The big autumn fair, Les Grands Chemins features the art and music, food and wine of Minervois in Southern France, and is a sensual experience on many levels.

View from Saint Aliberts Bastide, through artist's frame

This year, sun-drenched Haut-Minervois, between the Montagne Noire and the Canal du Midi of Languedoc, has centre stage. Forty artists and 33 vineyards have taken part in the 7th annual exposition.

The Minervois vineyard area is a large, south-facing, natural amphitheatre at the foothill of the Black Mountains (Montagne Noire) between Bezier and Carcassonne.

The area of Minerve abounds with poignant reminders of the Christian Cathars. These days, however, you can sleep safely in the exquisitely restored castles and château of Minervois; the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean are close by.

Art, Music, Drinking, Eating
Given the nature of Les Grands Chemins, it is impossible to separate activities; a chronological ‘journey of the senses’ follows.

At La Cave des 3 Ballons, we viewed exuberant works by artists taking part in the fair, including Mona, whose illustration provides the central motif.

Famous market of Olonzac

Then we headed to La Pech D’Andre for a ‘voice’ concert. The spaces inbetween wine vats were crammed by the audience; enthusiasts of the subtle joys of unaccompanied singing. Sophie Gateau showed whimsical sculptures made from wine box liners.

Later, wine grower, Mireille Remaury proffered several wines, including an orange-blossom scented, austerely dry l’Or des Draines. This delicious, late vintage dessert wine comes from syrah grapes grown in a vineyard the family has owned for 12 generations.

Artist, Martine Trouis with one of her paintings in the Minervois exhibition

Next was a ‘family’ dinner at Château d’Agel, cooked by Martine Ecal-Besse, the owner.  We ate salad with fish paté and tiny tomatoes, then a smoky-flavoured cassoulet of duck and white beans. Cheese of the region followed and, as a treat for la Anglaise, there was a Jamie Oliver recipe of firm, ripe pears baked in pastry with chocolate.

In Martine’s wine cellar, we viewed an outstanding exhibition of paintings by another dinner guest, Martine Trouïs. Her work contrasts the elements of passion and purity, subjects of intense interest in the Cathar countryside. Additionally, there were sculptures by Josée Catalo and paintings by Joan Jorda.

Morning saw creamy scrambled eggs and featherlight croissants with individual jugs of coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice laid out on gay linen of the same hues as the countryside.

l'art dans le Ruisseau aude Conhilhac-Corbieres

On Tuesday, we spent the morning at Olonzac Market and I spent a small fortune on mushroom-impregnated ‘saucisson’ to enliven vegetable casseroles and lentil dishes.

Later, we visited Le Chai at Port Minervois, a ‘responsible’ vintner of Minervois wines. My favourite was a plummy Syrah and Grenache mixture:  Fauzan La Balme, AOC Minervois La Livinière Rouge 2005. A selection of glossy, cartoon-like works by Michel Pagnoux lined the upper gallery.

The Canal du Midi abounds with traditional barges, which can be hired by the hour or the day.
We lunched at Restaurant Les Tonneliers, where we saw colourful comedian, actor and singer, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, a central anchor of the fair. Two of us ate Carre d’Agneau (rare rack of lamb) encased in a garlic and parsley crust, followed with heavenly Crème Brûlée and viscous black coffee.

English jeweller, Bob Kimberley creates designs with spheres and tiny crystal balls set in elegantly worked silver

In the afternoon, we roamed through the medieval town of Minerve. Today, there are many different artists and musicians in the town. A highpoint of the visit to Minerve was a feast of fine food and wine at Relais Chantovent, Minerve.

That night, the owners of 40 years gracefully handed over to the restaurant’s new owner at night’s end, and the entire kitchen took a bow.

The many-courses began with three delicate, filo-wrapped mixtures:  girolle, ceps, pleurotte, and foie gras in a small glass dish. There followed an extraordinary combination of topinambour (Jerusalem artichoke), chicken stuffed with spinach, truffle, and more foie gras, accompanied by roasted quince, balanced by an exquisite arrangement of vegetables in the minimalistic manner.

Spontaneous dancing in the street of Olonzac

An unctuous Roquefort cheese followed with quince jelly. And there was dessert to die for: Financiers:  almonds, honey, raspberry and small white apples. The Mayor of Minerve sat at our table and gallantly recommended wine other than his own.

A view within the town of Minerve

The next day saw us visiting a whimsical and amusing exhibition by Italian artist, Manuela Germaná followed by another tasting. Sated from the previous night, I had no heart for it. Nor was there room for more than a few mouthfuls of marmite-coloured Beef Bourguignon at Hôtel d’Alibert, Caunes-Minervois.

Sophie Bonzom, however, representing Haut Minervois Tourism, not only scoffed hers but also managed a darkly rich chocolate dessert. Ah, youth!

Prior to this, we visited the Caunes-Minervois Abbey. The modern part has fine examples of red and black marble, and there are outdoor concerts in summer. Over the road, we saw English jeweller, Bob Kimberley, who creates designs with spheres and tiny crystal balls, setting them in elegantly worked silver. He shares Atelier du Monestier with Irish painter, Morag Charlton and a stylist, Theirry Pierre-Ivanoff.

That afternoon saw us discovering Château Sainte Eulalie with vineyard owner Isabelle et Laurent Coustal. Later, we sampled wine whilst examining landscapes by Mary-Louise Toms, and glass worked by Eva Luca.

In the evening, we returned to Minerve for jazz at La Table des Troubadours with Christophe Roncalli – more ballads than jazz, it might be noted.

On our last day, we walked over the chalk vineyards of Saint-Jean de Minervois with an historian of the area, later tasting wines of Cooperative Oleicole L’Oulibo and those made by Nicole and John Bojanowski. The latter’s aged muscat (Douce Providence) was memorable, with a hint of roses and honey and an agreeable, delicate complexity.

We moved to a soft, burgundy-styled wine with hints of laurel to accompany a wonderful lentil casserole prepared by winemaker, Nicole, containing intensely sweet, red carrots and local sausages.

Lentil stew made by winemaker, Nicole at Saint-Jean, Minervois

Then it was a fast drive to Carcassonne for the plane, which we missed due to misleading directions from the navigation kit. After a riot of discussion, we headed for the next airport, in Perpignan. My luggage came through Stansted bearing a large sticker: ‘last case’!

Accommodation
Château d’Agel dates from medieval times. The rooms are vast; it is an expedition to venture from the canopied splendour of bed to bathroom. We spent two glorious nights here, with Martine Ecal-Besse’s irrepressible laugh echoing around the castle.

Set almost invisibly behind village walls, the castle has been carefully renovated by Martine, whose family have owned it since the 18thcentury. You can rent the whole castle in summer or stay on a B&B basis in winter.

Fused and slumped glass by Eva Luca, Château Sainte Eulalie

We stayed a third night at La Bastide des Aliberts. Offering self-contained accommodation in differently themed apartments, it has extraordinary views of the countryside, and is just a stone’s throw from Minerve. There is a swimming pool and outdoor spa. Carcassonne, Narbonne and the Cathar Castles are nearby.

Getting There
Fly from London Stansted to Carcassonne in three hours with Ryanair or travel by Eurostar to Lille from St Pancras and onto Montpellier by TGV (five hours).

General information: www.sunfrance.com
Chateau d’Agel: www.chateaudagel.com/index_en.html
La Bastide des Aliberts: www.aliberts.com/