If you should find yourselves in the midst of the Médoc, in the village of Lamarque, waiting for a ferry to cross the Gironde to Blaye you could do worse than while away an hour or two on the terrace of L’Escale - a refreshingly basic restaurant that is the best place to dine hereabouts. Indeed, it is the only place to dine hereabouts. Surprisingly, for a hostelry in the centre of legendary wine country, the wine list here is minimalist in the extreme. Service, however, is friendly and prompt and a pichet of nameless and blameless Bergerac Sec went down very well with a starter of bulots et crevettes from a similarly Spartan 15 euro menu de jour. Our main courses of grilled sardines with a ratatouille of courgette, celery and tomato, and mutton chops with garlic and parsley and a great gratin of haricots blancs were hearty, well-judged and generous.  A half-bottle of Château Fontesteau: Haut-Médoc 2004 was perfectly potable and didn’t break the bank at 12 euros. Uncharacteristically we declined an inclusive cheese course but the coffee was excellent. The total bill came to 46.5 euros which wouldn’t get you off the nursery slopes of the wine list in the region’s swankier establishments. Tom felt sufficiently sated to pose for a photograph.  The great question here being - what do you think of that beard?

Every September on the eve of our annual press tasting the principals of the Bunch [www.bunchwines.co.uk] gather to break bread, discuss topics of mutual interest, such as the Ashes, summer holiday destinations and potential new members, and sample some interesting wines. We have been convening thus for many years now so this is a less formal affair than one might imagine although there is perhaps a degree of one-upmanship regarding the wines that are proffered by the participants. This year we met at Medcalf [www.medcalfbar.co.uk] in Clerkenwell’s Exmouth Market, which is an understated gem of a restaurant with a short, savvy, seasonal menu of British food with a Mediterranean tilt and a carefully-crafted and reasonably-priced wine list. As I was chairing our meeting and enjoying the pleasures of the table, I cannot recall in full what food everyone else ordered but I had a starter of whitebait with good home-made tartare sauce (they are big on home-made at Medcalf) followed by the bavette steak and chips which is a reflex order of mine and justifies a trip to Exmouth Market in its own right. One of my confrères ordered the steak and kidney pudding which looked (and was pronounced) great but cannot have been better than the peerless bavette.

By way of an aperitif Rupert Farquharson of Adnams brought along a non-vintage Champagne called ‘Exquise’ produced by Jacques Selosse from pure Chardonnay in minimal volumes. This wine has a gentle effervescence and quite an oxidative style but very pure fruit and lots of finesse and I liked it very much. Segueing on to another Chardonnay we then sampled ‘Ramey Chardonnay’ 2006 from Ritchie Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, provided by the only Master of Wine present, Alun Griffiths of Berry Brothers. I found this oaky, toasty, rich and oily with good length and acidity but it was a bit too much of a belter for the whitebait that might have preferred something a tad lighter than 14.5% abv. The first of the reds, courtesy of James Tanner was the ‘Racine du Temps’, Très Vieilles Vignes (!),  Gevrey-Chambertin 2002 from René Bouvier. I thought this was a superb drop, with a lovely damson bouquet and fleshy, mid-weight fruit over fine-grained tannins. If I had any dosh I’d tuck a case or two of this away… My palate was now suitably primed for a brace of well-heeled reds with which Paul Marus from Corney & Barrow indulged us. Firstly we tasted the ‘Psi’ 2007 from the celebrated Dominio de Pingus in the Ribera del Duero. This is a pure Tempranillo from the stable of Danish wunderkind Peter Sisseck and believe it or not is cheap by his standards at £22.49 a bottle. I liked rather than loved this wine. It was very polished and refined but it didn’t really grab me - I suspect it was recently bottled and will appreciate a bit more time in the cellar. We followed the ‘Psi’ with a Château Roc de Cambes, Côtes de Bourg 2003, which is a blend of Melot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (in descending volumes) from a 10 hectare estate owned by François Mitjavile of Terte Rôteboeuf fame. This stylish, glossy, Claret was packed with sweet berry fruit and made a perfect foil to a selection of fine british cheeses. This is another wine I would happily make cellar space for if funds permitted.

We rounded things off with a bonne bouche of Pinot Gris ‘Sélection de Grains Nobles’ from Charles Schlèret in Turckheim which was Yapp Brothers’ own contribution. This subtle, gently honeyed wine was as understated as the restaurant with its miss-matched chairs and café tables but it made for a very pleasant end to a very pleasant evening. On reflection we really ought to meet up more often!

Canoeing down the Dronne at Brantôme

My father in law is the proud owner of a rural retreat in the wilds of Périgord and so most summers, from a combination of financial, social and gastronomic incentives, we end up spending a week or two lost in La France Profonde far from the digital distractions of the Modern Age. Family tradition has it that at least one day must be spent canoeing from Brantôme ‘the Venice of Perigord’ to Bourdeilles an amazingly unspoilt picture postcard perfect village 11 kilometres further down the Dronne.

Brantôme is very pretty in its own right although it is a bit of a tourist trap in high summer which adds to the pleasure of canoeing out of it. There are several outfits hawking for ones custom around Brantôme but the biggest, best and most central is Brantôme Canoë whose distinctive banana-like yellow craft distinguish them from their rivals.

Having ditched the car and hired a canoe (there has been much debate about whether the 2-3 person boats are canoes or kayaks but when in Brantôme…) and signed a safety disclaimer you are kitted out with paddles and life-vests and the optional extra of a large water-tight plastic barrel which is essential for keeping wallets, the all important picnic and towels dry - it also serves well as a back rest for the rear oarsman.

The real thrill of setting off from the centre of town is that almost immediately one has to negotiate a steep weir in full view of the aforementioned tourist hoards. Canoeists (the more inept the better) attempting to traverse the weir provide free sport and much hilarity for all but the protagonists themselves. Many hapless vessels approach the weir too gingerly and become grounded midway across. This leaves the occupants only 2 options. An undignified bum-shuffle to try and tilt the canoe over the edge or abandoning ship altogether to tow the canoe downstream. Worse still canoes approaching on an oblique angle have a tendency to capsize and spill their occupants out onto the weir to howls of delight from onlookers. Bitter experience has taught me that the only satisfactory approach is at full-throttle and head-on. It is gratifying to glide over to a cheer from the crowd before heading out of town.

Bar the occasional spot of rapid water and a couple more (mercifully rural) weir descents the rest of the journey down river is a tranquil affair. There are plentiful opportunities for paddling and picnicking and spotting trout and kingfishers and other wildlife. Depending on your level of fitness and amount of support from your shipmates 4 hours of paddling can take its toll on your backside and biceps but there is a decent terraced bar in Bourdeilles which is an excellent place to nurse a drink in the sunshine before the pre-arranged coach comes from Brantôme to take you back you back to your car.