Corsican Wine in the spotlight

Corsican wine has been in the spotlight today with a press event held at La Trouville restaurant in Soho.



From remarkable rosés, legendary Muscats, delicious white wines and powerful red wines for keeping, Corsica ranks alongside some of the great wine families because of the originality of their style of wine with no less that 9 AOC's. These, together with the vins de pays and vines for varietal wines makes Corsica the third largest wine-producing Mediterranean island after Sicily and Sardinia.

Corsica is an island of extremes; from the snow at an altitude of 2000 metres to the inviting turquoise waters of the Mediterranean, and an exceptional sunshine record to earth that is both stony and humid. All this, makes for a superb, untouched natural environment in which to grow old vines and produce wine using some of the most cutting-edge wine-making techniques.

Click HERE for more information about some of our favourite vignerons…

Walking in Corsica - chemin de Fozzano

One of our favourite walks with the dogs is the Chemin de Fozzano which is a 12km dirt track that runs from Baracci up to the pretty village of Fozzano. I am generally the one who gives in first and admits that 12km is too much, so we normally walk up to the campsite, have a sit down and a gossip for 5 minutes and wait for the dogs who have invariably disappeared off on their own adventures by then!

The walk itself is quite exposed, so from May to September we normally leave fairly early because otherwise it’s more like a sauna! What I really like about this walk is that the terrain is very varied; hills and flat bits in equal measures so it’s a great workout, but it’s also one of those where something interesting always seems to happen along the way. We have come across cows (my worst nightmare!), sheep, hunters with their dogs and a slightly odd chap who’d lost one of his cows – he told us it was brown so that narrowed it down a lot. We even saw some extremely rare Shetland cows with short legs that turned out to be pigs, so maybe it’s time to make that opticians appointment…

You can either park up at the start of the track and walk from there either half way like we do, or if you’re feeling a bit more energetic, you can walk right up to the village. You can also start the walk at the Bains de Baracci. This extension then gives you the opportunity to reward yourself at the end of the walk with a dip in the thermal baths to relieve your aching muscles.

The original building now lies in ruins, but is still an impressive sight. Apparently it would cost more to restore it than to tear it down and re-build which is such a travesty. The new baths are actually behind the old mansion and are fairly simple in design by comparison. There is a small childrens play area, tennis courts and in summer there is a snack/grill too so you can even stay for a sport of lunch!

Any given Sunday

The forecast for today was rain but with temperatures up in the 30’s and a warm sirocco wind, it felt more like July than early May. Although it was a working day, as the weather was so glorious we still managed to find a couple of hours to head off to the Arena Bianca beach in the afternoon.



The beach was almost deserted apart from a couple of locals and two German tourists who settled themselves under the pine trees in the shade. The sea was as flat as a millpond despite the breeze, but nowhere near warm enough for me to swim so we stayed on the beach catching the late afternoon sun whilst Guillaume collected bits of seaweed from the rocks to decorate his sand castles. The sand here is too coarse for proper ‘chateaux’ – Porto Pollo and Campomoro are much better for that - but we managed a couple of nice Genoese towers instead!

Tizzano

Today was one of those days when work and pleasure turned out to be the same thing! I had to go down to Tizzano to photograph the Residence les Dunes for directCorsica, so while I was there I decided to make the most of the trip and explore a little bit.

The weather today was perfect for photos, and as the residence is only 20m from the sea, I couldn’t resist. The beach here is sand and rocky outcrops like we have in the Valinco, but the rocks are a deep red colour rather than the grey granite, and the sand is very fine and a much paler colour, so the contrast with the blue of the sea was really striking.



It was 26 degrees with hardly a breeze, so I was beginning to wish I’d brought my beach gear so I could join the other sunbathers dotted along the beach, but I remembered that there was a really pretty little jetty the other side of the village near to Chez Antoine, so I pressed on. The restaurant was busy as always which is no surprise when you see the views.



The little stretch of beach and shallow waters are bordered by the restaurant Chez Antoine and the Bar l’Escale next door, which was surrounded by the reddest geraniums I think I have ever seen.



Both places were also surrounded by lots of Swiss and German visitors who turned out to be on a stage of the RALLYE KORSIKA with their vintage cars. You often see groups of cyclists and motorbikes at this time of year and I have seen the vintage cars before in convoy but never had the chance to inspect them up close.



