Secrets du Massif Central : Entre volcans, lentilles et fromages d’altitude | Trésors du Patrimoine

Secrets du Massif Central : Entre volcans, lentilles et fromages d’altitude | Trésors du Patrimoine

Spanning three historic provinces,
three departments and three administrative regions,
Aubrac stands out as one of the most fascinating places in France. This high volcanic plateau in the Massif
Central is dotted with peaks over 1,300 meters high. In its center, immense pastures
are still strewn with burons. Stone building,
formerly used as a dairy for cattle breeders
during the summer. This land of immortal folklore,
once a major producer of Aïol cheese, the capital of the region,
is today a place of extensive beef farming, particularly
thanks to its regional breed, the Aubrac. With around fifteen inhabitants
per square kilometer, this world of silence and solitude undulates
in infinite pastures of a tender and unique verse with generous flora. On these lands with flourishing grass,
Benoît-Rosière raises cement plants and produces his Aïol cheese. With a frank and rustic taste,
it is recognizable by its brown crust, with an orange sheen,
as well as its colored, supple, melting and slightly perfumed paste. Under the morning mist along this
road, Patrick Mouliade leads his herd of cows. Today is the stage
of transhumance. Every year,
the farm must move the animals to the summer pasture area
at an altitude above 800 meters. The
cows and young calves therefore feed in fine weather
on the Alpine meadows. The summer grazing of these cattle is
a historical tradition in the Aubrac region. Today,
to be a hermet ox in Brac, one is obliged to transhume. Therefore,
alternating during the summer pasture in the summer and hay during the winter. So.
The normal cycle of a cow which is
completely in line with our terroir. And that’s why we have
exceptional meat today in Aubrac. This migration,
once natural among herds of cows, is very rarely
practiced these days. It is a time of celebration
for the inhabitants of the region, but also for the rustic
Aubrac breed, perfectly adapted to mountain walking. Every year, they know they’re
going up, and it’s a bit… It’s a bit of a celebration day for them. The ones in front are Maruelle. Over there is the Evre. The young woman with the bell
is called Pastoure. All right.
There you go, they all have their names. Transhumance, an
essential step in cow breeding, is also part of a
reasoned process that respects local flora. We are completely in a model that is
completely in line with nature and with the normal cycle of animals.
Come on, girls. Twenty years ago, Patrick and his wife took over
the herd and farm belonging to his father. And then, it is with the values
and passion that he transmitted to him that the breeder works with respect
and love for these ruminants. Even if it’s not always easy, we’re still proud of our job. You won’t make a fortune
farming today, even in Aubrac. Not far from there, another breeder
works on the meadows of Aubrac. You are very curious. These 50 cement breed cows are
exclusively dedicated to dairy production. They are also placed in summer pastures
to allow them to graze on quality grass during the summer. This is what makes it possible to make a
quality cheese, a cheese that is really very creamy. There is a slight change in
fat content compared to a winter diet based on hay. We often have much more
yellow pasta and cheeses that are more melting, which is very interesting
for the quality of our product. Taking its name from the peak valley
in Switzerland, the Cimentale is a breed known
for the production of Gruyère and Emmental cheeses,
but also for its maternal qualities and its hardiness adapted to mountain pastures. Historically,
Laguiole was made from Aubrac-type cows,
but it became primarily a beef breed during
World War II and lost its dairy qualities over the years. The Laguiole therefore gradually disappeared
and it was necessary to turn to another breed for the production
of this typical cheese. It
was decided to really focus on the cement,
precisely for the quality of its milk which was close to the qualities that
could be found in the Aubrac breed, which is very rich in
protein and fat. And we’ll say that it
helped to relaunch this product a little. Benoît works as a couple on this
farm, which he took over from a producer in Laguiole
over a year ago. If he makes his cheese from milking
to the finished product, it is thanks to the passion he has
for Laguiole and its terroir. Being proud of the product you make
is essential to me, otherwise you lose a bit of interest in your work. I’m not sure we’ll be very motivated
if we do something we don’t believe in. As with cheese production,
the quality of the meat depends largely on the cow’s diet. On this plateau located at an altitude of 1,300 meters
, the cows will each benefit from one hectare of grass
until the end of summer. But it is not only for the sake of
quality that Patrick Patrick leads his herd to the summer pastures every year. It is also for the well-being of the animal. The cows there are only given
hay during the winter and we have to keep provisions
around the farm for pastures that can wither. That’s why we take them to the summer pastures. They will stay there until the end of October. They are happy, we see them there. Eating grass, seeing them next to it. It’s a bit of a paradise for them here. Grazing cows on these meadows
all summer helps preserve a tradition, but also
local biodiversity. The transhumance carried out for
generations contributes to maintaining the plant richness of this territory.
