The best local producers Franche-Comté

An outstanding winemaker, Jérôme Arnoux has 20 years of vineyard and cellar experience behind him, managing two niches at the same time. First, a 15-hectare estate, part of which is organic. Then there's "Les caves de la Reine Jeanne" (Queen Jeanne's cellars), where visitors are welcomed under medieval vaults and arches. It's hard to recommend a particular vintage, such is the care taken with each one. Our senses nevertheless came to rest on this "Exception", a 2018 Arbois rouge trousseau. A perfume of fresh fruit of unprecedented finesse, combined with a range of suppleness on the palate.

In the rue de la chouette is the Dijon boutique of Moutarderie Fallot. Here, you'll discover the traditional mustard-making process: the mustard seeds are ground on a stone millstone. Once or twice a month, the millstone on display in Dijon comes into operation to prepare Meursault mustard before your very eyes. At night, a hologram comes to life, showing you how the product is made. Pay a visit to the head office in Beaune. Linger at the mustard bar to discover all the flavors.

Founded in 1999 in Pouilly-sur-Loire, Les Craquants is an artisanal cookie maker offering (as the name suggests!) a very famous hazelnut and almond cookie. Les Craquants was awarded the title of Best Biscuit in France in 2002. Available in several variations, they rub shoulders with Carabiquettes (famous goat's milk caramels), as well as Nevers nougatines and pavés de la route bleue. There's also a pleasant tea room and a fine delicatessen section.

Just a stone's throw from Montreal, follow the ducks along the road and you'll arrive at Croc Duck. This farm operated by Adeline and Emmanuel Hivert is dedicated to duck. You will find foie gras, duck breast, terrines and other rillettes with chablis. But that's not all: every week, a food truck allows you to taste the farm's products from Noyers, Isle sur Serein, Montreal and Coutarnoux. And lunch baskets can even be delivered to companies or tourist groups in Avallon and Auxerre (by reservation).

Near Champagnole, Philippe and Valérie Coulombe will delight you with their foies gras and many other duck-based dishes. Everything is made by them, directly on the farm, in keeping with culinary traditions. You'll be able to sample their apricot and vin jaune terrines, or be tempted (among other things) by dried duck breast stuffed with foie gras. Better still, treat yourself to a snack or a plated meal of farm produce, to be eaten on site on summer evenings. Please note that reservations are required.

A family business concerned with preserving traditional know-how and producing quality honeys. Dominique and Jean-Jacques Coppin will share their love of their region and their work with you by showing you around their honey house. The little ones can have a look at all the secrets of this sacred nectar from the flowers and the bees. The honeys and other derived products, such as the famous gingerbread, are absolutely to put in your gourmet baskets! An address that you will appreciate without saying a word.

Behind their newly created storefront, Eric and Jérôme Vichet are jamming and unjamming the bubbles. These two partners are exclusively dedicated to sparkling wines. On the one hand, they make flavoured wines with local fruit and artisanal syrups from the renowned Rième house. You will find them with grapefruit, cherry, peach, blackberry, mojito, even chestnut and lime. They also make raw sparkling wines for aperitifs, meals and desserts, including crémants. And to satisfy your cravings for bubbles, organic beer.

Whether outside in his beehives or inside in his laboratory, you will find Philippe Clerc in white. In overalls or in a smock. The honey of this dynasty is a long story, Philippe being the last. Between Revermont and Bresse, he deploys his 350 "houses" on 12 sites. His "workers" bequeath him spring, flower, acacia, mountain, lime and fir honeys. You will be able to taste the range including its honey sweets, the recipe of the grandfather. One will also note the will to maintain very wise prices.

At Ferme du Pontot, Gérard and Philippe Plaçon have opted for direct sales of free-range eggs from their farm of 17,000 red hens. Some of the 15,000 daily eggs are consumed by the best restaurants in the Côte-d'Or region, but they can also be found in grocery stores in Dijon and in 24-hour vending machines on the farm and in 5 neighboring towns. The eggs are renowned for their quality and their "Bleu, blanc, coeur" label.

The Benoit's live in rue du Chardonnay in the "world capital of Ploussard". Not a handicap we assure you. The reds account for 50% of the 6 hectare estate, including 5 climates exclusive to this grape variety. It is managed by Benjamin. He will tell you about his objectives: sustainable vineyard management with the aim of becoming organic, manual harvesting in crates, vinification in barrels except for the Ploussard (in vats), without sulphiting or fining. At the same time, maintaining tradition, respecting each vineyard, and even preserving an 80 year old Chardonnay vine!

