Latest news with #Sancerre
Times
23-07-2025
- Times
Six of the best sauvignon blanc wines from France
I t's been 40 years since the New Zealand sauvignon blanc Cloudy Bay hit the UK, seducing us with its rapier-like acidity, powerful flavours and spring-garden aromas. It became such a new-wave classic that for many, sauvignon blanc means New Zealand. But it's easy to forget that just over the Channel, on the flinty hillsides of the upper Loire Valley, the grape variety is thriving in its spiritual home, in the villages of Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire. Here the Loire's most famous couple, sancerre and pouilly-fumé, are the white wines of scintillating purity that have been produced using sauvignon blanc grapes since the end of the 19th century. Once staples of Parisian bistros, these wines are now stocked in restaurants worldwide, as generations of thirsty gastronomes fell for their crisp, dry charms. These are whites with a saline, stony acidity and aromas of elderflower, citrus, nettle and occasionally a smoky gunflint character.
Vancouver Sun
12-07-2025
- Vancouver Sun
The golden age of international travel is over, says Pete McMartin
This is the second of a two-part account of a trip to France and the changing nature of travel by Sun columnist Pete McMartin. In the small town of Beaune, the hotel concierge warned us that the daytime temperature would rise to 36 C. 'Be careful out there,' he said. It was mid-June. Temperatures were 12 to 15 degrees above average. Since our arrival in France, the heat wave had become progressively worse, but Beaune felt like another level of hell entirely. Other than a short half-hour burst of rain in Lyon, we had not seen a cloud in the sky for 12 days, and by the time we reached Beaune, our only thought was to retreat to the refuge of our air-conditioned hotel room. The power went out twice. Famed for its vineyards, Beaune sits at the centre of the Burgundy region, and while wine may have been its cultural touchstone, the town had given itself entirely over to tourism. Rather than wine connoisseurs, we found the tourist profile largely to be composed of shambling groups of pale English retirees who — true to the old Noel Coward song that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun — did just that. They shuffled about town in packs, poking into the dozens of tourist knick-knack kiosks and the schlock art galleries and the wine shops selling bottles of Burgundy that only Russian oligarchs could afford. Meanwhile, my wife and I sought shade and — rather than the local full-bodied reds — sipped on bottles of Chablis sweating in ice buckets. It was so blazingly hot we couldn't walk in the sun for three minutes before becoming light-headed. On to Paris. Was Paris burning? Oh my, yes. The heat wave followed us there, a fact driven home when we discovered our rental apartment, like much of The City of Light, lacked air-conditioning. The ambient temperature of our room? You know when you throw water on the heated rocks in a sauna? That. Paris, as usual, swarmed with tourists. We packed into the open-air bistros and sidewalk cafés at night to escape the heat where, literally, we paid the price. The food? Atrocious, and so expensive it tasted of disregard. A limp Caesar salad came with chicken strips. A duck confit could have been cut from a saddle. And my first mistake after ordering two glasses of Sancerre in a sidewalk café next to our apartment was not looking closely enough at the menu. Those two glasses cost $76! My second mistake was to complain to the manager, who, after levelling a volley of outraged insults, pointed me to the exit. We were in Paris when scores of anti-tourism protests erupted in Portugal, Spain and Italy. Protesters complained that tourism had not only made their cities uninhabitable by causing housing shortages and overtaxing local infrastructures, but had made their countries increasingly uninhabitable due to the environmental damage tourism exacted — the vast amounts of garbage generated by the tourist trade, the degradation of cultural treasures and historical edifices, and the anthropological-caused climate change brought on by emissions from ever-increasing air and auto travel. (The growing disaffection with tourism in Europe wasn't new to us: Over a decade ago, we stepped out of our hotel in Barcelona to see spray-painted on a wall 'F— Off, Tourists' — accommodatingly written, I thought, in English, so as we were sure to get the message.) The prolonged heat wave not only ignited these protests; it lent them an apocalyptic air. Record-breaking temperatures of 46.6 C were set in Spain and Portugal — and set off, too, talk of the increasing desertification of the Hibernian peninsula. Authorities closed the top of the Eiffel Tower due to the heat, and closed the Louvre after its exhausted staff, staging an impromptu strike, complained that the crush of tourists had overwhelmed their ability to deal with them. Elsewhere in Europe, the heat wave took on more dire forms. At least eight deaths were reported from heat prostration. Schools closed in Germany, and while that might have gladdened the kids, it was offset by tragedy — ice cream-makers there said it was too hot for ice cream production. In Italy, fields of melons cooked on the vine, and farmers covered their fruit and vegetable crops with tarps. Most of Italy's regions banned work between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and hospitals reported a 20 per rise in emergency admissions. The UN climate agency offered little reassurance in the face of all this. Quite the opposite. It warned tourists that the heat wave was 'the new normal' — that Europe would increasingly experience not just singular bouts of record heat but prolonged periods of heat so intense they could affect health, disrupt vacation plans and, in worst-case scenarios, threaten lives. (Insurance companies, already facing a