French Food and Wine Festival - Vignerons et Gourmands at Saint Junien, Limousin, S W France

The Salon des Gourmets et des Vignerons at Saint-Junien in Limousin, France is the ideal venue in which to discover specialities from every region, to meet the producers, to sample and compare the products and then to choose, buy and take home the best that France has to offer. 'Gourmets and Vignerons', lovers and producers of food and wine, is an excellent title for this cornucopia of glorious food and drink.

For an entrance fee of only 2 euros you are handed a wine glass as you enter the salon. This is for you to use to taste the many fabulous wines, spirits and other drinks on offer and is your to keep afterwards. You are released into a large hall packed with stalls exhibiting all manner of good things. The visitor is spoilt for choice. In 2009 there were over 56 exhibitors, 36 wine merchants, 13 butchers and 7 stands with regional and local specialities. As we run a Chambres d'Hôtes near Saint Junien, we are naturally interested in going to the exhibition to see just what's on offer.

Where is Saint-Junien?

Saint-Junien is located between Limoges and Angouleme in South West France. It is not far north of the better known Dordogne and east of the Charente. This is a beautiful, and largely unknown area of France famous for its Porcelain, Limousin beef cattle and leather goods. The town of Saint Junien is especially renown for the manufacture of leather gloves.

The 13th Exhibition will be from 04 November to 06 November 2011

Friday from 4pm - 8pm, Saturday 9.30am - 7pm and Sunday from 10am - 6pm. Entry 2 euros.

Inaugurated at the begining of 2006, the halls of the 'Salle des Congrès du Châtelard' provie the perfect venue for large events. The buildings are conveniently placed just outside the very centre of the town. Access is easy as the motorway linking Limoges and Angouleme passes close by and there are also excellent rail links. The hall can be altered to accommodate various different sizes of function, there is parking space for 200 cars and the restaurant can seat up to 850 people. A large, functional kitchen, cloakroom and bar are available.

Organisation

The event is organised by the Lions Club in cooperation with the Municipality of Saint Junien.

You can try a wide range of food products including chocolate, oysters, spices, sausages, bread, cheese, nougat, jams and preserves, olives, honey and products made from locally produced chestnuts. My son was delighted to take away a jar of white chocolate spread while the adults chose to sample cheese and cooked meats.

This Saint Junien chocolate maker caught my eye, and especially the slices of preserved orange dipped in black chocolate. Wonderful.

This salon is the perfect place to buy traditonal French food

Wines range from Champagne to Bordeaux, red, rose and white, sweet and dry, sparkling and still, but you will find plenty of help on hand to guide you through the complexities of choice. In addition to the producers, in 2009 there was a wine specialist who gave talks on the different products in the morning and held a wine tasting session in the afternoon.

In addition to the wine you can find Pineau des Charentes, the Charente speciality, Armagnac and beers.

Opening times: To give you an idea in 2009 they were as follows:

Friday 4pm - 8pm Saturday 9.30am - 7pm Sunday 9am - 6pm

Salle des congrès du Châtelard
esplanade du Châtelard
87200 SAINT-JUNIEN
Tél. 05 55 43 06 99

There are so many places to stay around the area, excellent hotels, cosy Bed and Breakfasts (or Chambres d'hotes) and self-catering holiday homes (or gites) offering great value for money. Here are just three:

The Hotel de La Boeuf Rouge

Situated in the centre of Saint Junien

57 Boulevard Victor Hugo
87200 Saint-Junien, France
Tel: 05 55 02 31 84

La Roseraie Chambres d'hotes

Situated about fifteen minutes from St Junien in Rochechouart town centre

Mary and Ralph Velthoek
12, rue Porte Béraud
87600 Rochechouart
France

Tel: 00 33 (0)5 55 03 60 08

Les Trois Chenes (that's us) Bed and Breakfast and Self Catering holiday cottage

Situated about 30 minutes from St Junien in the heart of the country

Le Bourg

87600 Videix

Tel: 00 33 (0)5 55 48 29 84