One Sunday morning, rather early in the day, the landlady of the gite where we were spending the week knocked on our door. Very excitedly she told us (in French that took a bit of time for me to understand) about the Sunday morning market in Chablis. When we arrived we agreed that this market was worth being excited about. From produce to hats to furniture and cooking pots, a wide variety of foods and merchandise were on sale in booths along the length of the main avenue. My particular favorite was the lady selling goat cheese-stuffed pastries called feuilleté. Magnifique!

Chablis is the home of world-famous chablis wine. Many years ago, when ordinary Americans began to discover wine, the term “chablis” was applied to some appallingly bad white wine. That’s not what French chablis is! This is perhaps the finest white wine of the entire Burgundy region. Vineyards are planted right to the very edge of the village and a number of producers market their wines from ancient houses. The Serein river runs along the edge of town. A centuries-old abbey houses a lovely hotel and fine restaurant called Hostellerie des Clos.

The village of Irancy lies very near Chablis. The quantity of wine produced in Irancy is small, and the wine is excellent. “On the 30th and 31st of January 2016 and for the very first time in the long history of wine making in the Auxerrois region of Burgundy, the village of Irancy has the great honour to be able to organise and host the 72nd Saint-Vincent Tournante de Bourgogne. The weekend is the keynote event in the wine producer’s calendar for the entire region of Burgundy in 2016.” This quote is lifted directly from this site where you can learn more. If you’ll be in France in January and you love wine, put this one on your calendar! The cost is just €15 which includes a glass and seven wines. The wines of Irancy will be sold at the Chablis Sunday market until the end of January.

(The photo of Irancy is from Wikicommons: Irancy, vu depuis le versant Sud by Roumpf.)

Resources:

David Lebovitz on his visit to Chablis

Epicurious guide to wines of this region

http://www.burgundytoday.com/towns/chablis.htm