When my widowed mum announced that she was moving to France we all assumed that she would settle in Brittany or Normandy – places she had visited many times with my father. Within easy reach of the UK and her beloved granddaughter the north of France seemed sensible. My strong-willed …

By aixcentric Saturday 20th September is the deadline for enrolling for the Sainte-Victoire Wine Rally which is great fun. But just before I post details of that, here is something interesting that I have just found which should appeal to wine-lovers in Aix. It’s a 17 page press kit, in …

By nutmeg Their eyes connected on a train headed towards the Champagne region. Before the weekend filled with bubbles supplied by the cellars of Krug and Dom Pérignon was over, Caroline Jones a proud Australian, and French native Thomas Bertrand had uncorked a little sparkle. Their long-distance romance bloomed and …

By nutmeg Château Pesquié is Provencal postcard perfection, with the soaring limestone summit of Mont Ventoux as a backdrop and a leafy canopy of plane trees shading the entranceway to the bastide. The Provencal name pesquié is a derivative from Latin “pescarium” meaning fishpond or basin. This region may be …