Aubrac is exceptional pastures. We have a multitude of varieties
per square meter. Natural grass. With flowers and plants of all
kinds, exceptional fodder. If there were no cows, there would
not be this biodiversity. That must be said. Their excrement, all that makes there are
plants that are there by the cows. These ruminants with a wheaten coat,
ranging from blond to coffee brown in the bull, come from a mixed breed. Bred as much for milk
as for meat, it excelled in neither
area and almost became extinct in the 1950s. Saved in the late 1970s
by a handful of passionate farmers, it is today recognized for its
fertility, longevity and hardiness. What is also important in Aubrac
is the depth of the chest, because the animals are all about the chest
and the development of the claw. So when we look for
deep animals in front. Each animal is thus selected
for its physical characteristics before being marketed. Having robust cows with good
legs and feeding them with quality grass is therefore essential to enhance the value of the meat they produce. The spider, by animal,
I will show you. Per animal, there are twice that. Lucien Lucien Conquet, a butcher since 1983,
founded the Aubrac Label Rouge beef sector in 1999. It now brings together 500 breeders
who produce 2,000 oxen each year and who are ensuring the continued existence
of this beef breed. Lucien, who is very particular
about the quality of the animals he buys, regularly buys
from Patrick, whose practices correspond to the values ​​of the red label. The well-being of an animal is reflected
in the food because it has not been stressed, it has grown fat
slowly. It’s not like industrialists who put it in buildings
and fatten it up in two months. Well, it’s not the same thing at all. On his stall, all
parts of the beef displayed come exclusively from this
Aubrac beef label. The product’s value is
also illustrated in the cutting process, a very important part of the
butcher’s work which allows the meat from the farmer to be enhanced. You’ll see, it’s very excellent. So on the other hand, you leave it out
there, if you eat it tonight, don’t put it back in the fridge. We know what we’re talking about,
because there’s a story behind it. There is a breeder. We saw the cow on the hoof, well,
we saw the environment it lives in, what it ate. And when we sell it,
we know what we’re talking about. This is very important
because the consumer expects this. For Lucien,
Aubrac beef is ideal to offer to his customers who are looking for local products. It has many qualities,
including a more pronounced chew than other breeds, but also a
characterful meat content and grain. When we take a piece of meat,
we look at the grain of the meat. We call it the grain of meat. Just touching it, we know,
it’s our job, we do it every day and we know
the finesse of the animal, And the Aubrac, it was specific,
it has a grain of meat which is similar to the large meat breeds. In France, we always talk
about the Limousin and the Charolais, which are very good breeds,
but which have this particularity, it is the grain of meat that we call it. The grain of meat, the parsley. The parsley which is very important. All production from breeding
to sale is done locally and with respect for the animals. A way to return to the roots
of agriculture in this region which was affected by industrialization
and productivism. So. Thank you, gentlemen. And welcome back.
THANKS. Hello Mrs.
This morning, Benoît has to milk his cows. Each one produces between 10
and 20 liters of milk per day. The quality of milk is essential
for cheese making. This is why, during milking, the
animal’s welfare must be optimal. Normally, milking,
since it is still linked to the release of oxytocin,
is still linked to a moment of pleasure, normally, since
it is the pleasure hormone. There, if we have moments that are
stressful, etc., we will arrive through the cows, but it is
not good work that often, the cows retain their milk, etc. Once milking is complete, the milk
is taken to the cheese dairy. 30 to 45 minutes later,
it will have turned into curd. Benoît can then peel it with
a lyre to extract the whey which will be used to water the cows. We manage to make a product that has
completely different tastes from one farm to another, from one production
to another, from one season to another. There are no additives and it is just
the production conditions and the know-how of the people who make
the difference between all these products. The 100 kilos collected are pressed
into a cloth, allowing the remaining whey to drain. Once the atom has rested for 5 to 6
hours, it is placed in its molds to be pressed. This production of Laguiole was
passed on to him by François and Isabelle, former owners
of this farm. When it came to making laïol, it was mainly François and Isabelle who passed on their know-how to me. And then,
little by little, by making cheese and seeing the results in the cellar,
we try to improve. This fresh cheese in the form of pieces
is used for aligot. It has the necessary stringy side that
a hard cheese aged in a cellar does not have. For the Laguiole, it will take
another 48 hours of pressing. There are
still 350 liters of milk in there. I don’t know how many tons of grass,
but a bunch, tons of water, tons of sun, tons of… There’s a lot of stuff
condensed in there. The rest of the cheeses are stored
in this maturing cellar for four months for the youngest and up to
a few years for the oldest. What kind of
cheese are we going to give him? We have cheeses
from the month of December. François Meignet, the former owner,
regularly comes to see Benoît. Today it’s for
a customer’s cheese order. He doesn’t like it to
be too old. So, are we going to January?
François took over 20 years ago the production
that his grandparents had started long before. This cellar built by his grandfather
remained unused for years before he decided to use it
for aging cheeses. A place perfectly
suited to this practice. It’s true that this cellar
was an asset because it allowed us to get started and have
a cellar available immediately. And so the cheeses remain there
at a temperature of approximately 10 degrees and a humidity level practically
at saturation all year round. Over a year ago,
François considered retirement. He then contacted Benoît and his wife
who shared the same passion as him for cheese. For us, it was important that it
continue because it was a bit… It’s the story of the farm, it’s true. Then, in addition, there is still an
interesting working tool, I think, which can allow a young person to
see the future in a fairly optimistic way, it seems to me. Because there is
a demand for this type of product, quality products,
local products, with a PDO. This is a bit of the quality of this cheese. This AOP, from which Benoît benefits,
has fairly comprehensive and demanding specifications, but which allow this young
farmer to make commercial added value on his products. There, we see that the strip,
in addition, does not break. And from this artisanal production,
a cheese of exceptional quality is born , displaying a
whole palette of aromas. Today, these connoisseurs
taste a cheese aged for 12 months. There, even if it is old,
it is true that we have a cheese that remains quite melting, it really has
flavor, but without being too aggressive. And we really have, on an aromatic level,
something that is very powerful. When it’s, let’s say, a little younger,
it tends to have a slightly milky taste. And as it ages,
this milky taste evolves to become much more pronounced tastes
like this one, with, I would say, a bit of a nutty aftertaste. We’re going to have a bit of
roasted flavor, a bit of, almost, coffee. The cheeses are turned and brushed
every week to allow the flora to develop and the
rind to be uniform. A long and meticulous job that Benoît
also carries out for the pleasure of perpetuating a local product. Patrick, for his part, is
receiving a visit today from Marie Puech, who is responsible for
enforcing the Aubrac Beef red label. All these animals, destined for the famous label, were born on the farm. Here, her number
is 12 13 0 3 77 36. Yes, she was born. So, we see that it is a female of the
Aubrac breed and she was born on 15 01 2013. This label, created in 1960 by a group
of farmers, regularly implements hygiene inspections
and animal checks. A real asset for both the operator
and the consumer who is guaranteed quality on their plate.
