Page 24 - Yachter Spring 2024

24 DU VIN, DU PAIN, DES BASSINS
D’Or is just north of the city close to a berth on the River Saône. Or the fascinating Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin just a few strides from the port in Dijon.
Or Châteauneuf du Pape overlooking the Rhône just north of Avignon, a short cycle ride away. Or perhaps the ultimate, a meal at the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin’s Château du Clos de Vougeot in the fabled Côte D’Or, half an hours drive from St Jean de Losne, canal cruising capital of France;
a gastronomic feast of Persillé de Sandre, Oeufes en Meurette, Sot-l’y-laisse de Volaille, Fromages, Vacherin Glacé, Les Petits Fours, and Cafe Noir, matched to Bourgogne Aligoté, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de
Beaune, Chassagne Montrachet, Crémant de Bourgogne and Le Vieux Marc. And all better because you cruised there by boat!
But of all the wonderful unforgettable moorings that have so far been experienced, my favourite is the small harbour just
downstream of the Château D’Ampuis,
south of Lyon where Mns Guigal’s Côte
Rôtie complemented a simple BBQed steak, sauteed potatoes and a dressed salad on the aft deck, looking down river with steep vine clad slopes on the right bank overlooked by the Blonde and Brun hills covered in roasted vines. According to a predictable legend, these were named after the daughters—one brunette, one blonde—of an aristocratic feudal lord, one more tannic and powerful, the other more elegant and racy!
So now the grapes may have changed from Syrah, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Riesling and Gewürztraminer and BEATRIX may have made her way back over the watershed to the Rhine, Moselle and Meuse, but with more lovely berths, magnificent views, wonderful wines and superb food to keep us entertained, à la prochaine!
Simon Derrick