How to Understand a French Wine Label

Some tips on knowing what’s in the bottle…

When you’re browsing the wine shop, looking for the perfect wine-trip down memory lane, how can you possibly know how to choose something similar to what you drank while you were onboard Athos?! 

Here is a short guide to understand a French wine label.  (The best news is that fluent french is not an obligation…)

French wines carry a lot of information on their labels.  The label tells the exact village and region that the wine comes from.  It lists the classification of wine.  And it is this classification which tells about the grapes used and how it was made. 

Below is a great resource written by Total Wine and More:  it is a color map of Languedoc wine regions, and below that, a clear diagram of what is what on a Languedoc wine label. 

The map outlines the areas called the AOCs – the Appellation d’Origine Controlés.  The AOCs are the officially licensed french wine regions.  Each AOC region has specific rules for which grapes to grow, and how they are to be grown and vinified in order to qualify.

Following the below map and label-guide, you should be able to work out the (relative) prestige of the winery, the age of the wine, the way it was made, the type of grapes used.   

Voilà.  How to understand a french wine label.

A sample:  how to understand a Languedoc Wine Label

…with explanations in red:

Continue reading →

Hotel Barge Athos & What to Expect from a luxury barge cruise.

“What IS a hotel barge and what can we expect from a hotel barge cruise”?

…Let’s be honest, barge-cruising is a pretty original concept and catch phrase! 

Allow us to answer the question:  What is hotel barging?

To help provide a well-rounded explanation to the “What is Barging?” question, we asked a couple of passengers to put together a kind of F&Q’s about what you sign up for when you book a week onboard hotel barge Athos.  They described their experience and their expectations, in addition to the logistical questions about how to get to Athos and how it works onboard etc.

From Passengers Who Cruised on Hotel Barge Athos

The outcome was an article telling “What to Expect on Hotel Barge Athos” when you book a week on a Canal du Midi luxury cruise with hotel barge Athos.  

The article written by Helen Hewetson and Jill Fost of the Travel Society gets into not only “What is Hotel Barging”, but how a barge cruise works.  It answers questions like “Who else will be onboard?” (in the event that you’ve booked on a mixed week as opposed to whole boat Charter with only your friends or family). “Can I get off the barge?”  “I have a special diet to follow – will this be possible”?…

Big thanks to Helen Hewetson and Jill Fost of the Travel Society for their frank and detailed version of what REALLY happens once you’ve joined the Athos party!

CONTACT US

Photo credit to Helen Hewetson and Jill Fost for their “Glorious Evening Ride #AutumnCruising” pic…  Useful views and perfect image!

Athos 2019 the Canal du Midi Year in Pictures

This is a fun little video that we like to put together as a way of sending our many thanks for a year well spent. Alas, thanks to Athos’ great crew, as well as to her travel-inspired, wine-drinking, fun-loving passengers! Another thank-you to one special travel-inspired passenger and blogger, Lauren Yawkichuk, who spent a week onboard. Her photos star in the following video. We hope these images jog a few fond memories.

Wishing all of you Health, Happiness, and Peace in 2019, from ATHOS.

Athos history: a lovely story and an amazing email exchange

Athos history.  It’s where our business all began.

Athos is not exactly a “mainstream” business.  But because we are so entrenched in all things hotel-barging, I forget that hotel barging isn’t deeply known or understood world ’round.  We have lived on Athos or nearby the Canal du Midi for over 20 years now.  We are in close contact with others who also run hotel barge businesses both on the Canal du Midi and in other areas of France.  I write multiple daily emails explaining the how, what and why of Athos and hotel barging.  I point people at FAQ links, make suggestions about how to travel to Athos’ meeting point and answer a whole variety of questions… 

Last week I had a series of emails about Athos history that surprised even me.  And it turned out to be a lovely story:

Jonathan Sargent, Aug 3 (5 days ago)
to me

Good afternoon,

I went to an estate sale here in the USA and purchased blueprints of the ‘Athos’ and I was curious if you could tell me more about waterline and the boats history. Thank you for your time.

Aug 4 (4 days ago)
to Jonathan

Hello Jonathan – 

How amazing! …I imagine this was Mimi’s estate?  Mimi was one of the original financiers and shareholders of the Athos.  She and her husband Pierre Noubel undertook the makeover and project which are now your blueprints.  They then set Athos up as a canal-tourism business and brought over many well-heeled Americans who would never have undertaken to see the then-back-woods of Southwestern France and the Canal du Midi!

Athos still runs as a luxury hotel barge on the Canal du Midi, and has done since her makeover as per the blueprints in 1982 — slightly changed in cabin layout and certainly in decor, but in essence as your blueprints indicate. Julian was a Captain from 1988, just after Pierre Noubel sold the barge to new owners.  From 2001-2004, Julian and I leased Athos, and then by 2004 bought Athos together, and winter of 2006 gave her a massive interior makeover.  We are still running it as an active business.