That one is pretty. You know that the red label
provides added value to the breeder. You know that a breeder,
when he hires an animal from us, he will have the guarantee of an outlet,
since when the animal is registered, so there, as I took the numbers
of the animals, the dates of birth, I hire it from us and the breeder has
the guarantee that we will take his animal at a price which is fixed beforehand. This is a price that is agreed between the
breeders and the slaughterhouses in the sector. So in this sector,
it is still the breeders who have control over the entire sector. This label also controls the feed
on the cows’ farm. Fattening must be done
by the breeder, without purchasing external hay
and with very specific cereals. This is the hay that is harvested
around the farm. With that, to have
quality meat, it’s exceptional. It smells like flowers. One of the specific features of our red label
is that the animals are fattened without corn. We are one of the few labels in France
to have animals that are now fattened without corn. It is true that we often associate
corn with intensive farming. What we didn’t want with
the red label was for there to be large
fattening plants that fatten batches of 30 to 40 animals at the same time. It’s really the breeder who does
this work until the end, in fact. From the birth of the animal,
he brings it to slaughter. This label helps maintain
peasant and local agriculture. It also guarantees the breeder
independence and a certain freedom from the
food industry. It’s good now. I think we will be able to
comply until next year. So. This
meat from a red label production and the Laguiole hopper cheese will
be used today to celebrate the end of the transhumance
of the Valadier family herd. The grandfather, André Valadier,
is a figure in the region. It was he who partly saved the
Aubrac breed and who launched a whole dynamic around regional products. And to prepare the Ligo, emblematic
of the transhumance festivals, it is Jean-Louis Miquel who is at the stove. The Ligo is going, the Ligo is ready. In fact, you have to turn to diffuse
the heat throughout the mass, since the heat comes from below. So you have to keep turning. And then it allows you to mix, to
mix the cheese well with the earth pulley. We’re going to eat some good aligot, right? That’s the principle. Jean-Louis, an aligot producer in Aubrac,
belongs, like Benoît, to the Jeune Montagne cooperative. Many farmers, including François,
traveled to the traditional buron for this celebration. Everyone loves to share these moments that have
shaped the history of the Aubrac region. The day the animals are brought up,
there is an aligot made at the buron to celebrate. It’s an opportunity for families and friends
to follow the herd and enjoy a good aligot that arrives at the buron,
accompanied by a piece of beef from the bulk market. We make meat, aligot and cheese
in bulk, it’s know-how, it’s authenticity. When I was young, my
mother made it at home. Because in all the farms,
in the territory, people were making their own graves. Today, there are only about
thirty offices still used for agriculture. The rest is used
as a gîte or guest house. A heritage that they
try to preserve. It is good that there are moments
to clearly mark what represents for us the future of this territory. And like any traditional meal, this evening,
it is André Valadier who will begin a historic song from Aubrac, the Mazzuc. The mountain, in a thousand decades,
in the position of king. There, he places, the eye, the eye, sinçonne, in troop, summarizes, tracing our brothers. We, like all wolves and delusions, have no more. Like these songs forgotten by many, it is not only traditions that endure in the
Aubrac region, but also know-how and a way of producing
in harmony with the region. Driven by a real respect for their
profession, Patrick and Benoît work every day with typical products,
such as Aïol cheese or Aubrac beef, both hoping
not to lose what they have inherited and to be able to pass on this culture to a future generation. The Bourbonnaise limagne stretches on
both sides of the Allier River, between Vichy and Saint-Pourcin. Nature has endowed this region with fertile plains and rich hillsides which present themselves like a checkerboard of
cultivated fields, dominated by rounded heights. It is bordered to the west by limestone hillsides and to the east by stony plateaus covered with forests. Nonchalantly perched on the Sioule,
the pretty town of Saint-Pourcin was established around a monastery
in the Merovingian era. But the city is above all known for its
vineyards which date back to the Phoenicians. In the Middle Ages, the fame of its wine,
Saint-Pourcin, was such that it was present on the tables of kings. Since 2009,
this vineyard, which extends over 640 hectares, has benefited from a
controlled designation of origin. This is where Corinne and her family
work on the estate to create characterful vintages. Further south,
the country is a world hotspot for paleontology, renowned for its
exceptional rhinoceros fossils. Over time,
Limagne Bourbonnaise has remained a land of generous life where
cereal cultivation and livestock farming coexist. It is in this preserved terroir,
between hedgerows and meadows, that the true nature
of Auvergne farm poultry is revealed. Here, rural activity in
recent centuries consisted mainly of cattle breeding. The poultry sector was
secondary and held by women. We saw the weather, it
won’t come out much. And when a tradition of
quality chicken breeding developed in the mid-1960s,
Christian was one of the pioneers. Every morning, his day begins
with the opening of his chicken coops. My grandfather ran
the estate in his own way. At the time, there were 60 sheep
and then a little grain land. And when I settled in,
the question of the profitability of the business quickly arose. We were offered to raise chickens. We didn’t really know what chicken
was because in the region, we didn’t grow
free-range chicken like we do here. So, I agreed to start this Auvergne farm
poultry production business ,
without really knowing what it was. Well, I’m very happy about it
because now I have three buildings. And our son has just moved in
with three buildings of his own. To qualify for the red label:
Auvergne farm poultry, the poultry must spend at least six weeks
outdoors from sunrise to sunset. The course should be wide,
grassy and shaded. The
rest of the time, they must be in a building with
natural light of a maximum of 400 square meters, where the density must not exceed
11 chickens per square meter. Yellow chickens
are chickens that are quite lively. So, you see, when we move forward,
it tends to move en masse. Two species are bred. White chicken, appreciated for the firmness
and balance of its flesh, and yellow chicken, with
golden and slightly sweet flesh. When you see chickens jumping,
squabbling, scratching on the ground,
lying down like that, that’s when you see the state of the flock. And we realize the animal welfare
that the chickens, well, the chickens lie down very gently.
