French Hotel Barge SAINT LOUIS: Brandies of Southwest France

Today we have a guest post from the French Hotel Barge SAINT LOUIS who offers both private charters and cabin cruises in the Aquitaine & Gascony region of southwest France.

---

THE BRANDIES OF SOUTHWEST FRANCE: Armagnac and Floc de Gascogne

- By Alasdair Wyllie, Owner-Operator of Barge Saint Louis

There are two alcoholic drinks produced in southwest France which are not wines, but they are produced by the onward processing of wine.  The first is Armagnac.  This is a sort of brandy, but is a very different product from its highly commercial cousin called Cognac.  Armagnac is artisan produced by over 180 small-scale producers in the area around Nérac.  In spite of the producers teaming up into various marketing bodies, they are unable to exercise strong impact on the overseas trade – they are just too diverse and too small-scale.  For this reason, only a small proportion of Armagnac is exported.

Whereas Armagnac is little-known around the world, Floc de Gascogne is almost unheard of.  Floc is also produced from the grape, indeed it is produced from Armagnac and unfermented grape juice.  Virtually all producers of Armagnac also produce Floc de Gascogne;  virtually none of it is exported, and in fact most of it is consumed within the area in which it is produced.  I see Floc as being one of the pearls of this region, one of the discoveries to be made by coming into the area and travelling slowly, rooting out the local customs and products.

---

Thanks, Alasdair!

French Hotel Barge Saint Louis - Barging cruises charters in southwest France

The French hotel barge Saint Louis cruises the beautiful calm waterways of Southwest France, including the historic lands of Aquitaine and Gascony. She does so in "casual luxury", providing the perfect accommodation for up to six guests in three stateroom suites (configured as twins or doubles, as desired). To cruise aboard Saint Louis is to experience peace and tranquillity as one passes through the lush countryside, pretty villages and memorable towns. It also means enjoying delicious French cuisine, prepared with fresh local produce, and savouring local wines and aperitifs. Your hosts, Alasdair and Barbara, together with their friendly and expert crew, will ensure that your holiday or vacation is the ultimate in relaxed pleasure.

CURRENT AVAILABILITY: All of the barges are booking up early this year and Saint Louis is no exception. Here is Saint Louis' current availability for the 2014 barging season. Do any of their open dates work for you?

2014 Deparatures (Saturday-Friday):

• MAY 3, 10, 17 (either private charters or cabin bookings)
• JUNE 21 (either private charter or cabin bookings)
• JULY 5, 19 (either private charter or cabin bookings), 27 (cabins only, 2 open)
• AUGUST 9, 30 (cabin bookings only, 1 open for both weeks)
• OCTOBER 4, 11, 18 (either private charters or cabin bookings)

Looking forward to your inquiries

---

Contact Paradise Connections to book SAINT LOUIS 
View Saint Louis' online brochure
Visit our website for more info on our barges and barging: www.BargeCharters.com

 

---