FOOD TRAILS
CALVADOS DUPONT
FERME DE BILLY CAEN PERE MAGLOIRE
CHÂTEAU DU BREUIL CONCHES-EN-OUCHE
BREATHE IN THE ‘ANGEL’S SHARE’ ON THE CIDER ROUTE
Famed for its apple orchards, Normandy’s Pays d’Auge region is a joy in spring, with a dazzling display of white blossoms, while autumn sees the countryside ablaze with reds and yellows. The first stop on this trip is cider house Le Ferme de Billy (
ferme-de-billy.com), just outside Caen. Tuck into brunch at its cafe before wandering the estate and tasting the apple juices, ciders and calvados. From there, head to Beauvron-en-Auge, one of Normandy’s
many achingly idyllic villages, home to a jumble of timber-framed buildings. Have coffee on the terrace at Café Forges, then carry on to Calvados Dupont, a family-run estate in nearby Victot-Pontfol. Here, you’ll taste a range of apple brandies, as well as cider and pommeau, an aperitif that blends apple juice and calvados. Pont-l’Évêque, half an hour east, is home to the eponymous cheese — which, along with camembert, livarot and neufchâtel, comprise Normandy’s four PDO (protected designation of origin) fromages. Buy them at the town’s Monday morning market or call into one of the many cheese farms nearby (see
terredauge-tourisme.fr for a list). Nearby is Château du Breuil, a grand calvados distillery where you can take a tour that takes in the cellar, with its soaring, timbered ceiling, and breathe in the ‘angel’s share’ — the smell of the calvados that evaporates from the barrels and lingers in the air. In the tasting room, learn to tell the difference between different calvados vintages and between varieties aged in either port, sherry or whisky casks. Another distillery worth visiting is Père Magloire, near Pont
L’Évêque, where L’Experience — a multimedia, multisensory attraction — explains the origins of the spirit and its production methods. To truly embrace the culture and character of the region’s apples, however, time your visit to coincide with the Apple, Cider and Cheese Festival at Conches-en-Ouche, in the south. This jolly event, at the end of October, takes place in a huge field surrounded by reddening trees and showcases dozens of Normandy’s producers, as well as its dishes, traditional costumes and dancing. Meanwhile, if you prefer pears, there’s also La Route du Poiré, a trail that winds through orchards in Orne, in south Normandy.
GETTING STARTED: Start in Caen, where Brittany Ferries can deliver you and your car to the port just after breakfast, then head east, returning to Le Havre or Caen for the ferry home. If you’re hiring a car, a one-way trip from Caen to Paris is also an option. Many of these stops feature on the tourist board’s official cider route:
en.normandie-tourisme.fr/the-cider-route DON’T MISS: The calvados soufflé at L’Étape Louis XIII restaurant (
etapelouis13.fr) in Beaumesnil, near Conches-en-Ouche. GIVE IT A SHOT: A Normandy custom, the ‘trou normand’ involves a shot of calvados served between courses during a big meal. The idea is that the brandy aids digestion. Also look out for ice cider — made with apples left to freeze on the tree in winter. CB
SEEK OUT RIESLING ALONG THE RHINE
Germany’s Rheingau wine region is wide ribbon of south-facing slopes on the north bank of the Rhine River. Here you’ll find the Rheingau Riesling Path, a 13-stage hiking route between the towns of Kaub and Flörsheim-Wicker. It passes through charming, half-timbered wine villages and vineyards with castles and monasteries, all the while offering glorious views and endless sampling opportunities. Amble at leisure, then plan your excursion to coincide with a cellar open day, festival or wine hike (a planned route with wine and food stands), or call ahead to arrange winery tours, tastings or a table at a seasonal winery restaurant.
GETTING STARTED: The landscape between the towns of Lorch and charming-but-touristy Rüdesheim am Rhein is dramatic. The stretch between Rüdesheim and the town of Eltville — known for its summer roses, cobbled streets and sparkling wines — is full of wineries, from the small and family-run to the internationally renowned, such as Kloster Eberbach, set in a former abbey. The region is particularly beautiful in the autumn — the vineyards are golden and the days still remarkably warm. DON’T MISS: Rheingau Wine Week, in Wiesbaden: a nine-day wine festival featuring around 100 Rheingau winery stands. CD
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