surge of claims due to weather disruptions, had adjusted their rates to this new reality by the time of our trip: Our health and travel insurance cost almost as much as a round-trip flight to Europe.) Now, as typifies the climate of our times, there were those who pooh-poohed all this as alarmist — apostate scientists, climate-change deniers and online trolls who view the world as a conspiracy perpetrated by governments and their co-conspirators, the mainstream media. To which I thought: They can believe what they want, though I would first welcome them to live through the intensity of the heat wave we did while in France, not only because it was alarming and scared the hell out of a lot of people, but because it was revelatory. It brought home the truth of my own hypocrisy and that of the many millions of other tourists who, by constant travel, help cause the very climate and local animosity that discomforted us. So, a prediction: The golden age of international travel is over. Tourists will not only think twice about locals who are clearly sick of them, or waver at the thought of climate-related extremes that could leave them stuck in a country not their own, although both those factors will come into play. More importantly, tourists will begin increasingly to see travel — as we see much of the aspects of our lives now — as a moral question: Do we curtail our insatiable appetites, or do we help destroy the world we are so hungry to consume?
New York Post
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
These little fly fans are your summer swat team and 32% off for Prime Day
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change. There's something about a perfectly set summer table. A chilled bottle of Sancerre, fresh sliced peaches, maybe a burrata if I'm feeling cheeky. And then a fly lands directly on the watermelon mint salad and, suddenly, it's personal. That was my life before I discovered these weird little spinning blade gadgets that now live permanently on every outdoor table I touch. They're the AMIAEDU Fly Fans, they look like mini helicopter prototypes, and they are shockingly effective. The soft, flexible blades twirl gently (and silently), creating just enough air disturbance to make flies think twice about ruining your al fresco moment. They don't kill anything, they just repel — like Axe body spray. Right now, these tiny heroes are 32% off for Prime Day, and I'm telling you: they are the unsung MVPs of summer hosting. I bring them everywhere — barbecues, picnics, patio dinners — and every time someone asks 'Wait…do those actually work?' I just gesture wordlessly to the pristine charcuterie board. The proof is in the prosciutto. Advertisement Amazon Each AMIAEDU Fly Fan is battery-powered (or USB rechargeable, depending on the model) and designed with holographic blades that catch the light in a way that bugs naturally avoid. They're safe to touch, fit discreetly on any table, and create a 360° fly-free zone around your food and drinks. Light, portable, and blissfully quiet, they're the lazy girl's answer to bug control — no zapping, no swatting, just chill vibes and uninterrupted appetizers. This article was written by Kendall Cornish, New York Post Commerce Editor & Reporter. Kendall, who moonlights as a private chef in the Hamptons for New York elites, lends her expertise to testing and recommending cooking products – for beginners and aspiring sous chefs alike. Simmering and seasoning her way through both jobs, Kendall dishes on everything from the best cookware for your kitchen to cooking classes that will level-up your skills to new dinnerware to upgrade your holiday hosting. Prior to joining the Post's shopping team in 2023, Kendall previously held positions at Apartment Therapy and at Dotdash Meredith's Travel + Leisure and Departures magazines. Your Prime Day FAQs, answered How long does Prime Day last? In a new twist for 2025, shoppers have 4 days to take advantage of Prime Day discounts. This sale starts on July 8 at 12:01 a.m. PT and runs through July 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT. When does Prime Day end? Prime Day 2025 ends on July 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT, so east-coasters have until about 3 a.m. on July 12 their time to shop the deals. Do you have to have Amazon Prime to shop Prime Day? Prime Day is a member-exclusive sale event. Interested shoppers can grab a 30-day free trial to try Prime, and its many benefits, with no strings attached. Do Prime Day deals change? Yes! Amazon drops new deals daily, slashing prices on already-discounted bestsellers throughout the sale. Additionally, keep an eye out for Lightning Deals, which last for a very limited time until stock runs out. Act fast when you see a good deal, they don't last forever! What are the best Prime Day deals? From reporting on Amazon sales throughout the years, we can tell you for certain that it's the ideal period to stock up on household essentials, score great deals on vacuums, tech and appliances, refill your skincare empties, and comb through the massive catalog of Amazon best-sellers. Is Prime Day worth it? We certainly think so! Prime Day is a great chance to score Black Friday-worthy discounts on thousands of deals, including everything from big ticket items to Post reader-favorite trash bags. Our team diligently sorts through all the offers to find you the very best items to grab on sale. When is the next Prime Day? Already wondering when the next Amazon Prime Day is? Prime Day takes place in July each year, so it's safe to assume it will take place in mid-July 2026 — similar to previous years. Can't wait to shop more Amazon deals? Look out for Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale, which typically runs in October for shoppers looking to beat the holiday rush of Black Friday. Don't miss Post Wanted's around-the-clock coverage. Click here to find all of the best deals.