Alive, peaceful. They have air, they have
light, they are well. This slow-growing Auvergne chicken
is raised for a minimum of 81 days in this region, which provides
ideal conditions. We still have areas of grassland
which are exceptional. We are green all year round. Auvergne is a green country. Afterwards, we are a little bit at altitude,
we have a little bit… We have all that. And then, the different species of
grass make it very good for raising poultry. Come on. When my chickens leave my
farm, they go directly to the slaughterhouse, which then
sells them directly to supermarkets in France. Further north, on the hillsides of Saulescy,
vines have been cultivated since the Middle Ages around the town of Saint-Pourcin. In the 19th century, the vineyard
almost disappeared, threatened by phylloxera and giving
way to cereal crops. Production is collapsing,
but a handful of passionate winegrowers, including the Laurent family
, are maintaining this centuries-old tradition. It’s said to date back to the Phoenicians,
so it’s really, really old. Obviously, the appellation had its moment
of glory under the reign of the Bourbons, since we are here
in the former province of Bourbonnet. Saint-Pourcin was
obviously found on tables, on royal tables and just about
everywhere, even on the tables of the popes in Avignon. Each year, 60 to 120 hectoliters of wine
were sent to the Pope in Avignon, despite transport costs
that tripled the price of the barrel. And if Saint-Pourcin has been appreciated for
centuries, this is due to the richness of the soils of the Limagne Bourbonnaise. We are really, we would say,
at the crossroads of different geologies. So, in the northern part of the appellation,
where we are around the Allier River, we will have what we call
Bourbonnais sands and gravels. So there, we will really be
on the light soils, the earliest soils of the appellation. The land, therefore, on the western
and southern part, we will be on granite. It is in fact the granite base
of the Massif Central which is collapsing into the Val d’Alier. And there, we will have leaned against these
granite plateaus the limestone hillsides where we are here at Solcell. Obviously, depending on the type
of soil, we will not have the same maturity dates, we will not have the same
acidity, we will not have the same concentrations in our grapes. So, this will allow us to obtain
very different wines depending on the terroir. Corinne finishes pulling out the buds
affected by the winter frost. So, the frost
completely burns the vegetation. That is to say, in fact, all of that is
completely dry, it is dead, in fact. There’s more life in there.
It’s completely dried out. We can clearly see that we had the first
bud and the counter bud. So here, it’s the same, there will be
more. There, we won’t have much. There are two small bunches,
so you’ll have to take care of them to make it to the end. If the wine is old, the estate
has been passed down through twelve generations in the Laurent family. It’s truly a
family tradition and above all, it’s always a pleasure when
generations follow one another and the estate is perpetuated,
it’s always a satisfaction to see that the estate continues. Every 10 days, Christian’s silos,
which store the poultry feed, are topped up. They mainly contain wheat,
corn and soybean meal supplied by a specialized production organization. How are you, Eric? It’s good and you ?
What’s up?
This body regularly monitors the diet. Between a white-fleshed chicken
and a yellow-fleshed chicken, this is an
important differentiation in feeding. More corn for yellow
than for white. We will no longer have wheat-based food. Soy provides protein, which is growth, and cereals provide energy. The feed for farm-raised chickens
is GMO-free and free of synthetic products. On a 100 percent plant-based basis,
made from cereals from the Auvergne region. With breeding methods that are
relatively rustic, it is important to move forward despite everything. And we said to ourselves, the next step is
to work on natural products. So, we have who is on herbal medicine. And we’ve been using it for a long time. It was first used
in 1996, so it’s not new. The natural wellness label prohibits
antibiotics, even as a cure. Prevention is essential with the use
of essential oils based on garlic, oregano or cinnamon. When we raise our own farm chickens, we realize that we haven’t invented anything. We are simply copying what
our elders and grandmothers did. We had a few chickens running
around the yard, fed grain, and drinking
from a bucket of water we put out for them every day.
So, it comes back to that. Except now
we’ve regulated all that. The food is brought to us
by trucks that come directly from the factory. Water arrives directly
in pipette lines. The power supply is constant, and that’s it, and everything is controlled. It is in Saint-Couin, in Cher,
that we find the poultry raised by Christian. The gastronomic qualities of Auvergne chicken are defended every Wednesday by this fine connoisseur. Yeah, okay. Everyone is fighting over
this chicken because of its quality. So all the whites are firm,
due to this breeding which is done outdoors. They go out, they come back from the buildings,
they do as they want. They can stay outside all the time
as long as the weather is nice. So, we have a quality that
is still more than superior compared to a battery farm
where the chickens never see the light of day. So a chicken, a big farmer A small
farmer, a small farmer, an ordinary one. Mr. Regrain makes more than 80
percent of his sales from Auvergne farm poultry, in the various
markets he visits. We are among the top three
chickens nationally. So, we can clearly see at the
Agricultural Show the prizes awarded to the Auvergne red label and all that.
So it’s still… We can see that the quality is there. Auvergne red label chicken
is a chicken that holds its shape, even when cooked for
an hour and a quarter. Afterwards, he holds up very well. The meat remains after the rises,
not like a battery chicken where it only eats flour and the meat falls
apart in relation to the rises. As they say,
you can eat the rises. While there, the Auvergne Red Label,
I challenge anyone to eat the rises. In the dusky darkness,
the winemaker shapes his wine, refining its color, its aromas, its elegance. The challenge for Corinne and her son Damien is to find the perfect balance. So, what are you making me taste?