Previously to 1982, Athos would probably have been destined for the North African boat scrapyards.  We think this is what happened to her 3 sister ships:  the D’Artagnan, Portos and the Aramis.  All 4 Musketeers were built in 1965 in the Marne, specifically for the Canal du Midi to be used as freighters.  Canal du Midi barges have very very low wheelhouses  in order to fit through the extremely low 16thC bridges. (have a look at the arch drawn in over the narrow silouette in Image 4 of the Plans!)  Many of these kind of freighters would have held grain, wine, sand, or fuel.  We know Athos didn’t carry fuel, but we don’t know whether she was more concentrated on grain/wine or sand.  Generally speaking, 1965-built barges had (give or take) a 25-year life span.  They were welded steel hulls with flat bottoms, and a maximum depth of 1.3m…not the ultra-thick black iron riveted hulls of their earlier Dutch-built counterparts.  

Alas, Athos’ lifespan technically should have been up by now, but she is drydocked annually, re-treated (and even re-bottomed in this past 15 years), and has constant and ongoing maintenance, improvements and tweaks.  

In fact, we’d be hugely grateful for a copy if you are able to either .pdf or post to us in France?  I’m not sure how big the plans are?  We seem to only have the electrics blueprint in our collection, and we still work around the water-tight bulkheads and fire doors indicated in the original copy.

Hope the above is of some interest and use to you.

Kind regards,

Dannielle & Julian FARRANT

Jonathan Sargent
Aug 4 (4 days ago)
to me

Let me start by saying thank you so much for the Athos history and for all of the information. My wife and I just started going to estate sales and this is truly a wonderful find indeed. I have pictures as the blueprints are very large in size. Wow… I am just in amazement. This is really neat to find on the other side of the world. Let me see what I can do. Would pictures work? 

P.s. When we started looking at these, my wife immediately said, “There has to be a three musketeers connection.”

Sent from my iPhone

Jonathan Sargent
Aug 5 (3 days ago)
to me

Dannielle,

I miss-spoke and called them blueprints but they are actually schematics from the 1980’s. I had intentions of selling these to make something back but after talking about it with my wife, we would like to send what we have to you and Julian. We just feel like this belongs with the two of you. Let me know where we can send them to and I will let you know when they are sent. The history that you shared was more than what we ever anticipated. Thank you for sharing that with us, as we will never forget it. 

-Cheers-

The Sargent’s 

Dannielle Farrant <info@athosdumidi.com>
Aug 5 (3 days ago)
to Jonathan

Wow Johnathan – this is incredibly gracious of you!  We are of course delighted to share Athos history with anyone who wants to listen and we are so grateful that you have pieced together some of her missing artifacts! 

Lastly, I am so tickled by our exchange that I wanted to ask if I could post our emails as part of a Blog post on Athos’ website, linking it to some of the write-up about Athos history?

Best regards, Dannielle & Julian

Sent from my iPhone

Jonathan Sargent
Aug 5 (3 days ago)
to me

Oh wow! That would be so cool.  Maybe one day when we are in Paris, we can stop by to say hello. I will put them in the mail tomorrow. Please let me know when you have received them. That way we know they made it home. 🙂 

From our home with love, Jonathan & Ashley Sargent, Gulfport, MS

For the record, Johnathan & Ashley – if ever you’re keen to pop by and see Athos, you know where to find us!  Truly, Thank-you. 

A selection of Athos’ historical Plans, found by Johnathan & Ashley Sargent, Gulfport, MS

Athos history Canal du Midi plans overview

Athos history plans silouette

original passenger cabin plans

And if you’re interested…here’s a bit more on Athos history

Reading List for Cruising the Canal du Midi

Reading List for the Canal du Midi

A recent Athos passenger asked a new question the other day:  Could I suggest a Canal du Midi Reading List for his week onboard Athos? 

I’m still disappointed I didn’t think of it myself!   Who doesn’t love a few suggested “reads” before taking off to travel somewhere new?

The list below is NOT an exhaustive list – just the titles which spring most quickly to mind. They are a collection of fiction, historical fiction, historical research, and even a few wine and cheese titles.  All either cover topics relevant to the culture and history of Southwest France, particularly Carcassonne, or they take place in the surrounding area.

