Cave de Gan open day offers festive Jurançon wine tasting

Dec. 21, 2012 - PRLog -- The Cave de Gan, situated in the heart of the Jurançon hills in southwest France, opens its doors for its annual Christmas open day on the 27th of December.
The last of its three open open days in 2012, the theme of the festive edition is gastronomical, in particular the food associated with the Christmas holiday period in France. This includes shellfish, foie gras and magret de canard, all of which are complemented by a sweet white wine, such as the Jurançon wine produced at the Cave de Gan.  

Jurançon wine is celebrated in France but not as well known abroad. Famously, it was used to baptize the future Henry IV, founder of the Bourbon dynasty and bringer of peace to a war-torn kingdom. Apparently, this experience made a good impression on him, because he brought the wine to the court once he became king.

Many varieties of this royal wine are available at the open day, in addition to an introductory wine tasting course, where specialists will show interested visitors the fundamentals of this noble art. They will learn how to taste a wine according to the rules of the art, how to identify the grape forming the basis for a given Jurançon wine, and how to find the bottle of wine best suited to their favourite meals.

If they have learnt and applied the rules of wine tasting correctly, they should be steady enough on their feet at this stage to explore the premises of the Cave de Gan. They can wander through its alleys and avenues, lined by stacks of wine casks and barrels, inspect its modern wine making facilities and admire the authentic Gallo-Roman mosaics for which it is reputed. They can also participate in a cooking workshop, where they can perfect their skills in the grilling of chestnuts, the baking of a gâteau à la broche and the preparation of festive meals according to the highest gastronomical standards.

For wine collectors or anyone wishing to celebrate the end of the year with family and friends with something out of the ordinary, bottles of vintage Jurançon wine will be brought up from the cellars, dusted off and made available for sale.
For those who cannot make it to the Christmas open day in 2012, they may be interested in attending one of the three open days in 2013, whether the summer themed open day in July, the harvest themed open day in September or, of course, the festive themed open day in December, as part of a holiday discovering this unique corner of southwest France.

The region’s wine and gastronomic riches can best be discovered based in a bed and breakfast or guest house - find one on http://www.francebedandbreakfasts.com. However, bed and breakfasts in France often offer much more than simply breakfast. Many vineyards and farms producing the components of the regional cuisine offer home cooked evening meals, prepared using products made directly on the premises. This will provide you with an experience of real French cuisine, more authentic than the one available in restaurants, at tables from which bottles of Jurançon wine are rarely absent.