The infernal. We’re going to make an assembly. We will already taste the different
origins separately. And then we will try to find the
right balance in the assembly. We will have different grape varieties,
different terroirs. So the goal
will really be to find the balance between these different
origins to maintain the characteristics of the vintage. That’s why we already taste them separately. To give you a little idea
of ​​what is in each tank. We will have characteristics
that can be very different. Trécellier, for example,
is a very aromatic grape variety that blooms very quickly. So it’s a grape variety where there will be a lot
of nose, a lot of freshness, a lot of fruit. Chardonnay is a grape variety that
has body and length, but is not necessarily very expressive. Each grape variety has its own characteristics,
but the same grape variety on different soils will also
bring us different things. Hence the interest, precisely,
in tasting separately, since we have plots on limestone,
plots on granite, we have a plot on sand. So there you go, we’re really going to try
to work on all of this based on the provenances and then
obviously the balance of the We still have some lovely
colors, on the 2016. All
the stages of vine management and marketing
are carried out at the estate. Damien is responsible
for winemaking and blending. Very, very elegant on the finish. Damien, the peculiarity
is that it’s a little obelisk-shaped, if he fell into it when he was little. When he was a kid,
he was already with us in the cellar, running around on the barrels. So, Damien started
tasting very early. To spit too, of course. And even when he was little, his dream
was to go to wine school. It was the wine, already. Today it is found
mainly in cellars rather than in vineyards. This is truly his area of
expertise. It’s a source of pride,
but it’s also a bit of pressure , because you have to do as
well as the twelve generations before you, or even progress. So it’s a source of pride to have been
in the commune for twelve generations and to keep
this name alive in the appellation. History says that the good King Henry IV
was a fan of Saint-Pourcin, going so far as to abandon his beloved Jurançon. The French Revolution has passed,
and now everyone can taste this wine of kings. Corinne is also happy
to share it with her visitors. In a restaurant, I had the pleasure
of drinking your wine. Alright. I didn’t know you existed, I’ll leave it
5 for 5 for its worldwide reputation. Shall we taste a little bit of each?
Yes. Come on. The three vintages are from the same
2016 vintage, so blends with more and more Pinot Noir, and
a Gamay Mozzanine too. There are always two grape varieties,
that’s the rule of the appellation. But we’re really going to start with the wine
that will be the most fruity, the lightest side. The sale at the estate is that
special moment where the winemaker can meet the winemaker and the world
in which he produces his wine. Do you recognize this vintage? I don’t know if I recognize her,
but I like her. Well, that’s the main thing. So, the tasting
obviously begins with the eye. The first indication
is a red wine, already. We will look at the intensity of the color. We are still dealing with a wine that has
a relatively young color, it is not an old wine. We will now
obviously be able to feel it. There, we are really onto
something with a lot of fruit. It almost feels like
we’re in the grape harvest. We are dealing with a very young wine. And then, of course,
the last step, the tasting. So,
oxygenating the wine will also allow you to really open up the molecules,
to really be able to taste it, to really be able to enjoy the wine. So we have something quite elegant. Very subtle. This is also why it is a vintage
that goes very well with cheeses, especially
Auvergne cheeses, of course. I really like
the red from Saint-Pourcin. That’s why I’m here. I find that we are much closer
to Sancerre, to wines of that type, or to wines from Berry. It’s nice and it’s original. The
white, red and rosé wines of Saint-Pourcin
have been classified as controlled designations of origin since 2009,
thanks in particular to the work of winegrowers to preserve
the identity of the different grape varieties. We will have a relatively
wide range, which allows us to have wines that will go well with, let’s say,
light meals, small snacks, right up to
gourmet meals. So in the whites,
we will start with a white that is really fruity, from granite soils. It’s really an easy-drinking vintage. The Calnit vintage,
which is a vintage that will have a little more body since we have,
in addition to granite, we have limestone. So that will give us a little
more roundness and length in the mouth. A wine that will go very well, for example,
with poultry, with poultry, obviously, farm poultry
that we can have in the department. And then a vintage which is more
complex, which is also made to be kept for longer,
which is the pluriale vintage. We have fermentation directly in
oak barrels, so a white that will be more powerful, that will be more ageable
and that will be more suited, I would say, to slightly more
sophisticated dishes, slightly more gastronomic dishes. Christian, for his part,
today welcomes Sylvie Monier, director of the Aide Auvergné mission. She works with breeders to
improve reforestation of rangelands based on the topography
and subsoil of the farm. We are well sheltered.
We are relatively sheltered. Then the hedge protects. Yes, there is the career, there is
the career effect there too. There we see that the lime trees will
soon bloom. This is very,
very good for the bees. The large hedge descends through the bay. Bees play an important role
in biodiversity through their pollination action. The creation of tree hedges helps
to encourage their presence, but also the well-being of poultry. We are on both
trees and shrubs. It’s always a mixture of the two. We tend to start putting
shrubs near the traps which allow them to get out very
quickly, then to feel very sheltered, and rather trees in the middle
and at the back of the park, to also slightly obstruct the view of the birds of prey. Poultry
is originally a forest animal. It is in the shelter of the foliage of trees
and shrubs that chickens dissipate their instinctive fear of birds of prey
and protect themselves from the heat. The idea is not to plant 20 trees
for the sake of planting 20 trees because it is mandatory as part of
a specification. The idea is to plant 20
or more trees in the right places and to really reconcile both a
technical leap, that is to say really reconciling the well-being of the animals,
and also a plantation which has an interest for the space, for biodiversity. We are clearly on a form
of agroecology that works well, that is to say that we have
zootechnical interests, that is to say that we have spoken about animal welfare,
but we also know that trees need water and fertilizer. Chicken droppings are very rich. So they pump out a
lot of the chicken droppings. I think everything is important,
whether it’s shaded areas, shaded runs, runs
that encourage the chickens to come out. So that is important
for the final quality. Quality is also
a daily goal for Corinne. And this requires constant maintenance
of the vines, which must be regularly regenerated, replanted and enlarged. The small vineyard plans. These roots. A plant, you should know
that it is a plant that is grafted. We have the rootstock and above that,
we will have the grape variety that we will graft onto the rootstock. The rootstock will be adapted
according to the nature of the soil. Here, as we are planting on limestone,
the rootstock will be resistant to limestone. The ideal is to plant, let’s
say in May, after the risk of frost has passed
and they can grow like that, I would say, towards a good
vegetation cycle the first year. We will replant within the framework
of the specifications, since all our lines must meet the
standards in terms of planting densities. We prefer to uproot and replace the plots that are really reaching the
end of their useful life . This is what we did here by uprooting
the oldest plot of land on the estate. Alongside these
plot replacement plantations, we also have plantations that are being
made to expand the estate. Simply to try to produce
a little more, since it is becoming complicated
between climatic hazards and also everything that is wood disease. We are working for ourselves today when
we plant this vine, but also for future generations. So, we hope that the estate will
continue for many generations to come. The future for Corinne
also involves obtaining high environmental value certification. A label that highlights environmentally
