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Trip to Lyon in the Spring

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James Roscoe

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Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by James Roscoe » Sat Dec 16, 2017 12:14 pm

Our middle daughter is living in Lyon teaching English. We are planning a two week visit in April. There are three wine regions in relatively close proximity to Lyon, Beaujolais, Burgundy, and the Rhone. Not a bad trio! So what is the best way to get some tastings? Do we sign up for a tour out of Lyon? Do we make appointments and drive out? I know it is different than here in the US. Any advice on visiting a winery would be appreciated. Lyon is famous for its food. What do we need to do on that front? Any other trips we should take from Lyon? My daughter loves the city and she spent a year in Paris back in 2008-2009. Any advice is welcome. Thanks!
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Jenise » Sat Dec 16, 2017 3:41 pm

We spent a week in Lyon about 20 years ago and I nearly starved to death. Everywhere we went, the menus were full of what a WW II cookbook I own euphemistically calls "variety meats". I seemed to only order these tiny chickens called pintauds, simply because I wasn't interested in eating brains, tripe or entrails which was just about all there was on the menus. Steaks? Chops? Nowhere to be found. Hopefully, that trend is now past.

Re wineries, you probably do have to set up tastings. However, I will note that Chapoutier has a tasting room in Tain l'Hermitge that's open daily, and they are ridiculously generous in offering to open just about anything you'd like to taste from their fairly large book of wines. It's a must!
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Sat Dec 16, 2017 5:19 pm

Always book in advance in my opinion. You get a much better tour and more conversation with the owner plus the chance to taste more higher end wines.
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Patchen Markell » Sat Dec 16, 2017 6:55 pm

Jenise wrote:We spent a week in Lyon about 20 years ago and I nearly starved to death. Everywhere we went, the menus were full of what a WW II cookbook I own euphemistically calls "variety meats". I ordered these tiny chickens called pintauds, I think, simply because I wasn't interested in brains, tripe or entrails. Steaks? Chops? Nowhere to be found. Hopefully, that trend is now past.


The butchers of Lyon have an understandable aversion to anything that can be thrown on the barbie.

(I'm sorry. I really am. Still too soon.)
cheers, Patchen
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by James Roscoe » Sat Dec 16, 2017 7:07 pm

Well played Patchen! Well played.

I happen to like cooked ofal. (I don’t think I have that correctly)
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Jenise » Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:54 am

Offal. Which is, of course, awful.

But the salads are nice.
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by John S » Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:41 pm

If you don't want to spend a lot of time making appointments, then the Southern Rhone is the best option. Many of the producers in Chateauneuf, Gigondas, etc. are open every day (except Sunday) for tasting. In Burgundy and Beaujolais, there are only a few places open without an appointment (but more in Beaujolais).
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Jenise » Mon Dec 18, 2017 6:39 pm

Good point re Chateneuf. Btw, when Bill Spohn and I (and our spouses, of course) went to CdP in 2010, we had a heck of a time getting appointments. A distributor/importer sent emails on our behalf describing Bill as a "VIP Customer" and got disappointingly few responses. But we were able to talk our way into Pegau and visit a few tasting rooms that were open--I recall Ray Usseglio and La Nerthe, for instance. Also Mordoree in Tavel. You just never know.
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Dale Williams » Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:10 pm

Going to Lyon and avoiding offal (and sausage?) !?!?! :)

Jenise, did you mean pintade? Actually guinea hen not chicken. I love it.
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Jenise » Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:34 pm

Dale Williams wrote:Going to Lyon and avoiding offal (and sausage?) !?!?! :)

Jenise, did you mean pintade? Actually guinea hen not chicken. I love it.


Yes I did, thanks for the correction. And I didn't realize it was a guinea hen. They probably told me 'chicken' thinking Americans wouldn't know the other.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Tim York

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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Tim York » Tue Dec 19, 2017 2:09 pm

Bob Parsons Alberta wrote:Always book in advance in my opinion. You get a much better tour and more conversation with the owner plus the chance to taste more higher end wines.


I agree with that advice. Larger négociants may do visits without appointments but you would be missing out on most of the interesting artisan type growers. If you don't speak French, you should check that there is someone to host you in English; that also may mean missing some interesting places.

I believe that is difficult to get appointments with well known growers on the Côte d'Or because they are already oversold to existing customers. Here your best bet could be with négociants like Jadot, Chanson and Drouhin......

Unless you share Jenise's aversion to offals (roughly = abats in Frech) and even then, don't shy away from Lyonnais cooking. It has the reputation of being amongst the best in France.
Tim York
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Paul Winalski » Tue Dec 19, 2017 2:39 pm

Dale Williams wrote:Going to Lyon and avoiding offal (and sausage?) !?!?! :)


One one wine tasting trip we ate lunch in Lyon. I ordered andouilette sausage, thinking it would be a smaller version of something like the Cajun andouille. But it turns out that andouilette is chitterling sausage. :shock: It wasn't bad, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

-Paul W.
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Paul Winalski » Tue Dec 19, 2017 2:41 pm

If you plan to do any wine tasting in Burgundy, IMO your best bet is to have your local wine merchant arrange appointments through the wine trade. Burgundy isn't like Napa/Sonoma or the Southern Rhone. Burgundy producers typically conduct tastings by appointment only.

-Paul W.
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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by Jenise » Tue Dec 19, 2017 4:28 pm

Paul Winalski wrote:If you plan to do any wine tasting in Burgundy, IMO your best bet is to have your local wine merchant arrange appointments through the wine trade. Burgundy isn't like Napa/Sonoma or the Southern Rhone. Burgundy producers typically conduct tastings by appointment only.

-Paul W.


True. And many don't respond to personal requests from people like us--I know, I tried. Lots of tasting rooms have popped up though that weren't there at all last time I was in Burgundy. They've really geared up for wine tourism.
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James Roscoe

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Re: Trip to Lyon in the Spring

by James Roscoe » Tue Dec 19, 2017 5:35 pm

Thank you for the advice. My oldest daughter is ITB so maybe she has connections. The daughter we are going to visit speaks French and will join us on our adventures. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

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