The room turned green. Not a subtle, flattering green, but full neon, with birdsong twittering from hidden speakers, and as photographers groaned and I started to giggle, Douglas Blyde announced that this was to be a full sensory experience. The green, it turned out, was the mouth of the Loire, and we were about to travel the length of the river in four courses.
I’d arrived at the London EDITION hotel on Berners Street for this “Loire Moments” dinner during London Wine Week straight from the peak-hour crush of the Underground, horizontal rain and a broken umbrella. A glass of Monmousseau Touraine Brut in the foyer had already begun to smooth the edges of the day, and I’ll admit the name alone makes my mouth form the kind of silly pout I usually reserve for puppies. Downstairs, our hosts Douglas Blyde and Lindsay Oram had created a dinner of six Loire wines, with four courses by chef Phil Carmichael from Jason Atherton’s Berners Tavern, in a room somewhere between a disco and an aristocrat’s cellar, complete with gilt-framed portraits of eccentric relatives.
The real Loire is far from gentle. It’s shallow, with strong currents and a mind of its own, flowing north before it swings west towards the Atlantic. On my last visit, for Les Grandes Tablées du Saumur-Champigny, winemakers took us out on a traditional flat-bottomed boat, and I saw for myself how hard it is to cross from one bank to the other. Our London journey was a gentler affair, despite the lighting. Some of the photographers demanded a return to normal light, and judging by my pictures, they had a point, but I was happy to go with the flow. It was a river journey, after all.
The journey
Green light, with sounds of the Grand-Lieu nature reserve: Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu, Clos de la Sénaigerie, Domaine des Herbauges 2015, with dressed Colchester crab, brown crab mayonnaise, apple and coriander.
Aqua blue light, with the bells of Angers Cathedral: Savennières, Thibault Boudignon, Clos de la Hutte 2015, with pan-fried rainbow trout, chargrilled courgette, cucumber, wasabi butter sauce and caviar.
Warm red light, with “Champions of Red Wine” by The New Pornographers: Chinon, Charles Joguet, Clos de la Dioterie 2009, and Saumur-Champigny, Château du Hureau, Lisagathe 2014, with a barbecued Dingley Dell pork chop, roasted calçots, apple, tomato and sage sauce.
Harvest gold light, with “Cheese” by Tim Minchin: Anjou Blanc and Anjou Rouge, Clos de l’Elu, made for Berners Tavern, with England versus France cheeses.
Dark chocolate light: Difference Coffee Co. Jamaica Blue Mountain.
We lingered over the last drops of red and a very good espresso before facing grim reality again, with the last tube, a bus, another bus and bed, followed by the same commute the next morning. I woke with the memory of a technicolour dream of a river, which is a lot more than most Tuesday nights in London can offer.
I was invited as a guest, and all views are my own.
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