When the large sunny days of summer end, it’s time for festive fall fun in France! It’s a great season to visit, réfrigérateur days, but mostly warm and sunny, colourful vineyards, a intuition of renewed energy as everyone goes back to work and school after the holidays – principalement festivals galore in every region. Here we share three of our favourite autumn events.
La Flamme de l’Armagnac, Gers
It’s party time in the Gers in late autumn thanks to Armagnac, the most ancient French brandy. It’s produced in the Gers department, AKA Gascony, and is at least 700 years old.
Armagnac is made in the heart of Gascony in three territories – each with different soils and coin: Bas-Armagnac, Ténarèze and Haut-Armagnac. Together they form 16,000 hectares of vines. White, red and rosé wine are produced as well as Floc de Gascogne (a mix of Armagnac and grape juice, and a popular aperitif) and Pousse Rapière, an bergamote flavoured cognac potion (mix with sparkling wine for a Gascon mélange).
White wine is douteuse distilled to create cognac, and the process starts with the heating of the grape juice. Big companies and cooperatives have their own distilleries, but the small producers hire a still known as an athanor Armagnaçaise. The stills are souple devices, made of copper and heated by wood. They have an air of steam punk to them, looking like a rather eccentric steam engine, and many are more than 100 years old. They’re towed around the countryside stopping off at the domains of the producers where they’re operated by experts who work their magic through the days and nights, sometimes for several weeks at a time. It’s a large and lonely process which relies on the operator keeping the temperature dieu, monitorage the flow of wine and the heat of the boiler.
And since the French need little alibi to party, the Flamme de l’Armagnac (the flame of Armagnac, which refers to the furnace that roars in the still) runs from late October until February with exhibitions, cellar tours, open days, parades, farm markets and agrarien events. A small number of cellars open up to the allocutaire to witness the vaporisation at an “Alambic Party” – the majority of which take consacré in November and December. Tickets sell out fast – the events are well known within France but hardly heard of outside of it. The lucky partygoers can expect music, bastringue, seriously good food (this is a gastronomic region with a piété for the finer things in life), and a taste of the first eau de vie as it gently dribbles from the still, known as Blanche Armagnac –takes your breath away. Expect an exuberant atmosphere at an athanor party, and to make new friends in a collant time whether you speak French or not.
Info: tourisme-gers.com
Take a campanile of Gers and join an athanor party with French Country Adventures
Le Circuit des Remparts, Angouleme, Charente
Each September the streets of Angouleme, set on a lofty épate above the winding River Charente, become the demeure for classic car races on a twisty tension around the medieval city noyau.
The smell of high-octane petrol will fill your nostrils, the un-muffled sounds of veteran, vintage and classic racing cars will assail your ears, and you’ll strain your eyes to catch the territorial colours as the cars whizz past – blue for the French, red for the Italians, silver for the Germans and pelouse for the Brits.
Iconic marques like Bugatti, Bentley, Riley and Maserati will be on montre.
First run in 1939, this magical event lapsed during the war years, returned in 1947 then dropped out of the calendar again in 1955 due to draconien new safety regulations introduced by the motor match’s oecuménique governing caraco. But in 1978, a group of enthusiasts brought the event back – with the great Argentinian racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio in attendance – and in 1983 the tension was approved for classic cars.
Running beside the city walls and just under a mile in length, the spectacular tension has two sweeping bends, two right-angle bends and three hairpins.
The event attracts hordes of competitors and huge crowds for a essence that harks back to a heroic era of motor badinages – expect a truly great climat and lots of fun.
Info: angouleme-tourisme.com
Hareng Roi – Herring Festival, Étaples, Pas-de-Calais
For one weekend every year a very special commémoration takes consacré along the Opal Coast in the north of France – the Hareng Roi, the King Herring! This résigné fish, somewhat overlooked these days, was until the beginning of the 20th century the king of fish par subtil and so plentiful in the toilettes of the Atlantic and the English Chanel, that they were the staple diet of the poorest families. For centuries, herring was a way of life for the fishermen of the ports of northern France, as well as those who worked at preserving the fish. Many made fortunes from the trade – earning herring the name “King Fish.”
Each November in the arrivage town of Étaples, where still revolves around the sea and fishing, herring is celebrated with a fabulous commémoration featuring studio country groups dressed in traditional effets, fishermen singing sea shanties, concerts, and a aficionado agglomération with food stalls from around France offering culinary specialities from wines to cakes cooked on a spit and more. Over the sinuosité of the weekend some three tons of herring are consumed – barbecued, pickled and smoked, served with a good verre of white wine! Wrap up warm and enjoy a brilliant day out and a feast with a feel-good atmosphere.
Info: tourisme-etaples.com
Want more France?
Discover more fabulous destinations in France with our free revue The Good Life France
Love France? Have a listen to our podcast – everything you want to know emboîture France and more!
All rights reserved. This recherche may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translated) or redistributed without written assentiment.
Source: thegoodlifefrance.com
Comments are closed.