friendly agricultural practices . It is a label, in fact,
recognized and promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture,
which is there precisely to highlight our way of working. So, we are in sustainable agriculture,
so we really want, I would say, to really listen
to our environment. We work with nature,
so it’s only natural that we respect it and really make it,
I would say, our ally. Whether in the production of quality poultry or in the design of an exceptional vintage,
everyone works with respect for nature and with a concern
for preserving heritage. Thanks to its passionate women and men , the Bourbonnaise region continues to surprise us. A volcanic zone with broad horizons partly occupying the south-east of the Massif Central, Velay extends from the
Allier valley to Mont du Vivarais. The Haute-Loire department,
shaped by its volcanic reliefs and agricultural lands, is crossed
by two rivers: the Allier and the Loire. From history. At its heart, the commune of Puy-en-Velay
proudly displays its cultural heritage. The capital,
classified as a city of art and history, is also a first stop on the famous
pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and arouses the admiration of its visitors every year. Here, dairy farming is combined with wheat and lentil cultivation. In this continental climate,
the landscape alternates between a patchwork of meadows, ploughed land and a curtain of trees,
producing a soft green and brown mixture. In this landscape, keen to perpetuate
a tradition that dates back to Antiquity, Jean-François Bérault has been cultivating
the Puy green lentil for over 35 years. A true green treasure of this region,
it requires constant attention. A few kilometers further north,
Marie Chapuy is busy making a Cirenais cheese
called artisan or artisou. Refined by small mites which
give it this very particular taste, it is the pride of its producers. Come on, come here, come on. Like every morning, Marie takes
care of her 60 Holstein cows. She inherited her profession
from her parents. Initially predisposed to a
commercial career, she decided to return to the simple values ​​of breeding
and local products. The fantastic thing about this job
is that you get to see what you create. That is to say, if I went to the office
every morning behind a computer, unfortunately, I would
not create much. You see, today I
get up in the morning and I start with a product. First of all, we arrive at the product,
we need to have a farm, we need to have animals,
it’s not always easy, but we start from a product,
we make another product, we add value to it, we create something. Every day we create something
and bring something to people. His pride is his cheese, the artisan. A dairy product that requires, above all,
caring for its animals and this year, they really need it. If only a quarter of his livestock is
in the fields, it is because the climate is capricious. We had very, very little
water all summer. We’ve had 13m since the beginning of summer. Which is very little for… It is insufficient for crops,
for pastures, for nature in general. So in fact,
we have nothing left in the sockets for That’s why we brought the
animals in, we brought them closer to the farm. So we leave them outside
because they are still 100 times better outside. But we bring them food because there is
nothing left to eat in the meadows. Despite Marie’s efforts to give these cows
enough grass from their winter reserves,
they are not in the best shape. A situation which has consequences
on the quality of the milk and therefore of the cheese. The peculiarity of extreme heat
and drought is that animals suffer
from the heat and their milk volume decreases. When they are too hot,
they use more energy to defend themselves from the heat
and we lose milk volume and also milk quality. The milk is less rich,
it is less large. If the weather is capricious,
Marie has to deal with it. Located at an altitude of 450 meters,
the farm is at the heart of a temperate climate, essential for the development
of mites on the cheese. A feature that is
not found elsewhere. The artisanal, the artisou,
it belongs to the region. Artisou, in fact,
is a combination of natural elements that produces this product. I didn’t go looking for the artist. The artist, he came. He came on my cheeses. I created a cheese at the beginning,
which was a cheese that we had always made in the region. The artist came here
because, in fact, he belongs to the country. Here we have the climatic factors
that make it possible to make cheese and to mature cheese. If you try to make the same
cheese in Marseille, it won’t work. For now, Marie remains confident
and hopes to see rain before the end of summer. She continues to pamper her livestock
which will provide her with the precious milk necessary for the production of the artisan. Jean-François
is just as dependent on the climate. Son and grandson of a farmer,
he took over his ancestors’ land to cultivate a precious seed,
the green Puy lentil. This lentil grows almost
naturally in our volcanic soils. This red earth, there,
is very filtering soils in which this lentil likes to grow
and it draws all these nutrients, these trace elements from the soil. So, we don’t need
to add anything to it. It is a crop grown without fertilizer. In this month of July, the lentils
are ready to be harvested. Harvested by hand in ancient times,
today Jean-François can use a harvester to harvest
the fruits of a year’s work. We start by preparing the soil
in winter or spring, just before sowing. Then there is the sowing which is established
from the end of March until the end of May. And then there is a rolling operation
to level the soils properly, since to harvest this lentil,
the soils must be perfectly flat. As you can see there, these are
plants that don’t grow very tall. And there are pods all
the way down to the bottom of the plant. And then, this lentil is harvested
from mid-July to September 15. Hi Franck. How are you ? It’s okay, no problem. With 12 hectares,
Jean-François’s farm produces enough to allow him to
invest in a harvester. But fortunately,
mutual aid and solidarity between producers still exists. Franck comes to rent his machine
to Jean-François so that the harvests are carried out on time. To recoup the cost of a harvester, you
still need to cover a fair number of hectares. So after that, I do a little bit of it on the side,
like Jean-François and a few others. And I organize myself afterwards to do
mine, my work in the meantime or just after,
or I anticipate whoever rushes a little before. Once the lentils are harvested,
they are then transported to the factory to be packaged. A crucial step for Jean-François,
where the quality of his product will be examined with a fine-tooth comb. The cows, resting in the tables
and once fed, can move on to milking. For several years,
Marie has invested in a machine that makes her daily life easier:
an automatic milking machine. The cow will enter the robot. She will be attracted to food. We’re going to feed him. So the cows come home naturally,
on their own, we don’t go looking for them. And the arm will locate,
will identify the cow thanks to its collar on which there is a chip. And the arm will automatically come and
place itself under the cow. It will detect the teats
and it will go and connect the cow. 1200 liters of milk are collected
per day and placed in a large vat heated to 32 degrees. Then the milk, in contact
with the rennet, solidifies. And by cutting the curd, it will allow
the water inside to be released. And we try to make the squares as regular as possible. The cut curd is collected to be
salted and transferred into molds. Just a little more. I think it’s not missing
much, but a little bit. Stored in a first room at 20 degrees
for 24 hours, it is then unmolded and turned over. So there are two interests in this reversal. The first is that it doesn’t stick
to the gray because you can see that it sinks in slightly. And the second
is to allow a homogeneous flow throughout the product. 48 hours later, the cheeses are
stored in the ripening room. It is during this period, lasting
from one and a half to two months, that mites called artisans,
present in the air, will come to colonize the cheese to
give it this very particular flavor. We will have a lemony taste,
a taste with hints of verbena. So. And that gives the cheese a particularity that you do
n’t find in any other cheese. Artisou is a name that comes from artisan. A
craftsman is someone who works. So this little beast,
it will work the crust of the cheese, it will work the cheese. And that’s what will give it these
very special notes. After 60 days of ripening,
it is time for Marie to sell her cheese. Do you know this one?
