LYON

Cuisine Capital of the World

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I have had the opportunity of visiting amazing Lyon in central France twice. I believe true friendship is when you do not see people for years; you reconnect and pick up where you left off. I recently experienced this when Jezzebel and I met friends in Burgundy, France, whom we had not seen for a decade. We are here to spend a weekend with them in Lyon. Ariff is French, with East African heritage. His French wife Mimi drives us to the city from Beaune in their large, twenty year old Renault Safrane, which was the model of car used by Jacques Chirac when he was President of France in 1995.

As we speed along the A6 motorway, Ariff gives us a rundown on each winery we pass. Raoul Clerget, known for its Pinot Noir, followed by Veuve Ambal, known for its Crémant de Bourgogne. We leave the regions of Chalonnaise and Mâconnais and arrive in the heart of the production of Gamay, a great place with a grape variety known for its red, fruity and delicious wines. Jezzebel and I are lucky to have Ariff as tour guide. He is well qualified in viticulture, being a winemaker with over 20 years of experience. Most of his working life has been spent in this region.