Canal du Midi Reading List
HISTORY:
  • The Friar of Carcassonne, author Stephen O’Shea (historical research)
  • The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail,  by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. (historical research)
  • The Religion, Tim Willocks
FICTION
  • Suite Française, author Irène Nemirovsky (written during wartime France, the manuscript found after the author’s death).
  • Labyrinth, Kate Mosse (fiction)
  • Sepulchre, Kate Mosse
  • Citadel, Kate Mosse
  • The Heretic’s Treasure, Scott Mariani (fiction)
  • Pillars of the Earth, author Ken Follett (historical fiction)
  • The Virgin Blue, author Tracy Chevalier (historical fiction)
  • The DaVinci Code, author Dan Brown (fiction)
  • All the Light we Cannot See, author Anthony Doerr (France wartime fiction)
  • La Bête Humain, Emile Zola (19thC French thriller Classic).
WINE AND CHEESE
  • Languedoc Roussillon, the Wines and Winemakers, Paul Strang
  • Wines of the Languedoc, (The Infinite Ideas Classic Wine Library) by Rosemary George
  • French Cheeses, The Visual Guide… by Kazuko Masui & Tomoko Yamada
DOCUMENTARY & GUIDES
  • My Life in France, Julian Child
  • Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, author Terry Darlington (documentary)
  • Fortress Churches of the Languedoc, Sheila Bonde
  • The Roads to Santiago de la Compostela, MSM 1999-2004

Go right ahead and Click here to email any suggestions you might like to add!

reading list for the canal du Midi

 

 

Athos – Images of the Canal du Midi Cruise Year

What better way to summarise the Athos’ 2017 cruising season than with fantastic images taken by a real Athos passenger who really cruised the Canal du Midi in 2017!?

All photo credits and heartfelt thanks to the amazing K. Schnitzer.  Looking at these, we’re pretty sure he liked his week onboard as much as we love his photos.  

[Show thumbnails]

If you are happy to share photos of your Athos cruise and Canal du Midi experience, we’d love to have them!  You can send them to our email address. 

To inquire about 2018 Canal du Midi Cruise bookings on Athos, email Dannielle and Julian at info@athosdumidi.com

Chocolate, French and Christmas. A Recipe!

 
 

A number of Athos Chefs recommend BBC Good Food as a recipe resource.  This chocolate macaroon recipe comes from there – it’s simple and it’s a goodie!  Chocolate Macaroons are perfect as an accompaniment for that cup of frothy hot chocolate or a rich little espresso…  

Ingredients

  • •125g icing sugar
  • •1 tbsp cocoa
  • •100g ground almonds
  • •2 medium egg whites
  • For the filling
  • •50g milk or dark chocolate, chopped
  • •2 tsp skimmed milk, warmed a little

Method

•Heat oven to 180C/ 160C fan/gas 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, then stir in the ground almonds. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the dry ingredients.

•Fill an icing bag fitted with a plain nozzle with the mixture (or put in a large food bag and snip off the corner). Pipe 24 small blobs, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each. Smooth the surface with a wet finger, then leave for 15 mins to dry out. Bake for 15-20 mins until macaroons feel firm to the touch and peel easily off the paper. Cool on the paper, then peel off and store in a tin for up to 1 week.

•To make the filling, put chocolate into a heatproof bowl and gently melt over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir in the warm milk until smooth. Leave to cool and thicken a little, then use to sandwich the macaroons together.

Athos Chocolate at Christmas

Why a Canal du Midi Cruise on Luxury Hotel Boat Athos should be on your bucket list.

A Canal du Midi Cruise on Athos is a South of France experience that is a once in a lifetime, must-do holiday. Here’s why:

  1. Athos makes your Canal du Midi cruise exclusive and personalised. VIP is the only class and service option.

Athos carries a maximum of 10 passengers on board in any given week and her 5 full time crew members ensure that they are given every attention and comfort.  Athos and her crew are all about making your special Canal du Midi holiday the lifetime trip to remember.  With the option of chartering the entire boat for up to 10 passengers, you can choose your own group of preferred travellers.  If you’d like to stay away from the crowds, Athos’ crew can arrange that.  

  1. It’s not JUST a luxury Canal du Midi Cruise.  

Inclusive shore excursions mean that you’ll See & Experience More on hotel barge Athos.  Because Athos’ experienced crew will look after the complicated travel questions of Where-to…? How-to…? and What’s-on-the-menu…  we make it possible for you to do far more than an independent traveller in the South of France. 

During a week onboard, Athos’ Canal du Midi cruise activities include: 
  • cruising the Canal du Midi by historical hotel barge and exploring the surrounding area. 
  • tasting and travelling your way through the vast wine region,
  • delighting your palate with the onboard Chef’s repertoire (tweaked to your preferences of course)
  • walking & bicycling the surrounding countryside
  • sitting back and enjoy the flavours, fun and experiences without losing time figuring it all out. 

Have a look at our detailed suggestions on the Best of Languedoc itinerary. 

  1. Outdoor Luxury

Athos offers magical days seeing the South of France that way it is best appreciated – from outdoors. What other form of hotel offers the comforts of a hotel that floats and moves with you on your journey, taking luxury into the countryside from her generous top deck?  The Languedoc’s Mediterranean climate and landscapes are warm, rustic, charming – and all able to be experienced from your comfortable lounge chair on the Athos deck.  Here’s a little photo selection and a link to historical and practical information about the Canal du Midi to whet your appetite!

Click here to Drop us an email to ask questions, dates and details.