Artisan cheese? No. Although nearly 95% of its production is
distributed locally, especially in supermarkets,
it also takes pleasure in promoting the merits of artisans
at the Bas-en-Basset market. Come on, Mrs. Badel. I’ll let you taste
the artisan cheese. This one is very creamy, super good. On the stalls, the artisan is well
known to local customers. Every week, Marie sees the same
faces and everyone appreciates this cheese in their own way. I love this cheese because it
‘s already so good. And I’ll even
give you a little recipe. You cut a slice,
leave it for a week, it starts to turn blue and then
it’s delicious. It gives a little taste. Then the artisans, these are things
that only go into good cheese. You don’t find it
on just any cheese. So the local clientele
are people we live with. For me, these are people I grew up with. So these are people I’ve always seen,
who have always seen us too. My father was also very involved
in local life. Well, we are… There you go, we are part
of the country’s families. My grandfather lived in Bas. So these are… These are more than friends,
these are village life. Well, it’s a community, actually. It’s more general,
a little broader, within a community. The local produce aspect is also
a guarantee of quality for visitors who come to discover the flavors of Velay. He’s a small producer and I’ve been buying
my cheese here for three or four weeks now. And then, I come to taste
the artisan because it is very good. It tastes very good
and I like to take it. Marie would like to see this
increase her clientele. While she already sells some cheeses
in the Paris region, she hopes to conquer new markets. Recently, we had contact with
a cheese wholesaler in Germany who sells to 120 countries. So, he will introduce the craftsman to the outside world. Hello Olivier.
How are you ? How are you.
THANKS. This morning, Jean-François has an appointment
at the Sabaro packaging plant. Here, for almost two centuries,
we have ensured that the lens is treated according to the rules of the art. Once poured into the silos,
the small green Puy lentil will have a real obstacle course. For nearly five hours,
the seeds are sucked into pipes to be destoned, then sorted
according to their size and weight. A modern process that ensures
the quality of Jean-François’ product. The green lentil from Le Puy
arrives at this factory to be sorted
before being packaged in different packaging. And so, when it is packaged,
this lentil has no impurities since there are always some
stones remaining before sorting it. And when it has passed through this
sorting workshop, before packaging, it must be perfect. But before they can be sold, the
lenses are carefully inspected. Throughout the
packaging chain, everyone ensures that no impurities
tarnish the reputation of this typical velet legume. When they have undergone this sorting,
they must have a diameter between 3.25 and 5.75, the small parts of waste,
the large parts of waste. And then there must be a color there
must be green marbling under a pale background. There should be no
foreign matter in these lenses. There should also be a certain
percentage of rusty lenses. The baguette, you see, has just been filled. Yes, pain. There it is, filled, packaged. And there, it will be filmed for later use and storage. Every year,
nearly 600 tons of green lentils come out of this factory. A modest quantity which will subsequently be
exported both in France and abroad. 50 percent is for export, so
to the United States, Japan, Europe too. And 50 percent for the French market,
mainly in supermarkets, but you can also find them in grocery stores. In the commune of Puy-en-Velay, we of course know how to prepare Jean-François lentils. This is a recipe we
make all year round. In this downtown Viennese bakery,
Cyril Cubizol brings a personal touch to the recipe for small
shortbread biscuits, also called tuiles or petits palais. There, I incorporate two thirds of
lentil flour and one third of white flour. I will mix with my device
as if I were making a classic tile. So there you have it. And I mix gently
to make a tile mixture. Known for his salty dishes with sausages,
Cyril reinterprets lentils with a sweet recipe. Once the dough is finished,
he pipes it out and then spreads it delicately on a
baking sheet to create his biscuits. It’ll be cooked in two or three minutes. I serve it with ice. When we make ice cream scoops,
we add a small disc of lentils, which adds a sweet touch
and, of course, a local touch. And then
we can eat with a little coffee or tea at four o’clock. And Cyril is happy to be able to let
as many people as possible taste them, like this summer, during the Tour
de France which was passing through the town. We made ice creams
in the colors of the Tour de France mayo. We then made yellow,
green and polka dot jerseys. And on top, we put a little palace of
lentil flour to garnish so that… Well, we had a lot of tourists
to introduce different nationalities. When customers discover this
crispy and sweet flavor, it’s a real treat. Like this mother who came from Dubai. I miss France. I want to pass on
their identity and their heritage to my children. And so, when we return to France, we
gorge ourselves on the deep France, in quotation marks. And it’s really a great
joy to rediscover that. And it’s very original, I think,
to think that with just lentils, we can produce
a flour that can be used in baking. I was totally unaware of that. It’s really a lot of fun. Shall I give it to you?