Scottish Sun
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Inside Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd's upcoming wedding to soap colleague with just one month to go
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CORONATION Street star Jack P. Shepherd is set to marry fiancee Hanni Treweek in just a month and the couple have given fans an insight into their big day. The actor - who plays David Platt in the ITV soap - met Hanni when she worked behind the scenes on the soap. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 3 Hanni gave fans a look into her big day with Corrie's Jack 3 The wine the wedding guests will be drinking on the day 3 They had a local artist create their wedding stationery He proposed on a romantic safari break last year. The Celebrity Big Brother champion even revealed he had taken part in the reality show in order to pay for the nuptials - and hadn't expected to win. Now Hanni, an influencer, has shared a snapshot of what the couple will be sharing with their nearest and dearest on their July wedding. She wrote: 'Seven incredible years of memories with you. 'Here's to four weeks of feeling excited, nervous, overwhelmed, emotional, in love and everything else that comes with being a bride. 'I can't wait to marry you.' Jack commented: 'It's going to be epic.' The couple have had their own wedding fragrances made up for the big day. Giving guests a taste of what they can expect to drink at the celebration, Hanni posted two bottles of wine - a Sancerre at £23.49 a battle and a Malbec at £8.95 a bottle. She also shared a sneak peek at the save the date card for the wedding, designed by famed artist Dave Draws. Inside Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd's cosy £500 a night Cheshire spa stay with stunning fiancee Hanni Treweek Hanni also revealed she has a surprise for husband to be Jack, having visited York multiple times. She said: 'The amount of times I've visited York since being engaged, I cannot wait to tell Jack why…'
The Irish Sun
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Inside Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd's upcoming wedding to soap colleague with just one month to go
CORONATION Street star Jack P. Shepherd is set to marry fiancee Hanni Treweek in just a month and the couple have given fans an insight into their big day. The actor - who plays David Platt in the ITV soap - met Hanni when she worked behind the scenes on the soap. 3 Hanni gave fans a look into her big day with Corrie's Jack 3 The wine the wedding guests will be drinking on the day 3 They had a local artist create their wedding stationery He proposed on a romantic safari break last year. The Celebrity Big Brother champion even revealed he had taken part in the reality show in order to pay for the nuptials - and hadn't expected to win. Now Hanni, an influencer, has shared a snapshot of what the couple will be sharing with their nearest and dearest on their July wedding. She wrote: 'Seven incredible years of memories with you. Read more on Coronation Street 'Here's to four weeks of feeling excited, nervous, overwhelmed, emotional, in love and everything else that comes with being a bride. 'I can't wait to marry you.' Jack commented: 'It's going to be epic.' The couple have had their own wedding fragrances made up for the big day. Most read in Soaps Giving guests a taste of what they can expect to drink at the celebration, Hanni posted two bottles of wine - a Sancerre at £23.49 a battle and a Malbec at £8.95 a bottle. She also shared a sneak peek at the save the date card for the wedding, designed by famed artist Dave Draws. Inside Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd's cosy £500 a night Cheshire spa stay with stunning fiancee Hanni Treweek Hanni also revealed she has a surprise for husband to be Jack, having visited York multiple times. She said: 'The amount of times I've visited York since being engaged, I cannot wait to tell Jack why…'
