1
We’ll meet at a Bordeaux Fromagerie for a Degustation. After our Cheese Tasting, we’ll depart for Petit Rousset and a Welcome Dinner.
Petit Rousset, a thoughtfully restored 17th century farmhouse is our home during our stay in the Perigord. With outdoor terraces and a swimming pool, salon and a library, Petit Rousset is a tranquil place to begin and conclude each day.
Day 2
After breakfast, we’ll take a quick ride to Bergerac the town made famous by the poet-Musketeer, Cyrano, now the capitol of the wine-growing region. We’ll tour Old Town, with its medieval houses clustered along the banks of the Dordogne River. Lunch is at Tour des Vents, the splendid view overlooking the wine growing Monbazillac valley enhances the equally splendid meal. After lunch, we’ll travel a few kilometers to the Chateau de Tiregand for a wine tasting of Pécharmant, the rich, full-bodied red wines prized for its structure and staying power. The family of Saint-Exupéry has been making wines at Château de Tiregand for well over 300 years and some of the buildings used for aging the wine in the oak barrels date back as far as the 1300s'. A light dinner tonight of market produce.
Day 3
We begin the day with a walking tour of our hometown, Eymet on Market Day, gathering supplies for a dejeuner sur l’herbe back at Petit Rousset. Eymet – Our 45-minute stroll from Petit Rousset to Eymet will be past rows of grapevines, fields of wheat and meadows of grazing cows. This bastide has a perfectly intact 13th century center square which bursts with activity on Market Day. Little streets radiating off the square are dotted with houses made of wattle and daub. As we explore, we’ll learn about the medieval conflicts that gave rise to the region’s many bastides. After our picnic lunch, we’re off to the winery Chateau de Belingard. The name “Bélingard” is said to have come from the Celtic language and oral tradition, “beleen garten”, meaning the garden of the beleen or belin god”, the god of sun and war. At Château Bélingard, you will have all the time you need to listen to the legends of mistletoe, oaks, wild vines, barrels and all about wines, with gracious, informative and generous tastings of the Winery’s wonderful wines. Janet leads a wine & cheese pairing before dinner tonight.
Day 4
We’ll start the day with a guided tour of the prehistoric cave paintings at Rouffignac, one of the longest caves with palaeolithic paintings. The cave itself was first mentioned in 1575. In 1915 the cave was visited by Abbot Henry Breuil, the man who would become the father of pre-history. Since that time, the paintings and engravings of Rouffingac cave have become the object of close study by specialists. Since it is so long, we’ll travel through it on a small train as our guide points out the wooly mamoths and rhinos on the cave walls. Lunch today will be at the Michelin starred, Le Vieux Logis. The 'Vieux Logis' in the peaceful village of Trémolat has been in the same family for over 450 years. Originally a simple tobacco barn, the building has been renovated and fully redecorated, yet it has never lost any of its original 'cachet'. Our scenic return is along the Cingle de Tremolat. Dinner tonight at Petit Rousset.
Day 5
We’ll travel to bustling Sarlat on Market Day. Founded as an Abbey Town, when Charlemagne visited, he brought a fragment of the True Cross with him. Nearly all of Sarlat’s restored town houses were built during its years of greatest prosperity, from 1450-1500, giving it a rare architectural unity preserved by the Loi Malraux. Lunch on your own today with lots of options available. After lunch, we’ll tour and taste at a water powered Walnut mill. Finally, aboard a gabarre (float bottomed boat), we’ll sail along the Dordogne River. Dinner at our hometown’s elegant, Cour d’Eymet. A gracious welcome awaits as does a wonderfully inventive and delicious Perigordine dinner.
Day 6
Tiny Issigeac, a sleepy little hill-town with meandering streets, alleyways and pedestrian paths comes alive this morning for the weekly Farmers Market. No matter which direction you look, bits of architecture or scenes of village life await your enjoyment. On to Monpazier, hailed as the most perfectly preserved bastide in Southwest France, the 13th century houses surrounding its totally intact market square, are identical in size, unique in appearance. Many lunch options for you to choose from in Monpazier. Next, we’re off to the massive Chateau de Biron. The Gontaut-Biron family who owned the castle for eight centuries made many transformations to the building between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries. Amongst its many splendors, most notable perhaps are the twelfth-century keep, the Renaissance apartments and an immense vaulted kitchen. Dinner at Petit Rousset with Wine & Cheese Pairing led by Janet.
Day 7
Time to pack this morning, then off to the Chateau de Vigiers for lunch. Dating back to 1597, Château des Vigiers is an internationally renowned golf course set in 450 acres of stunning countryside, in the heart of the wine districts of the Dordogne, Château des Vigiers offers an exceptional place to sample the wonderful local cuisine, Our final Dordogne winery visit is to Clos d’YVigne. In 1990 Patricia Atkinson moved to South West France to take on a small vineyard. She spoke little French and knew nothing of wine making. Today the wines of Clos d'Yvigne’s vineyard are internationally acclaimed for their high quality. The vineyard is three times its original size. And the story of the struggle and the success has reached a wide audience through Patricia Atkinson's bestselling books, The Ripening Sun and La Belle Saison. A most satisfying way to bid the Dordogne adieu. Farewell Dinner at Petit Rousset.
Day 8
After breakfast, we depart for Bordeaux via famed hill-top town St. Emilion, a favorite of both medieval popes and English kings. In 1999 St. Emilion was classed a world heritage site, the first vine-growing area to achieve this status. After free time in St. Emilion, Coach drop off at Bordeaux airport and train station. Onward journeys after 4:00 p.m. are advised.
Itinerary based upon availability, substitutions are sometimes necessary.
Tour Highlights:
- Market Day visits to medieval villages
- Guided walking tour of Eymet, Bergerac
- Guided tour & tasting at Walnut Mill
- Guided visit of Rouffignac Cave with its prehistoric paintings
- Gabarre (flat bottomed boat) Ride on Dordogne
- Entry: Chateau de Biron
- Wine Tastings at: Château Bélingard, Château de Tiregand, Clos d’Yvigne
- Luncheons: Tour des Vents, Vieux Logis, Chateau Vigiers
- Dinner: Cour d’Eymet
- Petit Rousset Wine & Cheese Pairings
- Lunch/Dinner of Market Produce Bounty
What’s Included:
- 8 days/7 nights lodgings
- Pick up/drop off in Bordeaux
- All Breakfasts & Dinners
- 4 lunches
- Wine at Petit Rousset
- Tour Highlights as above
Not included:
- International airfare
- Meals and drinks not listed on itinerary
- Gratuities, personal items.
