Fouées in the Anjou wine caves

The Caves de la Genaiserie in Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, in the Maine-et-Loire department of France's Pays de la Loire region, are carved into the soft white tufa cliffs of the Anjou wine country. The area around Saumur is honeycombed with troglodyte dwellings, mushroom caves and wine cellars cut into the stone, and the cool, constant temperature has made the caves ideal for storing wine and ageing sparkling Saumur. At the Genaiserie, bakers continue the local tradition of fouées: small, puffed rounds of bread dough baked in a wood-fired oven that opens in the cave wall. The bread is served hot, split open and filled with local rillettes, soft chèvre or white bean purée, often alongside a glass of Anjou wine. It is a centuries-old snack found almost nowhere outside Anjou. A fouée costs from about €3, and a full meal built around several fouées is a typical sit-down order. Diners sit at long tables inside the cave rooms, where the walls are rough stone and the air is noticeably cooler than outside, so a light layer is useful even in summer. A visit takes roughly one to two hours, with lunch the most popular time to come. Weekends and summer holidays are the busiest, and booking ahead is advised in the high season. Weekday lunches outside July and August are calmer. The site lies about 30 minutes south of Saumur by car, so a vehicle is generally needed, and the vineyards and troglodyte villages around it, including Turquant and Souzay-Champigny, are easy to combine in a day. Hours vary by season, so visitors should telephone on +33 2 41 51 63 07 before travelling. Photography of the oven, the cave rooms and the plates is generally welcomed.