THANKS. THANKS.
Enjoy your meal. While Cyril Saffaire has found
new lentil-based recipes, Fabien, an artisan producer,
pays Marie a little visit. For two years,
the two cheesemakers have been observing their respective ways of working in an attempt
to obtain the protected designation of origin through
very precise specifications. It starts with the production area. Then, on the production criteria. So, here are the farms,
how we do it, feeding the cows,
the dairy system for the cows, and then, transforming
the milk into cheese. Marie and Fabien’s desire is to
sell their products better. The protected designation of origin
would ensure a reputation for their cheese and allow them to
realize their ambitions. This cheese is consumed a lot in
Haute-Loire, very little outside. So, if we can make it known
and export it outside the department, for me, it would be mission accomplished. Yours are slightly less refined. So suddenly, we have slightly
It’s really more white. Yeah. We are very creamy. Obtaining a PDO takes
on average around ten years. It took Marie and Fabien a long time to
harmonize their working methods and achieve their goal. He works at a
much higher altitude than me. So, we have
different cultivation techniques. In fact, he has constraints that I do
n’t have and I have constraints that he doesn’t have. So we try to adapt all the time
to arrive at a cheese that is common. And then, communicating about it and
communicating better means selling better. Hello Olivier. Good morning.
How are you ? How are you.
How are you ? And you ?
Yes. In shape?
In shape. Is business working?
That works. Alright. The Puy green lentil
already benefits from the protected designation of origin , which allows it to be
presented in this store as an exceptional product. The legume with its nutritional benefits
meets the demands of customers who are increasingly concerned about their diet. In fact, depending on the variety of lentils,
you will have a cooking time that will be slightly different. The green Puy lentil
has the particularity of cooking more quickly. It has thinner skin,
it will be less rich in starch. It’s really rich in protein
and that’s really important. It’s gluten-free. There’s a big trend,
it might sound cliché, but vegan, actually. There are a lot of people who come
with questions, whether it’s good for them, with the
protein content, gluten, gluten-free. So, it’s really part
of a more specific regime. So, it’s really
a very interesting product. Well, I’ll take a kilo. Come on, it works. Although this little green seed sells
very well today, it has not always been so. After World War II,
the cost of labor was too high and almost caused the disappearance of
lentil cultivation. It was only after 1975 that it
regained its former glory. A group of agricultural growers
and processors sat down and decided
to bring this lentil back to the forefront. And it was done. They asked themselves:
What are we asking for? We are asking for a red label,
we are asking for a PGI. They had left on an AOC request. These letters of recognition arrived in 1996, in August 1996. It boosted sales. The farmers were very happy
because they could produce lentils. This protected designation of origin
undeniably preserves the reputation of the Precious Green Treasure. An assurance for customers of eating
a product grown here for several generations. And I love lentils,
so I eat them often. I introduced my children
to green lentils, which are those from Puy-en-Velay. So I wanted to come here precisely to
try to possibly find a producer. But there, already, the store is great. Some gourmets
find a nutty taste, others a chestnut taste. And then there is this link
which is also linked to the terroir. It is with a certain pride
that Jean-François takes pleasure in letting visitors taste his lentils. Lentils, according to him,
are the same in the rest of France. This lens is
different from the others. It is better
than other lenses. Since in 1930 already, many
lenses came from outside. They came to be baptized in Le Puy and
the farmers had already realized. They said to themselves: But damn it,
if lentils from outside come to be baptized in Le Puy,
it’s because our lentil is better than the other lentils. Poured by the wind that brushes
the hills of Velay, the green lentil still has many
hours to ripen in the sun so that future generations
can taste this flavor of yesteryear. The generous volcanic soil will allow
Jean-François to perpetuate this tradition. As for the craftsman,
he could well travel across France, and perhaps even
export himself to other countries. Marie, with the help of her colleagues,
will do everything to ensure that everyone can discover this flavor so characteristic
of her region.

🧀 Bienvenue sur les hauts plateaux de l’Aubrac, entre burons de pierre et fromages au goût puissant… 🐂

Amoureux de la France et du patrimoine, ses trésors n’auront plus de secrets pour vous 👉 https://bit.ly/4dnI1h1

Dans ce territoire de caractère, les gestes ancestraux se perpétuent au rythme des saisons et de la transhumance, à plus de 1300 mètres d’altitude.

🌿 Benoît façonne chaque jour son fromage de l’Ayol, à la pâte fondante et à la croûte rustique.
🥩 Patrick élève avec passion ses vaches Simentales, nourries d’herbes fraîches et de liberté.
🔥 Dans les burons, on prépare l’aligot et l’on célèbre l’été au son des chants de l’Aubrac.
🍷 Plus au nord, dans la Limagne bourbonnaise, les volailles Label Rouge côtoient les vins élégants de Saint-Pourçain.

✨ Un voyage immersif au cœur d’un terroir vivant, entre traditions paysannes, élevage respectueux et savoir-faire fromager.

📌 Fromages d’alpage, aligot, bœuf de l’Aubrac, lentilles du Velay, volaille fermière et vin du Centre : un festival de goûts et de racines.

#Aubrac #FromageDeLAligot #BoEUfLabelRouge #VolaillesFermières #VinDeSaintPourçain #LentillesDuPuy #Terroir #Patrimoine #DocumentaireFrance #FranceGourmande

Épicerie Fine – Terroirs Gourmands (Saison 7) :
E15 – Laguiole et bœuf de l’Aubrac
E16 – Volailles fermières d’Auvergne et Saint-Pourçain
E25 – Artisons et lentille verte du Velay

© Tout droits réservés – AMP
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