Jean-Pierre and Jean-Yves Boisson are as discreet as their highly prized hillside. They will welcome you in all simplicity, including by Marie-Noëlle, Jean-Pierre's wife. The 7 hectares produce mainly whites with a unique expression. An alternation of blue marl, clay-limestone and scree. The grapes are not destemmed at the pressing. The juice is then transferred to tuns and barrels. Only one vintage is usually sold. Here, we give time to time. The "tradition" is a pearl in its category. Excellent value for money.

This old servant goes round and round and round for a long time to come. The only "organic" mill in the Jura (Ecocert label) and the last water mill in Franche-Comté, it never ceases to amaze young and old alike. The Magdelaine family has owned it for 7 generations. But it appears in deeds in 1362, entering into the share of the local lord Eudes de Vaudrey. Built on the Cuisance, a tributary of the Loue, flanked by its paddle wheel, its stone millstone grinds the grains tirelessly to bequeath wheat, rye, spelt and buckwheat flours. Type 45 and 55, they are suitable for classic pasta or bread dough, i.e. 500 tons per year. A great merit is due to its managers for having set up a circuit with free or guided visits to transmit this memory of the medieval heritage. In the end, a visit to the "regional products" shop will satisfy even the most demanding visitors. The doors are also open on the third Sunday in June each year. Not to be missed! Including for groups who can use a reception room for 60 people.

Chantal and Jean Berthet-Bondet left everything behind in 1984, leaving their profession as agricultural engineers. In love with the Jura wines, it was in the most famous city of yellow wine that they chose to create their estate. Having no family ties to the wine industry, they built up their estate plot by plot. 15 hectares now, in agrobiology since 2010, a third of which is Château-Chalon. Since 2018, their daughter Hélène has joined them. The white wines, including the famous yellow wine, and other wines, whether or not they are oaked, largely occupy the barrel. A warm welcome guaranteed.

You'd think you were in the South-West of France, but Marie-Anne Ballan raises and feeds her ducks in the Bresse region of Burgundy, where they are slaughtered and processed directly on site. Slaughtered weekly, the products are 100% fresh. On the menu: rillettes, terrines, foie gras, confits, cassoulets, fresh vacuum-packed products. Products can be tasted directly at the farm. There's also a store where you can take home a whole range of tasty dishes, not to mention a host of gift sets. Tours of the farm are also available.

Jean-Louis and Françoise Tissot have now entrusted the destiny of their vineyard to their children Valérie and Jean-Christophe. This 17-hectare estate in Montigny-les-Arsures and Arbois is still run with great respect for Mother Nature. In barrel, the Tissots don't rush their wines made from the 5 authorized grape varieties. In the land of the red "Trousseau", they have produced a remarkable 2013 yellow wine. It's best to let us know when you're coming.

Hugo Sublet perpetuates the family know-how. The packaging has changed since 1856, but not the manufacturing (glass bottle and mechanical stopper). The ingredients are the same: cane sugar, agave syrup, pure water from the Massif, natural flavours. Sold all over the world, this bubbly drink is drunk at the production site on Friday afternoon. The organic lemonade echoes childhood memories. It has been expanded to include rose, orange blossom, ginger, peppermint and elderberry. Others have regional flavours. 19 references in total.

Dating back to the ^11th and ^12th centuries, these magnificent cellars are a must-see! A family pride perpetuated today by Jean-Louis and Jean-Christophe Bersan, who cultivate 22 ha of vines. They produce several appellations, including Côtes-d'Auxerre, Aligoté, Saint-Bris and Chablis for the whites, Côtes-d'Auxerre, Bourgogne and Irancy for the reds, as well as Crémant and Ratafia. Not forgetting, of course, old Marc de Bourgogne.

Do you know the five products you can get from beekeeping? Honey, beeswax, royal jelly, pollen and propolis - you'll find all five in different variations in this bee paradise! Dandelion honey, acacia honey, fir tree honey, mountain honey, lime blossom honey and various flower honeys are just some of the sweet treats you can enjoy before a glass of delicious mead. And if you're interested in beekeeping, there's a range of equipment for sale, and you can learn a lot more by taking a look at the eco-museum next door.