They were absolutely beautiful and I can only imagine the amount of time and care it takes to keep them in such pristine condition. My thoughts went to Guillaume who would have loved it (but probably have been unable to keep his hands off them), and Derek, a friend of my parents (same goes for him!). One guy had even rigged up an umbrella to shade the drivers seat of his convertible Jaguar.



Very Creative!!

Phrase of the day…

‘En mai, fait ce qu’il te plait’

- In May, do only what pleases you.

The French have such good sayings and perhaps this goes some way to explain why they have so many bank holidays in May (4).

Walking in Corsica – Cauria Archaeological site

Cauria actually comprises three archaeological sites; the menhirs (standing stones) of Stantari and Renaghju, and the Dolmen de Fontanaccia. You don’t need any special shoes for this one – my trusty flip flops and I managed just fine – but do take hats for kids and water. It's a sand/dirt track for about 500m from the parking area, and then the track splits and you take the right fork which leads you down to the first alignment of Stantari.



The menhirs are fenced in but this is mainly to keep the cows out! Like most sites in Corsica, you can get up close and personal with the menhirs and if you’re walking with children this is a nice place to stop for a rest and/or a picnic. It was here that I had to confront one of my greatest fears when walking alone in Corsica – cows! I am terrified of big animals and I came across a herd of ‘free range’ cows (i.e. no fence) just past the first site. They were huge. With horns. And a bull. Eek! I am sure they were too busy sunbathing to notice me but all I could think was that I was glad I hadn’t worn my red t-shirt after all!



I think the best way round this site is Stantari, Renaghju and then the Dolmen, so I took the track keeping to the left of the Stantari menhirs, and continued on following the dirt track. There are few if any signs marking the way, but you can’t really go wrong. Keep going and you’ll come to a clearing which at this time of year is covered with daisies and buttercups, with a huge tree on your right. Up ahead and to the right you’ll see the standing stones of the Renaghju site.



If you’ve seen Filitosa, Stantari may have fallen a bit flat as it’s like seeing the Nimes Arena after the Colosseum in Rome, but Renaghju is completely different and feels almost like something off of a film set for Robin Hood. The stones are not uniform and seem to be arranged in a higgledy-piggledy fashion along the path. To my mind, they almost resembled grave stones and the site had a real air of peace and tranquillity. When I stopped walking it was just completely silent. Retrace your steps back to the gate and as you leave you’ll see another pathway up to your left. Follow this uphill until you get to the orange markers where you turn left, following the direction of the arrow.



The Dolmen de Fontanaccia is one of the best preserved and most photographed in Corsica. Known as ‘A Stazzona di u Diavulu’ (The Devil’s Forge), it dates back to the Neolithic age and is a necropolis/tomb. It is made from 6 slabs of granite and measures 3.4m x 2.9m. Today the front part is open - originally this would also have been sealed, but only a small fragment of this part remains. This is another nice place to stop and admire the views before heading back down again. Follow the track back to the orange markers and just ahead and to the left you will see another track.



Follow this track downhill and you will find yourself once again at the starting point of the Stantari menhirs. Turn left and head back up to the parking area. The walk is a relatively easy one for all the family and you can see all the sites in an hour if you don’t dawdle.

Garages in Corsica – enough to drive you mad (pardon the pun!)

When Karlos (my car) developed what I thought was a slow puncture, we trundled along to my local garage and stupidly expected that even though it was the day after a bank holiday and they were busy, that the problem could be resolved. How wrong I was! Clearly they saw an English car and an English woman and couldn’t be bothered. My usual ‘smile nicely and charm them with my accent’ ploy didn’t work and nor did the choice phrases I’d learn from listening to Jean-Michel while he was watching football(!) so in the end I had to admit defeat.

Of course what I should have done is asked my neighbours who all pointed me to the local BP garage who were very nice, solved the problem, replaced a leaking tyre valve and charged me the princely sum of 4.50€ for the privilege. The moral of the story – never go to a garage that’s chocabloc full of expensive 4x4’s for a trifling problem – you’ll get better service at the family run place full of old cronks!

Walking in Corsica - Piscia di Gallo Waterfall

Our favourite walk when we’re taking the dogs is the chemin de Fozzano, but this morning there was no time as I was planning on heading up to the Lac de l’Ospedale to do the short hike to the Piscia di Gallo waterfall, so the dogs had to make do with the grounds of the residence. Luckily there is still plenty of room for them to run and stretch their legs so all was going well until I sat down to take in a few rays, and Nonym (a sturdy 38kg hunting dog) decided to sit on my lap and sunbathe. Two nearly dislocated kneecaps is probably not the best condition to start a hike!



