The house journal

Why this journal

Years of questions, gathered in one place

Ever since the house started welcoming travellers, the same questions have arrived by email, almost word for word. Which is the best season? Do you need an appointment with the growers? What do you do with the children on a wet afternoon? How many bicycles are there? This journal exists to answer them properly, at greater length than an exchange of messages allows.

We do not write here to fill space. Every article grows out of a question a guest actually asked, and stays within what we know at first hand: the village, its cellars, its shops, its paths, and the house itself. For opening hours, event dates and admission prices we always point to the organisations concerned — that information changes, and we would rather not freeze it.

What you will find in these pages

Seasonal markers. Chablis has no bad time of year, but the same stay is a different thing in March and in August. We set out what each season offers, what it costs and who it suits.

Explanations about the wine. Understanding why four appellations from the same grape sell at such different prices changes a cellar visit completely. It is a matter of geology, and it can be explained in five minutes.

Practical organisation. What to bring, what is within walking distance, and how to fit six people into three bedrooms without negotiations on the first morning.

Village news — the wine festival, markets, cellar openings — fills out the picture through the year. For anything else, write to us: we reply personally.