Discover Charente-Maritime

‍Aheritage that unfolds along the Charente and its tributaries

‍

‍

With its luminous landscapes (Charente-Maritime is one of France's sunniest départements), a provincial lifestyle in the noblest sense of the word, punctuated by the course of peaceful rivers and wine-growing seasons conducive to the development of an impressive culinary heritage, the Charente-Maritime region has nonetheless seen some turbulent times, coveted by the English crown and jealously guarded by the kingdom of France.

These episodes, as well as ancient frontiers that are still visible, have shaped the landscapes and towns that you'll have the opportunity to discover during your stay at camping Belle Rivière, in Chaniers, between Saintes and Cognac.

‍

Gastronomy in the Charentes region, between terroir and coastline

‍

‍

"Yes, it's a cliché, and you've heard it a hundred times, from Dunkirk to Menton, from Plougastel-Daoulas to Schiltigheim, but in the case of today's Charentes, we persist: when you've had King François^1st of France as your public relations officer and promoter, it's not surprising that the region has been greatly favored by the powers that be, including in terms of transport infrastructure and the high navigability of the Charente.

‍

‍

And where there's transport, there's a diversity of ingredients, good food and a happy formula, as in the case of the Lyonnais, or the one we're talking about here, the Angoumois, a region of Angoulême encompassing a good part of the two present-day Charentes. It's easy to dare unusual combinations of seafood and local meats. Would the famous fricassée de jaud (young rooster) with oysters or poultry with se afood have seen the light of day without a healthy dose of royal favoritism?

Visitors from the big metropolises, expecting, with a touch of condescension, to see toothless grandmothers fussing over a sinister cabbage dish, will be in for a treat: the cuisine of peasants and fishermen, of course, but with a creativity as astonishing as it is little-known, outside the circles of bon-vivants, gourmets and other epicureans who discreetly forsake the famous nearby Dordogne to enjoy cagouilles à la Charentaise, snails stuffed with minced meat and simmered in a tomato and Charentais white wine sauce, or éclade, a Charentais mussel grill where the mussels are roasted under pine needles.

‍

‍

You'll take the time to taste a cognac, take a penetrating photo of yourself with it, and warm up the likes on your social networks by evoking the memory of Chevalier Jacques de la Croix Maron, Seigneur de Segonzac. But first, you should know that cognac, as we know it, is unique in the way it is distilled: Charentaise distillation, i.e. double distillation in a double-heater. The first distillation produces an intermediate liquid, at around 30°. The second distillation transforms the liquid, separating the condensates under the supervision of a distiller who has been a Charentais for several generations, into cognac that will be aged in Charentais casks for at least two years.

‍

‍

It is undoubtedly to Seigneur de Segonzac that we owe the Charente distillation process. A man of unction, even devotion, in a ^17th century no less concerned with good religion, he was said to be obsessed by the presence of the Evil One, who he believed was hunting him down.

Unsurprisingly, he ended up captured in a dream by an army of demons, and the Devil himself plunged him into a huge, strange cauldron, the temperature of which rose at a regular and precise rate, with the obvious aim of extracting the holy man's soul.

Strengthened by his faith, the knight survived, plunging Satan into a cold rage: Satan then proceeded to bake him a second time, believing he had defeated the knight. But nothing worked, and it was with a very Christian satisfaction that the knight awoke, with the precise plans of the Devil's cauldron and his double-cooking technique in mind.

The chronicles of the time provide no information on the liver factors of Chevalier de la Croix Maron, Seigneur de Segonzac, which may have been the cause of this dream. And of this genius.

‍

A rich history and shifting borders

Language border: The Charente region is where you cross the language border between langue d'oïl and langue d'oc. More precisely, east of Angoulême, Poitevin-Saintongeais, a dialectal variant of French, gives way to Limousin, a dialectal variant of Occitan. These languages are still clearly visible in Cognac's toponymy, but they and their associated cultures are also experiencing a dynamic of their own, which a visit to Cognac's bars will confirm. Rock & folk bands make joyful use of them. To the west of Angoulême, Les Binuchards play just about everywhere. To the east, ska-oriented Les Goulamas'k, with their prophetic pre-Covid name.

State border: Cleopatra's nose, as we now know, had less influence on history than Eleanor of Aquitaine's plasticity. It is to her and her brilliant personality that we owe one hundred years of titanic warfare between the two most powerful kingdoms of Western Europe. English or French through sieges and assaults, the present-day Charentes region only changed hands at the end of the Middle Ages, with the astonishing help of the more inspired Duke François I of Brittany.

Religious frontier: damned papists against the so-called Reformed Church, thank God(and laudamus) the Charentais spirit and common sense got the better of the bloody outrages of the Wars of Religion. The rebellious spirit of the region could explain the spread of Protestantism, where people revolted just as violently against unwelcome tax reforms. We don't know whether the austere Calvin, during his stay in Cognac, had time to sip an eponymous beverage and find serenity... now restored to the region.