The drive from Propriano takes you through the mountain villages of Sainte Lucie di Tallano, Levie and Zonza where you follow the direction of Porto Vecchio through the Zonza Forest to the Forêt de l’Ospedale. It’s amazing actually how obviously the scenery changes as you move from the tall parasol pines and greenery of Zonza to the rocky outcrops interspersed with pine trees of l’Ospedale. The Piscia di Gallo walk is a popular one, and well signposted. It starts off as a woodland walk heading downhill, across a little stream and then up to a plateau.



A right turn will take you down to the smaller waterfall and rock pools, and there is even a little ‘beach’ where walkers take a well earned dip in the summer.



A left turn from the plateau takes you to the Cascade de Piscia di Gallo (literally translated as the pissing cockrell waterfall – nice!). For the most part, the walk is relatively easy and well marked, passing impressive granite rock formations and trees that seem to be clinging precariously to nothingness, until you get to the waterfall descent.



Here is where it starts to get steep and should not be attempted without proper walking shoes or at the very least good sturdy trainers. You’ll also need both hands free and non-gammy knees otherwise you’ll struggle. The waterfall itself is one of the most amazing sights I’ve seen in Corsica - it was so big that it was impossible to take a photo of the whole thing in one go, and it certainly deserved its name! The water falls several hundred metres down the cliff face to a small pool at the bottom where the colour of the water was amazing.





This is not one for the little ones although I did see two German families with small children whilst I was taking photos which made it a matter of honour that I made it back up to the top without my lungs bursting or passing out!

The walk back is surprisingly tiring after the descent, but luckily there are plenty of places to stop for a picnic and enjoy the view. I was certainly glad of my marmite sandwiches even if they had been crushed at the bottom of my backpack in true English style. Yum! The whole walk should only take 30-40 minutes on the way there and about 40-50 minutes back depending on how fast you walk and how often you stop. When you get back to the car park at the top, there is a little snack shack where you can buy drinks and simple snacks. Last time I was there with Jane, Charlie and Stella in June it was open, so I suspect it's only open in the peak months as it was closed this time.



The route back took me through Zonza. The village has a friendly feel to it and was busy with visitors even thought it is relatively early in the season. I was amazed to see that there is also still snow on top of the mountains behind the village. Maybe that should be our next excursion...



The Auberge du Sanglier is a personal favourite and when we head up to the snow, we often stop here for a hot chocolate on the way. Built in a wooden chalet style, it has the feel of a ski resort. Outside there is a mounted head of a sanglier (wild boar) and I couldn’t help but admire the sheer size of it.



One of the best views of the afternoon was actually over the red tiles roofs of Sainte Lucie de Tallano as the road winds down to the village, but unfortunately there were too many cars to stop in the middle of the road and take a photo. Maybe next time!

After that, it was a leisurely drive back to Propriano in time for a couple of hours on the beach – bliss!

Arena Bianca Beach

Today is one of those days that reminds me why I love living in Corsica! I didn’t have much time - just an hour or so over lunch - but as there are three beaches within just a very short drive (two within walking distance), there was still time for a quick siesta on the beach.





I chose the Plage d’Arena Bianca which is beautiful and normally a little bit quieter than the Plage du Lido and Plage du Phare which are both within walking distance of the town.

Sadly my new flip flops are not as robust as the previous pair so I skidded most of the way down the track to the beach on my bum, but I was rewarded with a little corner of paradise all to myself…

Muscat Pétillant while the sun sets

What a strange day it has been. It was bright and sunny with more than 23 degrees and clear blue skies by 10am, an April shower that obviously didn't know we're now in May at lunchtime, and now I am sitting on the balcony at nearly 9pm with a glass of the new Muscat Pétillant (sparkling Muscat) watching the sun set over the sea – this is the life!



Muscat is a sweet apéritif produced predominantly in the north of the island around the Cap Corse/Patrimonio area. One of my favourites is the Muscat produced by the Domaine Lazzarini but recently in restaurants they have started offering a sparkling variety which is absolutely delicious, so imagine how excited I was to find it not only in the local supermarket but also available online! I shall be placing an order toute de suite…