My unedited life in France

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Beaujolais nouveau 2012

Despite a very low harvest due to the weather, the famous Beaujolais wine is expected today Thursday 15^th on the tables. The harvest in Beaujolais this year has been perhaps the lowest production in 10 years as a result of the poor spring weather. However, producers have insisted that the small grapes of this year mean concentrated flavour, thus more complex 2012 wines.

True connoisseurs and simple enthusiasts are all eagerly waiting to taste and criticize the Beaujolais nouveau 2012.

Why is the Beaujolais nouveau so awaited for?
The appointment is taken each year the third Thursday of the month of November. This date is indeed marks the end of the winemaking and start of the marketing of this wine. While previously no wine could be sold prior to December 15, several wine-growing unions have lobbied so that some of them can be released before this date. Thus was born the "Beaujolais nouveau" name in 1951. Then, the exact date of authorization was set in 1985 at the third Thursday of November for practical reasons: not too close to the weekend or on 11 November. Since then, every year on this date, red wine lovers flock to celebrate and enjoy the vintage of the year.

What makes a good Beaujolais?

The Beaujolais is a young wine. A good Beaujolais would be made from a natural yeast.

How much does it cost a bottle of Beaujolaisnouveau?

The Beaujolais is a wine averagely priced between 4 and 9 euros.

The Beaujolais in Numbers:

In France, the three regions that consume the most of this wine are the Paris region with 9 800 hl (1.3 million bottles), Eastern region (7 400 hl or 990 000 bottles) and Central - East (6465 hl or 862 000 bottles).
Internationally it is Japan, North America and Germany the countries that consume the largest quantities of Beaujolais.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Tax changes in France to affect foreign homeowners.

France’s new government has announced tax raises, targeting wealthy households, worth 7.2 billion euros. The new changes will be retroactive and will affect non-resident second home owners in France, as well as French expats who live abroad but still own a property here.

The major changes that will affect foreign homeowners and French expats are:

Increase of capital gains tax from 19% to 34.5%.
Increase of Taxation on Rental income from 20% to 35.5%

The tax on rental income is retrospective and will be applied from the 1^st of January 2012 while the increase of capital gains tax will take effect from August 2012.

However, if you already live in France and pay your taxes here, nothing changes for you. Meaning that if you already have rental income from a furnished property (for example, a gite) then you will not be affected by the increase in taxes.

Also, if your French house is your main residence you will not be affected by the rise on capital gains tax; and remember that after 30 years of owning a house you are not due any capital gains tax neither.

For more details about taxes in France including some useful Vocabulary you can read my article Tax in France on Hubpages.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Spring is Here

Spring is finally here and with it, the fields are full of colour again. We have been spoiled with a choice of wild flowers and perennials coming back brightly after a hard winter. These are my favourite ones:

Peony flowers, from the garden, in bright pink.

I think it is a miracle that we could have these lovely flowers after the extremely hard winter that we had. The peony bush/tree had dissapeared completely and then all of a sudden there it was back again, first a few leaves and then a bunch of fragant bright pink peonies!

Several plants died over the winter but most of them have managed to make it through. It is amazing that we only lost one rose tree and one of the peach trees in the garden. Even the wild strawberries managed to make their way through the abandoned back garden where the boys were trying to save them a few weeks ago. Have a look for yourself below and see my two favourite boys trying to save the strawberries:

The season starts now, it is time to go out and enjoy the first rays of sun and the balmy afternoons while taking care of your garden making sure you respect the wildlife. Remember that all those little wild flowers in your garden are the foodsource of numerous buttlerflies and insects and therefore of the birds that feed on them. Try to leave a few corners wild and set little water containers so that insects and birds have access to water. Another good idea is to mow your lawn with the mower set on a higher setting to leave enough wild daisies and other plants for insect and bird feeding.

Enjoy the Spring!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Winter in the French countryside

Winter finally arrived with temperatures as low as -16 on my little part of the world. It's been freezing cold but that has not been enough to stop me going out.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Hunting in France

My hunting experience in pictures:

Getting ready to go out

on our way

looks like the dogs found something

My first shoot

that was sore!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

How to choose a wine glass

Coming to live in

France

some people can feel a bit intimidated when it comes to choosing a wine for a dinner or even when choosing a glass for serving the chosen wine. Living in

France

, I discovered that wine is a very important part of everyday life and French culture.

If like me, when I just arrived here, you are wondering what type of glass you should present at your table for your chosen wine; I can give you a few hints to avoid a mayor faux pas.

Most wine connoisseurs agree that a wine glass should be made of crystal. The transparent crystal should be thin and without too much ornament in order to let the wine lover appreciate the contents of the glass in all its senses. In some parts of rural

France

you will see short Champagne-shaped glasses in porcelain; these are meant to be for coffee, NOT for wine. To be on the safe side, make sure your wine glasses are of transparent crystal.

A wine glass should have a stand for easy manipulation when wine tasting. I have seen wine glasses with no stands, I suggest you don’t try to be too avant-garde and avoid those glasses, at least when you are in

France

White wines are easier to accommodate to any shape of glass due to their qualities. Red wines can be more complicated depending on their body. In France different regions have created special wine glasses for their wines. The most popular are:

The wide “ballooned” wine glass for wines from the Bourgogne region, because the wine from Bourgogne should “roll” freely in the glass to be tasted at its best.
The smallish wine glass shaped as an egg, for wines from the Bordeaux region.
Very tall wine glasses come from the Alsace region.
Flutes are reserved for the Champagne region.

How to choose a wine glass

An advantage of knowing what type of glass goes with which wine is that if you are served a glass of wine without seeing the bottle, you can at least start locating the wine as being a Bourgogne or Bordeaux.

Remember that a wine glass should never be filled all the way up. The ideal is to fill it up a little bit more than half the way, that is, leaving a third of the glass empty to leave space for the wine to develop.

My selection of best wine gifts under $25 for wine lovers

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Argenton Sur Creuse In Pictures

St Sauveur’s church on the Place Carnot was built at the end of the 15^thCentury, admire its beautiful 50 m high gothic bell tower

The Hotel de Scevole was built during the 17^th and 18^th century.

La Bonne Dame

La Coursiere street leads to the top of the hill where the little chapel of the Bonne Dame stands.This is worth a visit as you can overlook the whole town from there.

The River Creuse on November

Musée de la Chemiserie et de l’Elégance masculine: Shirt and Elegance Museum

This little museum is located on what once was the first lingerie workshop in the area. The workshop opened in 1860 and soon developed to be one of the main sources of revenue in the area. My favourite part in the museum is the floor dedicated to the women who worked there as it is a testimony of the economical development of the town an also testimony of the way of life of the women in Argenton.

Place de la Republique