Delicious soup at the

Delicious soup at the Maison des Ateliers museum and tasting venue on the banks of the River Saône. After an immersive, sensory trail in which you’ll discover all about the viticulture of Burgundy, head to the fabulous tasting bar. See the website for details plus guided tours, events and workshops. Who can resist a chance to learn to cook Burgundian style? Certainly not me, so I headed to the Maison des Ateliers to take a half day class in a gorgeous mansion house which is also where Fabrice Sommier, one of France’s most famous sommeliers and a Maitre Ouvrier de France, hosts wine classes. Monsieur Claude Poissonnet, Grand Master of the Brotherhood of the Gaufrette Mâconnaise Dine at: La DaMa go for the warm and genuine welcome and the excellent food (a fusion of Italian and French) and great wines. Stay at: L’hôtel Panorama Head to the rooftop bar for aperitifs and fabulous views. Two restaurants, a hotel and holiday residence, foodie shops including a wine store, butchers, tableware store, boulangerie, chocolaterie, and patisserie with some of the most amazing cakes I’ve ever tasted (and I take my cake tasting duties seriously!). There is also his internationally famous L’Esprit Blanc restaurant which has one of the greatest restaurant wine cellars in the world, as well as the charming and scrumptious Ancienne Auberge. If you love food – then Village Blanc in Vonnas must go on your must-see list. Read more about the Chef who created a gourmet village on our website Beaujolais is not at all nouveau 30km south of Vonnas, my next stop was Beaujolais. This lovely, truly lovely, part of France has a timeless beauty and relaxed vibe, and deserves a whole article to itself and so it will – in the next issue of TGLF magazine (subscribe here for free). Beaujolais Nouveau is known around the world, but if you think that’s all this wine region has to offer – then you’ll need to unthink that because I promise you the wines are not just of the nouveau kind, they are exquisite, rich ruby reds, and crisp whites, an effervescent crémant that puts sparkles in your eyes and if you like wine – you will love Beaujolais wines. And this region is home to what I am sure must be the best wine museum in the world which also has a stunning tasting bar – the Hameau Duboeuf. And just down the road from here you can taste the wines of Maison Jean Loron, one of the oldest and largest wine-growing owners in southern Burgundy. Seriously some of the best wines I’ve ever tasted, I managed to lug several bottles home in my luggage which almost broke me, but it was worth it! Follow the route des Crêtes in Beaujolais and the stunning wine route des vins du Beaujolais I learned how to cook a classic volaille à la crème (chicken in cream sauce). I was frankly astonished at how good my cooking is (ok – I did have help and patient guidance from chef Salome). I picked up heaps of neat tips and tricks, and took home a lasting souvenir - the ability to produce a dish like a top chef. In Mâcon, you must visit a patisserie or boulangerie and have a nibble on a Gaufrette Mâconnaise. Made in Mâcon since the middle ages these delicious cigar-shaped biscuits were abandoned for decades until they were resurrected by Monsieur Claude Poissonnet, Grand Master of the Brotherhood of the Gaufrette Mâconnaise. Village Blanc – an entire foodie village in Vonnas Crossing into the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region I stopped off at the gourmet paradise Village Blanc in Vonnas. It was here in 1872, that the great grandparents of Georges Blanc, one of France’s greatest chefs, opened a café and served their home-made lemonade. The fourth generation of chefs in the family - his mother and grandmother held Michelin stars and he has held 3 stars since 1981 - chef Blanc has created a gastro-village with everything you need to delight your palate. L'Ancienne Auberge, Vonnas 52 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 53